Openskies | August 2013

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Editor’s LEttEr

editor@ openskiesmagazine. com

The quest for immortality is the basis for many a comic book superhero, but back in reality, there is one man who believes living to 1,000 years of age is a real possibility. We meet those who are pushing back the boundaries of what is possible. Back in the present, we profile a Norwegian with the potential to be the first crossover chess star in more than two decades. Magnus Carlsen is a man with the world at his feet, but not everyone is a fan of the modern game.

Washington, DC, is a place known more for politics than tourism, but the American capital has a surprising amount to offer the visitor.

We give it the Mapped treatment. Is the travel guide dead? With sales of paper guidebooks down, and a range of way-finding apps on the market, the way we consume information on the places we visit has changed forever. We look at the newest trend in this fascinating space. Enjoy the issue.

Emirates takes care to ensure that all facts published herein are correct. In the event of any inaccuracy please contact The Editor. Any opinion expressed is the honest belief of the author based on all available facts. comments and facts should not be relied upon by the reader in taking commercial, legal, financial or other decisions. Articles are by their nature general and specialist advice should always be consulted before any actions are taken.

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Open skies / august 2013

CONTENTS / AUGUST 2013

36

MoMA hosts a Le Corbusier exhibition in New York

66

48

Los Angelesbased bassist Thundercat reveals his top tracks

50

The St Regis Doha gets the once over

62

The American capital gets the Mapped treatment

26

Going the rounds in one of Dubai’s toughest gyms

OPEN SKIES / AUGUST 2013

74

76

A pop-up store with a The future of the guide book? difference in Sunderland It’s already here

CONTENTS / AUGUST 2013

84

A writer spends six months in Siberia

96

Can the latest chess superstar save the game?

116

Intimate portraits of Hong Kong at work, rest and play

FRONT (33) Bits Question/Grid Calendar The Street Skypod Room Consume

34 38 40 42 48 50 53

Our Man BLD Mapped Local Knowledge Place Column Store

NEWS (127)

MAIN (83) A Siberian Journey The Chess Wars The Fight to Live Forever

54 61 62 66 72 74 76

84 96 104

News Green Fleet

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OPEN SKIES / AUGUST 2013

129 132 138

contributors JOE minihanE

Joe Minihane is a travel, technology and lifestyle journalist based in London. His work has appeared in The Bangkok Post, Men’s Health and Stuff. He is also a regular contributor to CNN Travel, lonelyplanet.com and MSN Tech.

mark EvElEigh

After six hours reviewing his life while swinging from the end of a fraying cable in the world’s highest cable-car in Venezuela, Mark decided to become a freelance photographer. He has been published in Esquire, The Guardian and The New York Times.

ian TaylOr

Men’s Health Comissioning Editor Ian has written about everything from the myotatic crunch to visceral fat. He has even given up potatoes in the name of science.

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Open skies / august 2013

nOah Davis

A freelance writer living in Brooklyn, Noah writes about everything from sport to science. He has been published everywhere from Sports Illustrated and The Wall Street Journal to New York Magazine and GQ.com.

TaylOr curry

Taylor is freelance photographer based in Georgia in the United States.

He is a founding member of AintBad Magazine, a quarterly publication that promotes new photographic art.

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FRONT 54

62

BALI

WASHINGTON

An irreverent tour around the Balinese town of Ubud

An insider’s tour of one of America’s most underrated cities

Street Sounds The pop-up record store taking the north of England by storm

(76)

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OPEN SKIES / AUGUST 2013

66 DUBAI

A Detroit native brings his fighting spirit to Dubai

Bits

Retail Therapy take a whirlwind tour around the world and discover the coolest new and established stores

StarS / Clockwise from top left: Droog, Oak, Thom Browne and Marre Moerel Design Studio

t

he summer is here, so what better way to pass the time than a spot of retail therapy. we are very excited by the new three-storey thom browne space in tokyo, which, with its minimal interior, allows the clothes to breathe. if you are in aoyama, we recommend a visit. in amsterdam, we love the droog store, which features possibly the smallest hotel in the world (one room) as well as a collection of quirky furniture, accessories and art. if you happen to be in Madrid this month, be sure and pay a visit to Marre Moerel design studio in the Malasaña neighbourhood. Filled with amazing ceramics and tableware, Marre Moerel’s one-off pieces would grace even the most taste-conscious of homes. we could not feature the best in global shopping without mentioning new York. we are a big fan of oak, a unisex store that sells a range of minimal, effortlessly classy clothes that won’t break your budget.

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MOMA REVISITED THE NEW YORK ART MUSEUM HAS BEEN OPERATING FOR MORE THAN 80 YEARS, AND WITH A GLUT OF NEW EXHIBITIONS, NOW IS THE TIME TO VISIT One of the best musuems in the world, MoMA has consistently delivered top-class exhibitions since it opened in 1929. It both reflects trends in the art world, and, more importantly, sets them, thanks to its curatorial prowess. Its library is worth a visit in itself, holding more than 300,000 books and more than 70,000 files on individual artists. Located in the heart of Manhattan, it houses such classics as Van Gogh’s The Starry Night, Andy Warhol’s Campbell’s Soup Cans and The Dance by Matisse.

This month sees an exhibition

on Le Corbusier, encompassing his work as an architect, interior designer, artist, city planner, writer and photographer. Conceived by guest curator Jean-Louis Cohen, the exhibition reveals the ways in which Le Corbusier observed and imagined landscapes throughout his career, using all the artistic techniques at his disposal, from his early watercolours of Italy, Greece and Turkey, to his sketches of India, and from the photographs of his formative journeys to the models of his large-scale projects. This is a must for those interested in art or

architecture. MoMA will also be hosting Hand Signals: Digits, Fists, and Talons, an intriguing exhibition on the graphic visualisation of the hand. Showcasing posters, signage and propaganda spanning more than half a century, you will never look at your fingers in the same way again. We also recommend XL: 19 New Acquisitions in Photography, which explores the role of photography in modern art, and provides a fascinating glimpse at the work of some of contemporary art’s major artists. moma.org

Is the print travel guide dead? A new generation of tourist tech could see the end of the guide book page 74 36

OPEN SKIES / AUGUST 2013

Column

THE QUESTION

WHAT IS THE MOST VALUABLE THING ON EARTH?

A broad question such as this has no one answer. Historically, gold has been the most valued resource and for thousands of years was used as a back up to currencies. While gold has lost some of its sheen, it is still traded, and traditionally gains in value during recessions.

Oil is another resource that is expensive, due to the sheer amount of it that gets used each day, and the fact that it is a finite resource. As stocks dwindle, prices will rise, particularly when ‘peak oil’ is reached. In actual terms the most expensive resource is the Higgs Boson particle, as it costs $9 billion to obtain a few 125 GeV particles (we know, we are not sure what that means either), but let’s just say it’s not particularly cost effective. The most expensive consumer resource is rather surprising: printer ink. This costs nearly $8,000 per gallon, and the only reason it does not financially cripple every company on earth is that we use so little of it.

Of course, many claim the most valuable resource is fresh water – and although there is more than 300 million gallons of it on the planet, only a fraction of that is consumable. As fresh water supplies decline in the future, expect more and more issues to crop around this resource. For now, the best advice is to use the fresh water we have sparingly.

THE GRID Seven of the world’s best magicians join forces for an event that will feature optical illusions, levitation, mind reading, escapology and disappearing elephants (maybe). After a successful run in Australia, The Illustionists will be hoping to light up the Dubai World Trade Centre on August 28th. theillusionistsdubai.com

An exhibition of calligraphic artworks inspired by the Holy Quran, quotes from the Prophet Mohammed (PBUH) and Arabic poetry will be on show at the Ara Gallery in Burj Plaza. A Verse Imprinted is sure to appeal to those interested in the culture of the region. thearagallery.com

This year’s Arab Idol finalists will descend on Dubai for a one-off concert. Gazan winner Mohammed Assaf will perform with the other two finalists, Ahmad Jamal and Farah Youssef at what is sure to be a noisy affair. This August 15th event will sell out, so book tickets early. dubaicalendar.ae

The Al Farooq Omar Ibn Al Khattab Mosque and Centre is hosting a variety of events during Ramadan, perfect for those who want to get into the spirit of the season. The mosque – modeled after the Blue Mosque in Istanbul – is worth a visit in its own right, and has quickly become a Jumeirah landmark. alfarooqcentre.com

Emanuel Ungaro - Jakob Schlaepfer - Holland & Sherry - V alentino

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Until August 25

Camden Fringe

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the street

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Open skies / august 2013

Onasagorou Street Not long ago, Onasagorou Street, which winds through the heart of old Nicosia, was practically abandoned. Fast forward to the present day and the area is bustling with life, and has become the epitome of all things hip in the capital. Running parallel to the Ledra Street shopping hub, the street has cafÊs and restaurants that jostle for attention, spilling out onto the pedestrianised road, while quaint fabric shops and dusty antique stores welcome a stream of visitors. What’s more, abandoned buildings have been given facelifts and young entrepreneurs are intent on giving the area a total revamp. Follow the road down all the way from Eleftheria Square to the historic Faneromeni Church and sit back on a wooden bench to indulge in a little people-watching. From musicians strumming away on their guitars, to couples engrossed in a game of backgammon at one of the nearby cafÊs, this is your chance to understand what relaxing in this historic Mediterranean capital is all about.

Words by Zoe Christodoulides / Images by Christos Theodorides

Diosmos & Kanela (Mint & Cinnamon)

Parisian chic meets rustic Cypriot charm at this gem of a place with old-school black-andwhite tiled floors and quaint old-fashioned bric-a-brac adorning the indoor counters. But it’s the inspiring Mediterranean cuisine that’s the real selling point here, as seafood pasta, veggie risotto, mouth-watering salads and sweet treats are all on offer. Divided in two, one part functions as a café while an adjacent kitchen bar attracts both local and visiting foodies. Definitely worth a visit.

24 Onasagorou Street Tel: +357 22681070

The Market Company

From brunch at noon to tempting tapas dishes as the sun goes down, this is the capital’s place to be seen in, as proven by the horde of trendsetters it attracts. With the exposed brick walls and mismatched furniture, the venue, which opened last year, has fast become one of the hottest spots in town. Great for people-watching, you’ll spot arty types dressed in fabulously colourful gear rubbing shoulders with young designers and the occasional tourist.

8 Pithonos Street just off Onasagorou Street Tel: +357 22270504

Kouyoumdjian Fabrics

Few places in the capital have lasted as long as this family-run vintage fabric shop, which first opened its doors on Onasagorou in the late 1950s. Pop in for a peek and you’ll no doubt meet Manos Kouyoumdjian, the grandfather who started it all, as he darts around keeping things in check. Having witnessed a revival in the past few years, the shop now attracts younger costume designers as well as dressmakers and grandmothers who have frequented the store for years.

48 Onasagorou Street Tel: +357 22666438

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Nikos Ioannou Jewellers

Dekaeksi (16)

One of the latest venues to open on Onasagorou, this colourful retro inspired café/bar is just the place to stop off for a drink.

Attracting a young arty crowd, with tables strewn across the street, you can have a nibble, enjoy an ice cold coffee or sip on your favourite tipple both day and night, while the indoor bar is the perfect spot in which to enjoy a little respite from the heat.

16 Onasagorou Street Tel: +357 22662227

It’s all about class at this jewellery shop, reputed to be one of the finest on the island. Whether you’re after gold, silver or a touch of platinum to take back home, there’s bound to be something to make your eyes twinkle. This jewellers is not just about contemporary numbers; the glass cabinets are filled with brilliant pieces drawing on age-old Cypriot designs that have stood the test of time.

73 Onasagorou Street Tel: + 357 22674025

Coffee Island

No visit to Cyprus would ever be complete without a cup of aromatic Greek coffee in hand, served black and bittersweet in a traditionally tiny cup. Pop into Coffee Island for your caffeine fix – you can even select a variety of beans from around the world to take home with you.

Don’t forget to try the huge range of local sweets and nuts.

10 Onasagorou Street, with parallel entrance also on 219 Ledra Street.

Tel: + 357 22467978

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SKYPOD

Los Angeles-based bassist Thundercat reveals his top tracks

1.

2.

3.

Jaco Pastorius Portrait Of Tracy

Allan Holdsworth City Nights

Slipknot People = S**t

An amazing jazz bassist.

This is one of my all-time favourites, from his 1976 solo album. I fell in love with it when I was a teenager, and I still am in love with it.

Allan was known for playing the SynthAxe, a kind of fusion of a guitar and a synth. This song is just insane. I practise bass to it, but sometimes I just have to stop and listen to Allan go to space. A beautiful tune.

For metal, this is very funky. I love how it makes me headbang.

I used to play bass with Suicidal Tendencies, and I feel really connected with metal music. It changed my life for the better.

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OPEN SKIES / AUGUST 2013

4.

Bone Thugs & Harmony Mo Murda One of my favourite hip-hop songs. It sounds like drive-by music.

5.

Chaka Khan We Got Each Other Disco had some incredible musicians. This track features a great bass line from one of my favourite players in the whole wide world, Anthony Jackson.

augusT

CALENDAR

6.

Mutiny feat.

Jerome Brailey Will It Be Tomorrow (Reprise) I am a big ParliamentFunkadelic fan, and also a fan of all the work spawned because of them. Mutiny was the band formed by Parliament-Funkadelic drummer Jerome Brailey.

This song always makes me happy.

7.

Joe Henderson A Shade Of Jade

August 23 to 25

Rock En Seine The French music scene is one of Europe’s most vibrant, and every year, Paris celebrates local and international acts at Rock En Seine. This year’s line-up includes everyone from Phoenix and Franz Ferdinand to Tricky and Tame Impala (above). Held over three days in a Paris park, the vibe ranges from wild to mellow, depending on who is on stage. The atmosphere is always good, however, and for those who want a break from Paris culture, this is ideal. rockenseine.com

Tehran

iranian icon page 72

Joe Henderson is one of my favourite saxophonists.

I just love his style; he does beautiful things with melody and harmony. This song is one of my all-time favourites.

8.

Justin Bieber Favourite Girl What can I say?

I’m a Belieber.

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the Room

TExT: GARETH REES // STREGISDOHA.cOM

ROOM 336

THE ST REGIS DOHA

The St Regis Doha is home to Jazz At Lincoln Center Doha, a club that plays host to musicians from New York’s Jazz At Lincoln Center project. A night there is reason enough to visit the hotel. The Olympicsized swimming pool, impressive restaurants and elegant design add to the mix. The Grand Deluxe room is one up from The St Regis’ standard Superior Room and, at 44 square metres, it certainly won’t disappoint.

The dark-wood furniture, patterned carpet and contemporary Arabic paintings are a subtle nod to Doha’s heritage. The king-size bed is firm, Wi-Fi is complementary, there’s a 42-inch flat-screen TV and the mosaic-tiled bathroom boasts both a rain shower and a bathtub with its own television screen. We had our own personal butler who brought us a complementary drink on check-in, picked up two items for pressing, and unpacked and packed our luggage for us. The view from Room 336 isn’t great, taking in a fairground, as well as the blue waters of the Arabian Gulf, and the hotel could do with a better selection of newspapers, a larger range of books and magazines in the small on-site shop, and perhaps a library of some sort, but really, that’s just being picky.

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INTERNET SPEED: 3MB PILLOWS: Ten pillows available from the pillow menu BED SIzE: 203cm x 203cm iPOD DOCK: Yes CLUB SANDWICH DELIVERY TIME: 30 mins COMPLEMENTARY SNACKS: Stuffed dates, pecan tart, cookies and cream TOILETRY BRAND: Remède ExTRAS: Personalised butler service DAILY NEWSPAPER: Gulf Times, The Peninsula TV CHANNELS: 24 VIEW: 2/5 RATE: $660

SHOWN: CHADATM IN HIBISCUS

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consume

album

in a World like This Backstreet Boys Boy bands don’t die, they just wait until they get a massive tax bill and reform. Yes, the Backstreet Boys, the blandest (and most successful) of the 1990s’ boy bands, are back with this, their eighth studio album.

In A World Like This should tick all their fans’ boxes: saccharine pop ballads, watered down R&B and a whole lot of vocal harmonising. One for the die-hard fans.

book

Things fall aparT Chinua Achebe film

A timely addition to the Penguin Classics series, Things Fall Apart is the late Nigerian writer Chinua Achebe’s classic take on modern Africa. Published in 1958, the book follows an Igbo leader, Okonkwo, and the society he lives in, beset by the forces of modernism, of colonialism and of Christian missionaries. Achebe – who died in March this year – deftly handles the clash between tradition and modernity and the personal tragedies that are a part of colonialism’s legacy in Africa. It is the most successful African novel of all time, and is one of the best novels of the 20th century. Achebe’s skill as a writer is remarkable, and this is a perfect introduction to African literature.

elysium

Matt Damon is as close as you can get to a sure thing in Hollywood these days, and the producers behind Elysium will be hoping his name will help buck this year’s trend of blockbuster flops. Set in 2154, Elysium refers to a utopian metropolis that orbits the Earth, populated by the rich, while the those left behind live on a devastated planet, rife with crime and poverty. Damon plays a factory worker diagnosed with cancer who has five days to reach Elysium before he dies. Cue futuristic battles, nightmarish visions of the future, and themes of mass surveillance and identity.

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our man in

Eat, Stay, Live

Avowed carnivore and caffeine addict Mark Eveleigh submerges himself in the world of yoga, soul-searching and detox-dining that is part of Ubud, Bali’s spiritual heartland Images by Mark Eveleigh

at thE rEady / Women practising yoga at Taksu Spa

I

t’s just after dawn on a Friday morning and try as I might, I just can’t seem to get in touch with my inner self.

“Feel the energy,” a voice croons from the front of the room. Carlos is a lithe and agile ukulele-playing Venezuelan yogi. “Concentrate on reaching that higher plane…”

I subdue an inward groan and try to block the uncharitable thought

that presumably Carlos’ inner self is not obsessing about the day’s first long-overdue shot of caffeine.

I’ve come to Ubud, and to Yoga Barn in particular, to investigate the world of yoga, meditation and healthy living that has become a central tenet of Bali’s spiritual heartland.

Carlos’ dawn raid on the yoga mat is a harsh wake-up call (in more ways than one) on what could become a challenging day for me. I’ve just done my best to contort a body that is all too rigidly human into the shapes of a cobra, a fish and an angry cat, and am now rocking on my back with my feet out in a posture that’s apparently known as ‘happy baby.’

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When Made Gunarta and his American-English wife Meghan co-founded the Yoga Barn in 2006, it was the only venue in Ubud built specifically for yoga. Now his hometown boasts dozens, and has become one of the world’s great yoga centres.

“They say that if you want to see changes you have to be part of the change,” Made tells me when we meet for that first long-awaited coffee later that morning. “They say that the name Ubud came from an old Balinese word meaning ‘place of healing’ – and that’s really what Ubud has always been.”

We’re sitting on floor cushions on a little raised platform at Atman

Kafe (the name apparently means ‘Universal Self’) drinking what the menu claims to be the best coffee in Bali. Our flip-flops lie on the top step along with the heap of Havaianas, Crocs and sport-sandals that belong to the morning’s herd of healthy breakfasters. A blackboard in the corner bears a chalked quote from Paulo Coelho: “Anyone who loves must learn to lose themselves and then find themselves again.”

I’ve already run afoul of a young woman who thought, mistakenly, that we’d pushed into the queue in front of her. I get the feeling that some well-meaning guru had advised her that she must ‘assert herself more’… so she intends to go around for the next few weeks being stroppy to every man she meets. Eavesdrop on any conversation in an Ubud café these days – from the popular (but slightly run-down) Sari Organiks out in the paddies, to Seniman Coffee Studio near the central market – and you will hear people talking about self-analysis,

finding themselves, getting closure.

“It’s got almost unmatched They’re catchwords that come quantities of chlorophyll,” says up with all the regularity (and Made reassuringly as I gaze significance of ) lemons on an oldfearfully at the little beaker of time slot machine. dark green gunk. According to the “There is a good side to all this menu, the little glass in front of Eat-Pray-Love mania too,” says me also contains 12 amino acids Made, as if reading my mind. “We and is equivalent to eating a kilo used to have such a rich history of fruit and vegetables. I could of traditional medicines and healing barely manage half the glass methods but they were being despite the fact that I’d arrived for forgotten. If trendy places like this keep them alive in their menu of ‘herbal pick-me-ups’ and ‘energy-boosters’ then it surely can’t be a We trawl the Twittersphere to discover bad thing,” he says. the world’s best sneaker shops.

Atman’s coffee blend is a reliable enough energybooster in itself and I’ve Atmos Colette One of the hippest sneaker Much more than just a sneaker been looking forward to shops in the world, Atmos shop, Colette oozes class and sampling a cup of their carries everything from ultrais one of Paris’ fashion tastelocally grown Arabica rare limited editions to the makers. The selection is not beans all morning. Served latest from the big brands. It huge, but the quality is always also has a New York branch first rate. on ice with palm sugar @atmos_tokyo @coletteparis syrup and a pinch of sea-salt, it sounds like a Solebox Undefeated bizarre combination but A sneaker and lifestyle Los Angeles loves trainers, is actually a surprisingly boutique in Berlin that, despite and nowhere is that more in delicious way to drink its small size, has a huge evidence then at this boutique. reputation around Europe, with Expect lots of collaborations, coffee. I feel suitably fans crossing borders to pick limited editions and very clued guilty about giving in up its new releases in staff. to my weakness after @solebox @UNDEFEATEDinc such a brief fight so, at Made’s recommendation, Titolo Kith I balance Atman’s dose Switzerland might not With a branch in both Manhattan of ‘cold brew’ with a seem like a trainer hub, and Broadway, there is no but this Berne-based store excuse not to visit Kith. Amazing salt-cumin-mint lassi has gained a huge online one-off releases and a box load and a short-sharp jolt of following thanks to its range of cool ensure this place never vitamins in the form of a of limited edition releases goes out of fashion @titolo_shop @KithSet wheatgrass shot.

TWITTER PITCH

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Centred / Tourists and locals on Monkey Forest Road, Ubud

my meeting with Made with the sort of voracious appetite that can only come from a strenuous bout at the gym… or a completely decadent 90-minute massage at Taksu Spa. Taksu stands out from what must be hundreds of massage venues in central Ubud for two reasons. Firstly, treatments here take place in the sort of hidden paradise valley (right in the centre of town) that is so typical of the island that claims to be the world’s most beautiful. Taksu’s private treatment villas form a series of picture-perfect tableaus that might have come straight from an engraving of a thermal spring in ancient Greece. Taksu offers everything from Thai massage to hot-stone massage to intensive month-long Shades of Yoga courses, but one of the spa’s main claims to fame is that it’s

the only such “The Balinese hundreds establishment believe that of primates in Bali certified the body is just a to practice temporary cage f eat, play and Esalen massage. or the soul,” Made rob at ubud’s According to had told me that Esalen’s website, morning. “Whatever monkey this sort of we have in our body forest massage is ‘the – whatever minerals temple interface and and nutrients – integration of are only borrowed form, energy, very fleetingly from structure, and the land. We have soul’ – in layman’s to leave the land terms it is distinguishable from in the best condition we can for other types of massage for long, future generations to benefit in the sweeping strokes that maintain a same way.” constant contact over much of the Made’s great-grandfather, body rather than concentrating I Made Kari, was the spiritual only on one region at a time. I leader who built the famous lay for a blissful hour-and-a-half Monkey Forest Temple, which letting my mind wander as I has been passed down to Ubud’s listened to water cascading into new generation as the town’s the pool outside. main tourist attraction. The

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trailblazer / Yoga Barn was the first yoga retreat to open in the town

temple complex itself would be an impressive enough sight, but more than 700 visitors come to Ubud every day specifically to see the hundreds of monkeys who “eat, play and rob” there. The current entrance fee is only $2 but Monkey Forest revenue has helped to finance non-profit community efforts that Made has spearheaded, from fighting Bali’s rampant garbage problem to establishing educational facilities to medical treatment for the poor.

Taking a shortcut between Monkey Forest Road and Hanoman Road (itself named after the Hindu monkey god), I spotted a wall-size mural of monkeys in various attitudes of mischief. This was Juice Jah, an old haunt of Made’s and one of the first places in Ubud to espouse organic dining.

I stopped in for a refreshing juice as an antidote to the harsh midday sun and, scouring the menu, a Monkey Forest Juice caught my eye. It was a mixture of passionfruit and banana, but I was out of luck: “Sorry, no passion here today,” said the waitress without a hint of irony. So I moved on to another haunt that Made had

recommended Dragon Bowl, a heaped It’s not and ordered dish of grated vegetables enough for a concoction and avocado on a bed of pineapple, of buckwheat and the food to coconut milk alfalfa sprouts. While I taste good, and mint. It ate I fantasized about is not enough It must offer tomorrow´s meaty in Ubud breakfast. a spIrItual these days “Go to Warung Pak boost too to offer fare Sanur near the market that simply before 11am,” Made tastes good: had told me with a everything glint in his eye. “Mr Sanur on the menu has what you need. at Down to Earth seemed to be He cooks whole ducks for eight geared towards some metabolic or hours overnight in a terracotta pot in spiritual boost. The juice I ordered a shallow ground-oven. By morning purported to be ‘nourishment for the meat is just falling off the bone.” my nervous system.’ I combined That sounded like my kind of it with Down to Earth’s famous wake-up call.

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B

clément colpe, executive chef at Radisson Blu hotel Dakar, reveals his go-to grazing spots in the Senegalese capital

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Breakfast I have always loved the Kayser shops all around the world.

They are always elegantly designed but not over the top. The Dakar shop is no exception, and it offers the perfect setting for breakfast in a typical Senegalese atmosphere. For Eric Kayser, the quest for good bread is about the combination of ancestral traditions and modern creativity to provide a miracle of flavours. Dozens of pastries, such as Danish, pies, breads and brioches, are cooked twice a day to guarantee a high-quality level and freshness. After having a large breakfast there, I like to stroll on the Boulevard de la République in the shade of the big trees close to the Presidential Palace.

PhoToS: jAnE hAhn

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Eric Kayser 3 Boulevard de la République Dakar Plateau, Tel: +221 338899099 maison-kayser.com

La Pointe des Almadies BP. 132 Dakar Senegal Tel: +221 338207703 lapointedesalmadies.sn

Lunch I have been living in Dakar for 13 years, and I never get enough of dining at La Pointe des Almadies.

It is a total change of scene compared to other restaurants in Dakar, where a heady aroma of grilled meats and incense fills the air. It is a magical place where the local population, expatriates and tourists flock from early in the morning until late into the night. A great number of local artists and sculptors are come in regularly, and there is a truly timeless atmosphere.

A Senegalese ambiance is guaranteed, and the menu allows all tastes and budgets to experience the restaurant.

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Dinner La Parrilla is a must for churrasco addicts, as its Argentine menu boasts the best meat in town. Each cut is cooked with wood coals, which allows the traditional taste of unique and subtle Argentine flavours to come to the fore. I am always amazed at how tender the meat is, especially when you consider the sophisticated taste. I also love this restaurant for its wide range of wines from the New World. You need a larger budget than in other Dakar restaurants, but the quality of food, wine and service makes all the difference.

La Parilla 6 Rue Emile Zola Dakar Plateau Tel: +221 338221500

mapped

Adams Morgan

Cardozo Kalorama Heights

Dupont Circle

Shaw

06

10

Logan Circle

West End

Mt Vernon Square

Downtown

Judiciary Square

Theodore Roosevelt Island

Wesley Heights Park

ac

m to Po

Lincoln Memorial

World War II Memorial

er Riv

Martin Luther King, Jr Memorial Tidal Basin

Washington, DC Hotels 1.The Jefferson 38.90589,-77.036819

Restaurants 5.Azur 38.895124,-77.022831

Bars 9.Jack Rose Dining Saloon 38.917398,-77.041493

Galleries 13.The Renwick Gallery 38.89911,-77.038879

2.Donovan House

6.Komi

10.ChurchKey

14.Corcoran Gallery of Art

38.905059,-77.031735 38.910097,-77.038274 38.908487,-77.031481 38.895525,-77.039921 Washington, DC, isn’t all lobbyists and presidential memorials. The city may be a political hub, but DC is also fit to bursting with can’t-miss cultural destinations.

Its thriving restaurant scene rivals that of New15.National York, while its beer 3.The Graham Georgetown 7.Rasika 11.Columbia Room Museum of Women in the 38.904731,-77.060048 38.894972,-77.021292 38.903679,-77.021732 and cocktail bars are consistently rated as some of the nation’s best.

Not to mention its legionArts of free museums: 38.900244,-77.028937 visitors can load up on hours of art 8.Bourbon and culture without paying a12.The cent.

This time, give the White House a miss – 4.The Hay-Adams Steak Gibson there’s38.900552,-77.036611 so much else in the capital to explore.

38.904617,-77.057308 38.917348,-77.031759 16.Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture

www.Hg2.com

Garden 38.888045,-77.022798

HOTELS

rESTAurAnTS BArS / cLuBS

GALLErIES

01. The Jefferson 02. Donovan House 03. The Graham Georgetown 04. The Hay-Adams

05. Azur 06. Komi 07. rasika 08. Bourbon Steak

13. The renwick Gallery 14. corcoran Gallery of Art 15. national Museum of Women in the Arts 16. Hirshhorn Museum & Sculpture Garden

09. Jack rose Dining Saloon 10. churchKey 11. The columbia room 12. The Gibson

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rESTauranTS

HOTELS 01 The Jefferson Situated in a lavish Beaux-Arts building dating back to 1923, The Jefferson is as much a destination for history buffs as it is for politicos.

The boutique hotel boasts a collection of antiques and artefacts, including Thomas Jefferson’s letters.

02 Donovan House This sleek boutique hotel attracts a fashionable set with inroom amenities like wrap-around leather beds and ceiling-mounted spiral showers. The summertime must is its rooftop pool and deck, which offer top-notch views and pristine accommodation.

05 Azur Newly opened Azur is a temple to seafood, and the three-storey restaurant is decked out in blue hues to match its marine theme.

Look for plates like octopus and surf-and-turf and an array of glorious raw options.

07 Rasika Don’t come here expecting greasy samosas. A pioneer of contemporary Indian cuisine, Rasika offers artful and inspired plates that highlight the delicacy and balance of the country’s food. Its exceptional wine cellar and capable sommeliers complete the experience.

06 Komi There’s decadent, and then there’s Komi. The dazzling spot, helmed by local celebrity chef Johnny Monis, serves a prix fixe menu (read: 16 to 20 courses) that changes every evening. Expect haute Grecian cuisine with a twist.

08 Bourbon Steak This plush Michael Mina restaurant doesn’t just serve steak: it serves sublime cuts of wagyu beef (complementary Japanese whisky on the side) and 50-day-aged bone-in ribeyes.

Its delectable sides and alternative mains are happily treated with the same reverence.

03 The Graham Georgetown Away from the bustle of downtown in vibrant, cobblestoned Georgetown, this new boutique spot provides access to the neighbourhood’s many shops and cafés. Rooms with private terraces and a rooftop lounge add to the relaxation.

04 The Hay-Adams One of the city’s most storied hotels, the Hay-Adams is set in the middle of downtown, adjacent to many of DC’s iconic monuments.

Since the 1920s, the luxury spot has welcomed guests, and even the odd president, into its private mansionlike environs.

01

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07

09

10

14

CApiTAl eSCApeS / Jack Rose Dining Saloon, ChurchKey and Corcoran Gallery of Art

bars / clubs 09 Jack Rose Dining Saloon Jack Rose attracts pilgrims from all over the country. From single malt scotch to the finest bourbons, it’s got a menu that’s hundreds of distillations deep.

Cocktails and wellexecuted snacks are also on offer, but it’s the whiskey that’s the main attraction.

10

ChurchKey No wonder ChurchKey is consistently rated as one of the country’s best craft beer bars.

Serving 550 beers from 30 countries, the bar has a brew for every palate. Meanwhile, downstairs eatery Birch & Barley serves up gastropub victuals.

GallErIEs 11 The Columbia Room This tiny boite has only a dozen-odd seats and no menu.

Instead, guests tell the barmen their favourite spirits and flavours for custom creations.

For true cocktail aficionados, The Columbia Room also offers a multi-course drinks tasting menu.

12

The Gibson Although the Gibson is a sleekly sexy speakeasy where the craft cocktail is king, it’s also comfortable enough to lounge in all night long. During the warmer months, its back patio area serves revellers custom-mixed, communal punch bowls.

13 The Renwick Gallery It’s officially part of the National Museum of American Art, but this stand-alone gallery, housed in an impressive Second Empire-style redbrick building, is the go-to for exciting temporary exhibitions of American crafts and decorative arts.

14 Corcoran Gallery of Art With exhibitions that run the gamut from 18th-century to contemporary works, the Corcoran is a destination for lovers of American art. Its impressive photographic collection, with a recent emphasis on photojournalism, is not one to miss.

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15 National Museum of Women in the Arts DC seemingly boasts a different gallery for every part of the art world. The National Museum of Women in the Arts is the only museum of its kind, and its exhibitions honour women’s work in visual, literary and performing arts.

16 Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden Inside this odd structure, said to resemble a spaceship, is one of the country’s best collections of modern and contemporary art.

The gallery’s as likely to show Ai Weiwei as Jackson Pollock, while the sculpture garden adds extra appeal.

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LOCAL KNOwLEDGE

Muscle Memory

words by poonam ganglani / images by catalin marin

A detroit nAtive hAs set up A new mArtiAl Arts centre in Al quoz. we sweAt it out with nick bismAck And tAlk fighting, fitness And psychology

I

n a corner of Al Waha street, off Sheikh Zayed Road, and past a sandy expanse of land, you will find a gym for combat sports.

This is Pride Fitness Center. A word of advice to all: come dressed for a fight – you will spare yourself that awkward moment when you enter a fighters’ gym dressed in a miniskirt and pink heels.

Initial hesitation, if any, is quickly dissipated when you meet Nick Bismack. Co-founder of Pride Fitness Center, Nick grew up in Detroit where he trained in kickboxing and mixed martial arts.

He became a professional fighter

during his junior year of university, then moved to Thailand where he met Australian Thai boxer John Pender. A few unexpected twists and turns later, fate brought the two of them to Dubai, where they started the gym in November of last year.

Speaking against the backdrop of the gym’s eight punching bags, fighter’s ring, four TRX straps and matted grappling area, I cannot help but notice that Nick does not quite fit the stereotype of the brash and beefy fighter, and seems refreshingly different from the head-bashing WWE hulks I’ve seen on TV. “At one time I

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was one of the leading undergrad researchers for my specific area of neuroscience. I specialised in health psychology, particularly psychosomatic plasticity,” he says.

In response to the blank stare that meets him, he provides the neuroscience-for-dummies explanation for the term: “That’s the extent to which you can take a psychological suggestion and produce a physiological manifestation. It’s similar to the placebo effect. Suppose I give you a pill that doesn’t actually do anything, but you believe it’s going to do something for you. What biologically or neurologically differs between us that allows it to have

When you are fighting for a living, you have to be completely obsessive about it and it ends up taking over every aspect of your life

an effect on someone like you, but maybe not on someone like me?”

It’s just the beginning of the conversation and I feel smarter already.

Despite a promising academic path in health psychology, Nick chose to pursue fighting as a career instead. He has had 27 fights with 24 victories to his name (one fight having ended in a draw), and remembers every single one of them – but also the feeling that accompanies a win.

“You never feel more alive.

You can feel every muscle fibre in your entire body and are very aware of everything that’s going on around you.” But there’s also the

bittersweet feeling of eight weeks of training – and years of training before that – all culminating in a six-minute fight that ends just as quickly as it had started. “It’s like this countdown and then the world ends… and then… now what do I do? I’ll go eat and then shower… and then what? You wake up the next day and it’s almost as if you’ve lost your purpose.”

But the hit-and-miss nature of professional fights – with six professional fights all getting cancelled with less than a week to go soon after Nick moved back from Thailand to the US – led him to diversify into training as well. “I thought

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that coaching would be my happy medium. By no means am I done fighting, but when you’re doing it for a living you have to be obsessive about it and it takes over your life. I could still do well as a professional fighter, but it would come at the expense of the gym and my marriage, and I probably wouldn’t be able to have any children.”

At just 26 years old, Nick has trained some of the biggest names in MMA and kickboxing, including UFC Hall of Famer Dan ‘The Beast’ Severn’s fight team. Nick now conducts 40 to 50 one-on-one sessions during the week and his background in health psychology helps bridge the gap between fighters at varying skill levels.

“High-level fighters are very motivated, because the incentives

fitness centres in general try to create an industry off of that ‘secret knowledge’, when in reality it’s a simple message

are very high; if they don’t put in a 100 per cent, somebody’s going to beat them up… on TV. Amateurs don’t have that same motivation, but if you can get them a little bit inspired, that’s when you get lasting changes.” He points out how this element of psychological motivation is absent from most fitness programmes. “A lot of gyms focus on the physical – you do enough push-ups, your chest gets stronger; you run long enough you lose weight. But if you’re thinking like a fighter, you’ll do 10 pushups, then you’ll do 11 and then you’ll do 12, just because you can,

you have a little bit left.”

Having been in Dubai for a while now, Nick has some interesting observations about the fitness industry here, both from an outsider’s and an insider’s perspective. He observes that Dubai is a society of quick-fixes, where people are constantly looking for easy solutions that often lack substance. “People don’t want to lift weights every day for two hours to get the body they want; they’d rather take human growth hormones or have an operation to help lose weight.” This, according to Nick, constitutes one of the

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major differences between the fitness scenarios in Dubai and Detroit, where gritty hard work is the foundation of any workout.

“I could have a successful, gym in Detroit based solely on good technique, hard work and putting out good fighters. Here, if I just focus on putting out good fighters I’ll go broke, because people don’t want to work that hard.”

Whether you’re from Dubai or Detroit, a professional athlete or a gym rookie, the fact is that keeping fit follows a straightforward formula that most of us already know.

“If I draw a picture of a fat per-

in reality it doesn’t matter if i am potting plants for eight hours a day in the sun, i am going to get into shape

son and a skinny person and ask how you go from A to B, I could guarantee that 10 out of 10 people could give me good answers – good exercise, clean food, giving up smoking and drinking. My problem is that fitness centres in general try to create an industry off of that ‘secret knowledge’, when in reality it’s a simple message.”

But Dubai’s high-octane lifestyle has seen the idea of ‘fitness’ broadening out in the past few years. The traditional huffing and puffing on the treadmill or lifting weights in the gym are no

longer the only means of getting in shape. In the El Dorado that is Dubai, people are willing to spend towards options they enjoy more.

“If you can support an industry, from zumba or pole fitness to skiing or even biking through the sand, by all means, do that – because it’s about finding something you enjoy and having a healthy lifestyle. It only turns gimmicky when it becomes a cult-like phenomenon.” The P90X or insanity workout, which boil down to push-ups, jump squats and sit-ups simply repackaged differently,

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made them the latest craze in fitness some time ago. “People sometimes mistake the means for the end.

“Working out is supposed to get you in shape, which in turn is supposed to make you feel better about yourself. In reality it doesn’t matter what you’re doing. If I pot plants like a pot-planting machine eight hours a day in the sun, I’ll probably get in decent shape. In the end, it’s about improving the quality of life.”

Pride Fitness Center, Curve Building, 4th Street, Al Quoz, close to Noor Islamic Bank Metro Station

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Photo: Mark harris

place

Azadi Tower / Tehran Built to commemorate the 2,500th anniversary of the Persian Empire in 1971, the azadi tower was designed by hossein amanat, who won a competition to design it. it is made of more than 8,000 blocks of white marble and was financed by a group of more than 500 iranian industrialists. it is 50 metres tall and looks out over azadi square, a huge public space in the centre of tehran.

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COLUMN

HOW TECHNOLOGY IS KILLING THE TRAVEL GUIDE Sales of guidebooks are down, and tech companies are launching evermore intelligent travel tools. Are the days of the trusty travel guide over?

Words by Joe Minihane / Graphic by Roui Francisco

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ouch down in any major The fact that Google has a city today and the first user-generated service, Map thing a clued-in traveller Maker, to ensure its data stays will reach for is their smartphone. up-to-date, means its cartography Whether it’s maps, translation tools is theoretically more reliable or recommendation apps such than a paper map. There are, of as TripAdvisor, travel is moving course, limitations. Costly data inexorably towards a digitised roaming has meant that, until future, threatening the very recently, using Maps abroad was existence of the guidebook. only a last resort. Now, however, The stats speak for themselves.

Google allows smartphone users Research by Stephen Mesquita, to download maps directly to their the man behind the annual World devices, meaning they don’t have to Travel Guides Market report, be connected to take advantage of shows sales of guidebooks have these services. More interestingly, been on the slide since 2005.

Google’s translation tools, available By the end of 2012, sales from in 65 languages, can also be used publishers including Lonely offline. “You can speak to the Planet, Rough Guides, Frommers translation app, it’ll talk back to and Dorling Kindersley had you; hold it up and the person can dropped by 40 per listen to it. You can cent compared show someone a Guide book with seven years text version. That previously. That all happens offline, sales have represents a slide as long as you been fallinG take some time to from $125 million in 2005 to just $78 download before fast since million last year. you go,” 2005, with Increasingly, users says Sieberg. the trend are turning to It’s not just smartphones and Google that is increasinG tablets to research looking to build on trips and access the basic guidebook information. And it’s experience. Nokia’s here that tech’s biggest own mapping offering, players are really HERE, is particularly changing the game. impressive, its driving navigation “I’ve been to close to 600 cities, function never requiring a data and everywhere I go I see that connection. Its recently launched people have their devices with LiveSight feature, which layers them,” says Daniel Sieberg, business details over a real time a Google executive who works on view of an area when holding the company’s maps and travel up the camera of one of its Lumia services. “How they use them may smartphones, is a great example differ a bit, but they have come to of how augmented reality is expect them in their life.” supplementing travel.

Google Maps, in particular, has “We want to make it much easier helped revolutionise how we get to get around major cities and around while we’re on the road. make you feel like a local wherever “People are relying on our maps you are in the world,” says Thom to get around, if it’s a new place Brenner, Nokia’s Vice President they’re going to, or even a place of Applications, Locations and they’ve been before,” says Sieberg.

Commerce. “It’s not much fun to

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dig through transit systems in a new city and figure out a route.

We take that away and make it really easy, so you can focus on the things you’d like to do.”

But while mapping and translation features are key tech advantages when travelling, the age of the blog and user review means that travellers who do rely on the likes of Zagat or TripAdvisor are having to act as editors themselves. For Sieberg, this isn’t so much of an issue. “It’s not necessarily getting reviews from strangers,” he says. “I think that process is vetted quite well, that the cream rises to the top.”

Lonely Planet is perhaps better placed than any travel publisher to adjust to this new world. Its website, apps and Thorn Tree forum all provide added authority in the tech space, and have done for the past half decade.

Its Chief Operating Officer, Daniel Houghton, certainly thinks the choice between tech and guidebook is a false one. “I think print and digital co-exist for a reason; it’s not one or the other,” he says.

“We strive to provide our content on the platform that people want to consume it on, be it a printed book or a screen.

There are places in the world where you would never want to pull out a smartphone and likewise our guidebooks have never run out of batteries.”

With sales of guides sliding, though, and smartphones becoming increasingly powerful, it’s undeniable that technology will continue to revolutionise travel.

But, as Houghton says, “I think it’s important to remember to put down your device and experience places without anything but your intuition and curiosity.

This is what makes travel such a wonderful experience.”

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Pop Recs LTD

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Words by Andy Dawson / Images by Paul Alexander Knox

awcett Street was once the hub of Sunderland’s centre.

A long arrow-straight street, it stretches all the way from the green expanses of Mowbray Park to the edge of the bridge over the River Wear, drawing a line from one end of the city to the other.

Way back when the street used to house Binns, the huge

department store, which held court on both sides of the road.

Around the corner was another signature department store, Joplings. Both are now long gone.

The centerpiece of Fawcett Street used to be the town hall, an iconic, imposing building – it was demolished in 1971, for reasons that still make little sense.

The street has seen a slow and steady decline over the past decade

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or so, with the nearby Bridges shopping centre becoming the new retail haven. Of late, banks, pubs and even Primark have either shut up shop or relocated from Fawcett Street, leaving it looking a sorry shadow of its former self.

But, back in May, something happened that has changed the face of the worn-out, beleaguered street. Local band Frankie & The Heartstrings hatched a plan to take

orabilia

g from photographs to band mem

s everythin eclectic / The store showcase

over what used to be Sunderland Council’s tourist information centre (another casualty of the economic downturn) and set about assembling a ‘pop-up’ record shop, which they named Pop Recs Ltd. To simply call it a record shop would be to do it a huge injustice.

Sure, there are racks filled with new and second hand vinyl, but Pop Recs has so many other functions. It also acts as a music

venue, an art exhibition space, a coffee shop and just somewhere for people to congregate.

The launch of the shop coincided with the release of the second Frankie & Heartstrings album, The Days Run Away and ties in with the group’s loyalty to their home region.

Whereas other bands would have packed up and headed for London at the first sniff of

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success, the Heartstrings’ heritage is an inextricable part of their DNA. Their record covers all feature images from shot by local photographer Paul Knox, with shots of striking mine workers from the 1984 pit strike and an unlicensed boxer from Darlington among their cover stars.

With no outside funding available to them, they opted to creatively deploy the small

promotional budget that was had been set aside for the new album, and when the Heartstrings took hold of the keys, the shop unit was a mere shell.

Three weeks later, and with a combination of hard work and tender loving care, Pop Recs Ltd was open to the public, attracting national press attention and creating more of a buzz around the music industry than the standard treadmill of interviews and halfpage press ads ever would.

Drummer Dave Harper says: “We got the idea from HMV closing shops all over the place and decided that as there were fewer conventional ways for people to pick up music any more that we’d decide to design our own record shop.

“It’s a very Sunderland thing, to do it yourself and everything in the shop is designed by us, and is done the way we would like it to be.”

The interior of the shop is cool and minimalist, the spacious room housing the makeshift stage in the far corner, under an imposing Pop

Recs Ltd banner. A square of sofas is positioned at the opposite end, by the main window, there for anyone to wander in off the street, and use.

Coffee is for sale, courtesy of Tim Burgess of The Charlatans – his own Tim Peaks blend, born out of a minor Twitter cult and sold for charity, with the proceeds going to the David Lynch Foundation. If you’re in the mood for something a bit stronger, there’s a bottle of Heartstrings golden ale, courtesy of the nearby Maxim brewery.

As well as playing an album launch show themselves, Frankie & the Heartstrings opened the shop with a fortnight of free shows and events featuring some of the UK’s top independent artists.

Traditionally, Sunderland doesn’t have much heritage as a gig venue, with nearby Newcastle seeing most of the action, and to be able to stage so many shows in the city and make them free has been quite a coup.

Performers such as Badly Drawn Boy, The Futureheads, Edwyn Collins and Badly Drawn Boy trekked north to play, and

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Dave Harper explains that the DIY, personalised nature of the project persuaded them to commit to it, saying, “when you’ve got a decent story and you’re doing a decent thing for a good reason, there’s always going to be sympathisers.

“They’re all people who realised that music at the moment is in a time of transition but realised that it’s a fight to stop it all from becoming sanitised and formulaic.”

The group have been especially keen to eliminate what they describe as the ‘bureaucratic assault course’ that artists usually have to tackle in order to get their work displayed.

Harper says, “people come in and ask ‘how can I get my artwork on the walls?’, and we make sure that it gets done.” He adds that one Heartstrings fan even travelled from Northampton, staying overnight in a nearby hotel, just to be able to spend time in the shop and savour the atmosphere.

Plans are afoot for Pop Recs Ltd to remain open indefinitely, with many other uses for the shop

Direct / The live gigs are just one aspect of the Pop Recs Ltd experience

under discussion. “We’re looking at workshops for kids,” says Dave.

“There’s already a singing group for babies and pre-school kids on here once a month and we’re keen to do more of that kind of thing.

“Also, there’s a lot of overseas students in Sunderland and we’ve learned that they tend to be a bit isolated. We want to do something that isn’t a standard pub or bar that they might be attracted to.”

Pop Recs Ltd has been a huge success and the band has got every right to be proud. The last word goes to drummer Dave, who is clearly exhausted by it all.

“We’ve done some stupid, hard things in the past and this is definitely the stupidest and the hardest.” Once you’ve visited Pop Recs, you’d have to agree that it’s been well worth it.

Pop Recs LTD, site of the former Tourist Office, Fawcett Street, Sunderland

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Main 96 chess

The man at the centre of the battle for chess domination

Consolations of the Forest A writer’s isolation in Siberia

(p84)

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science

hong Kong

Meet the man who believes that we can live forever

Intimate portraits of the city at work, rest and play

travel

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Consolations of the Forest The French travel writer Sylvain Tesson spent six months living in a remote cabin in Siberia; an attempt to experience the simple life

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I

stayed at Lake Baikal for the first time in 2003. Walking along the shore, I discovered cabins at regular intervals, inhabited by strangely happy recluses. Five years later I chanced to spend three days with a ranger in a tiny izba, a traditional Russian log cabin, on the eastern shore of the lake. At night we sipped vodka and played chess; during the day I helped him haul in his fishing nets. We hardly spoke, but we read a lot. That was when I promised myself I would live alone in a cabin for a few months before I turned 40.

So, two years ago, I left my home in Paris and spent six months in a little hut on the Lake’s western shore, very far from civilisation: it was six days’ walk to the nearest village, a day from the nearest neighbour, and there were no access roads.

I wanted to experiment with the simple life and claim back time. I wanted to feel life, and understand how it would look just contemplating the landscape, rather than harvesting kilometres on the road as I was used to when travelling. I have done many great adventures (crossing the Himalayas on foot in 1997, walking the route the gulag escapees took, from Yakutsk in Siberia to Calcutta, in 2003). But it became a disease I wanted to cure.

Lake Baikal is 395 miles long, 49 miles wide, 1,642m ( just over a mile) deep, and 25 million years old.

I arrived in February, when temperatures drop to -30C and the ice is over a metre thick. I was driven across it in a truck.

Constructed in the 1980s as a geologist’s hut, my cabin lay in a clearing of cedar forest in the northern sector of the Baikal-Lena nature reserve.

The owners, Volodya T, a 50-year-old forest ranger and his wife Ludmilla, had lived there for 15 years, but they wanted to move to Irkutsk. Other rangers were spaced about 19 miles apart through the reserve.

The cabin had its back to the mountains, at the foot of a slope 1,981m

high, surrounded by coniferous taiga and with views of the lake.

Snow had meringued the roof; the beams were the colour of gingerbread. It measured nine square metres and was heated by a noisy castiron stove. I could put up with the snoring of this particular companion. I had two windows: through one, looking east, I could see the snowy crests of Buryatia, 60 miles away. The winter forest was a silvery fur tossed onto the shoulders of the terrain.

I took a lot of equipment with me: axe and cleaver, fishing poles, kerosene lamp, ice drill, saw, snowshoes, tent, liquor glasses and vodka, cigars, provisions (pasta, rice, Tabasco sauce, coffee) and a library of almost 80 books.

You can’t predict the mood you will be in six months later, so I had planned my library carefully. It would be an easy mistake to choose only difficult reading, and think you would only need high-minded, philosophical, idealistic writing. Then after 10 days you want to kill your book and read a detective novel.

I chose a wide range of philosophy, poetry, literature, nature books. Michel Déon for melancholy, DH Lawrence for sensuality, some philosophers (Nietzsche, Schopenhauer, the Stoics), Sade and Casanova to stir my blood. Some books on life in the woods: Daniel Defoe for myth, Grey Owl for his radical stance, Aldo Leopold for ethics. In some respects the whole

The way to stay smart is to behave alone as you would if you were surrounded by people in the city 86

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experience was to put a library in the woods.

If I had not had books, I would have gone quickly mad. A book is a way to have someone with you. For the first time in my life I was able to read a whole book, beginning to end without stopping, sometimes reading for eight hours straight.

I cut my day into two parts. In the morning I did spiritual things: reading, writing, smoking, learning poetry, looking out of the window. In the afternoon I was more physical: digging a hole in the ice, fishing, running around my little kingdom in snowshoes, cutting firewood.

By restricting the panoply of actions, one goes deeper into each experience. The castaway enjoys absolute freedom – but within the limits of his island.

People who live in cabins can quickly fall into a state of depression, of cabin fever. Because you don’t see anyone, you can spend your life lying in bed drinking vodka and nobody will say anything to you. So it’s important to organise your time with activity, like the monks did, or Robinson Crusoe, who dressed for dinner every night though he was shipwrecked and alone. The way to stay smart is to behave when you are alone as you would surrounded by people in the city.

What was pleasant about this life was the repetition of acts. Each day goes by, a mirror of the one before, a rough draft of the one to come. You can find happiness in the possibility of things, but you can also find it in knowing exactly what will happen. It is peaceful, a very slow life, but you become rich.

I have a lot of vitality and need to do sports, so I went out and walked every day, climbed the hills around the cabin, and occasionally took a tent and hiked into the wilderness to bivouac in the woods.

And to go ice skating on this frozen lake was amazing.

CONTRASTS / Tesson reading outside his cabin and with his freshly caught dinner

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PIT STOP / Tesson at the shore of Lake Baikal with one of the dogs he befriended

I also relied on a few goods from civilisation for pleasure: including vodka and cigars. I liked the idea of living in a very huge remote place but with some real luxury goods.

Then you balance your life, moving between the two contrasting experiences, archaic and luxurious. After a day’s walking in the snow and fishing at -30C, it is wonderful to read Chinese poetry while smoking a Havana.

Though I lived alone, it was not real solitude. For real hermitude you are alone for years and years.

For me it was a relative thing.

I sometimes visited those who lived nearest, and I often had visitors – people I knew, sometimes strangers who happened to be crossing the lake. It wasn’t too painful for me as they would only stay for a couple of hours, and it would interrupt the loneliness. And anyway, I didn’t want to live a very extreme, challenging, difficult life. It was just an experience.

Through Sergei and Natasha, a couple who ran the weather station

After a day’s walking in the snow it is wonderful to read Chinese poetry while smoking a Havana 31 miles from the cabin, I met Sasha and Yura, two Siberian fishermen.

They were archetypal Russians, very strong, very big, speaking loudly, drinking a lot, very generous people with a lot of energy, who hadn’t cut their link with the wilderness. If you put those people in the city they would be like an elephant.

These people have a rustic life, an intense and important life. They enjoy it, though they are perfectly aware that it has negative and positive aspects. Life is physically difficult. It is hard to live in a forest

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in the cold. When you are 50 you look 70 years old. But for sure they would not change it for a life in the city. They know that they would lose their freedom there. Better to live joyfully in a wilderness clearing than languish in a city.

Milan Kundera said because Russia didn’t have an elite in its history, and no Renaissance, Russians are still in a state of irrationality and magical thinking, like the Middle Ages. I found that with these kind of people. They don’t say superficial things, only wise things. They are not blah-blah-blah people, like me. It was good not to have to keep a conversation going. Why is life with others so hard? Because you always have to find something to say. I thought of those days of walking around Paris nervously tossing off “Just-fine-thank-yous” and “Let’s-get-together-soons” to people I didn’t really know, who babbled the same things to me, as if in a panic.

It’s incredible how much mankind hogs its own attention. The presence

of others makes the world fade out.

Solitude is the reconquest of the enjoyment of things. The only way to be free is to be alone. You still have laws, of nature, your own discipline, but the beginning of coercion, compromise, imprisonment begins with just one other person.

Boredom didn’t frighten me. There are worse pangs: the sorrow of not sharing with a loved one the beauty of lived moments. Solitude: what others miss out on by not being with the person who experiences it.

I was warned before I left Paris that boredom would be my deadly enemy. I’d die of it! I’d listened politely. People who said such things assumed they themselves were superb entertainment. “Reduced to myself alone, I feed myself, it is true, on my own substance, but it is not exhausted,” writes Jean-Jacques Rousseau in the Reveries of a Solitary Walker.

In April I was given two dogs, Aika and Bek, who helped combat loneliness, and would bark if a bear came near, from the end of May when they came out of hibernation.

When the ice broke on 22 May, it happened suddenly: there was a storm and the ice shattered. I have never seen such power. It was like the elements were making war. In the west we talk about the beginning of spring, of entering spring. In Siberia there was no entering, no transition; it was rapid. In 10 minutes winter was defeated.

That month I sat at my table watching the ice die. Water seeped in everywhere, mottling the surface with black blotches. Then ducks who had been living it up down south landed in the open areas, eager for love and fresh water. Eagles soared, geese patrolled in gangs, gulls did nosedives, butterflies, amazed at being alive, staggered through the air.

Immersion in the Taiga was satisfying because I felt a belonging to nature. Unlike when you are crossing mountains, when you feel like a stranger on the edge, staying

PIT STOP / Tesson jumps over a crack in the ice on a frozen Lake Baikal

When the ice broke in May, it happened suddenly: there was a storm and the ice shattered. I have never seen such power

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in one place makes you feel part of the forest, just like the bear, or a fish, or a bird.

The month of June, when the animals need their vigour for love, presents a problem in the cycle of life: how to bridge the gap between the awakening of May and the abundance of July? Nature has come up with… flies. By July, the air was loaded with bugs.

On 28 July I bade farewell to the lake. I went there not knowing whether I’d find the strength to stay; I left knowing I would return.

I often lay in my hammock in the broiling sun. In my kayak I paddled onto the lake, as slick as oil, the reflection so pure you could misread which half of the mirror image was which. On Bastille Day,

I think more people will need to do what I did, to cut themselves off and escape from modern life

HOME / The cabin that Tesson lived in for six months in Siberia

two friends were visiting from France, and we raised a flag on the beach and downed three vodka eye-openers.

A retreat is a revolt. In the outposts of Baikal the authority of Moscow holds hardly any sway. The urban liberal, leftist, revolutionary and upper-middle-class citizens all pay money for bread, gas and taxes.

The hermit asks nothing from the state and gives nothing to the state.

He disappears into the woods and thrives there. His retreat constitutes a loss of income for the government.

Becoming a loss of income should be

the objective of true revolutionaries.

I couldn’t live permanently in the cabin. But I have been back to the taiga a couple of times, and I know I will experience again an act of hermitism, maybe for longer.

I discovered the Algerian desert a few years ago, and I think the desert is a good place to do this: taiga without the trees.

I am still wandering, but I am not so obsessed with travelling. My experience made me understand that the best way to stop feeling that time is fleeing is just to sit somewhere for a while. I discov-

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ered that living within silence is rejuvenating. That the parade of hours is busier than the ploughing-through of miles. That the eye never tires of splendour.

I’m sure more people today will want to do what I did. I think an increasing number will need, at some time, to cut themselves off and escape modern life, then come back later to a more simple life. What I did was a radical acceleration of that. But the return to the forest, you can do it in your own home.

Time is the most precious treasure we have. We all have 24 hours a day, but we are all destroying this treasure, especially with electronics.

Always being contactable is the beginning of your loss of freedom. It is what we ask of prisoners ; it’s like an electronic tag. There is always the intrusion of people into your time and it is horrible.

The first act is to throw out your mobile phone. Try to spend three hours in the same action, in the same consultation of time – writing, reading, doing some action.

Russians know that the taiga is there if things go wrong. It’s good to know that out there, in a forest in the world, there is a cabin where something is possible, something close to the sheer happiness of being alive. So, refuseniks of every country, take to the woods! Consolation awaits you there.

WANDERING / Tesson and his two dogs, Aika and Bek, walking past a near-frozen stream

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Consolations of the Forest is published by Allen Lane

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sports

a game of thrones Magnus Carlsen personfies the new face of chess: bold, charismatic and successful.

But not everyone is optimistic about the future of the game, as Noah Davis finds out

With the release this month of Zack Snyder’s Man Of Steel, Thomas Frank looks at the behind-the-scenes problems that made the first Superman movie such a gamble 97

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M

agnus Carlsen doesn’t want to be here, sitting in a room at the Hyatt Regency Chennai. He didn’t choose the location, the southeastern Indian city of nearly five million on the Bay of Bengal. The 22-year-old disagreed with the decision to host the Chess World Championship in this space, protesting it in a post on his Facebook page. The location, after all, is the hometown of his opponent, 43-year-old five-time world champion Viswanathan Anand.

But the younger man, who chess master Garry Kasparov called “as charismatic and independent as he is talented” in a short piece celebrating his inclusion in the Time 100 list of the world’s most influential people, is dealing with the difficulties. He and Anand will play 12 matches between November 6th and November 26th, 2013, with the winner taking the crown. The championship, overseen by the World Chess

Federation (FIDE), has the potential to be the biggest event since the legendary, Cold War-fuelled Match of the Century between American Bobby Fischer and Russian Boris Spassky or Kasparov’s battle with IBM supercomputer Deep Blue in 1996. The sport of kings is on the rise, and Carlsen finds himself in a unique position.

The Norwegian is unlike anyone the chess world has seen. He prepared for the match against Anand by studying his opponent’s strengths and weaknesses, but also by lifting weights, doing cardiovascular exercises, and playing basketball. He has a pinched face, a modelling campaign with G-Star Raw, an appearance in the pages of Cosmopolitan UK as one of the sexiest men of 2013, and a full-time manager responsible for overseeing commercial endorsements that earned him more than $1 million in 2012. And, oh yes, at 19 he became the youngest ever world No 1 and

Golden aGe / Garry Kasparov at the height of his powers during a match in 1995

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boasts the highest Elo ranking of all-time.

Carlsen is the closest thing chess has had to a mainstream star for decades, and his stature is only continuing to grow. “He does have a chance to break through because of his good looks, his young age, because he’s a prodigy. He’s humble.

These aren’t qualities we expect out of the world’s best. We usually expect an ageing Soviet hermetic grandmaster who doesn’t have any social skills. Carlsen is not that,” chess journalist Mike Klein says.

But look beyond the affable Norwegian who held his own during interviews with comedians Stephen Colbert and Rainn Wilson of The Office (US) fame, and you find a sport gaining ground across the globe. The increased ubiquity of the internet has helped fuel the growth, as has the game’s old world appeal.

For many, the ability to play chess well is a sign of advanced intelligence. School systems around the

planet are launching programmes to teach children to play. Growing pains, however, are sneaking into the game. Cheating affects tournaments on all levels and some observers, including Carlsen himself, worry the ranking system is skewed.

This is chess in the 21st century.

While Carlsen might not approve of the choice of Chennai for the world championship, the location isn’t far from northern India, where chess has its origins. In the sixth century, people played a game called chaturañga, which featured pieces that would evolve into the pawn, the knight, the bishop and the rook. Precursors to chess came to Western Europe in the ninth century and to the Far East along the Silk Road. By the 15th century, the pastime resembled something approaching its modern form. Italian Gioacchino Greco and France’s François-André Danican Philidor were two early masters, with the latter man authoring

L’Analyse des échecs (The Analysis of Chess) in the 18th century.

London hosted the first international tournament in 1851, which featured 16 of the strongest players in Europe. German school-

When nations are in good shape politically and economically, they tend to produce good chess champions teacher Adolf Anderssen won, although some of the best minds missed the event for a variety of reasons. Vincent Grimm and Johann Löwenthal, for example, couldn’t attend due to repercussions they

suffered after participating in the Hungarian Revolution three years earlier.

Chess continued to gain popularity throughout the 19th and early 20th centuries, with German speakers dominating the highest levels of the game. A group founded FIDE in 1924, and the organisation currently boasts 158 member federations, making it one of the largest sporting bodies in the world. Members of the Soviet Union took control of the sport in the post-Second World War era with a brief interruption from the narcissistic, eccentric American Bobby Fischer. The brilliant Kasparov reigned from the mid-1980s to the late 1990s with a variety of players laying claim to the world No 1 title following his departure from the game. Anand has been among the most successful, winning the World Chmapionship in 2000, 2007, 2008, 2010, and 2012. Carlsen won the Candidates

Street moveS / Chess is a truly international game. A man in Havana ponders his next move

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Tournament in 2012 and earned the chance to challenge Anand.

The pair are unusual for a simple reason: They come from non-traditional chess powerhouses. But perhaps there’s a simple reason for their success. “It is right to say that when nations are in good shape, they tend to throw up good chess players,” British chess writer Simon Terrington observed. As the chess world already knows, India and Norway are on the rise in both a geopolitical and an economic sense.

In the past, chess had obvious limits, as the two players needed to be in the same physical space and compete over the same board. Another option was to mail moves back and forth, but that took time. The ubiquity of the internet changed everything. “Imagine 20 years ago, people were still playing correspondence chess, sending their moves by mail. Games could take months or sometimes years to finish,” Rashad Babaev, who attained the rank of International Grandmaster in 2006, says. “Now with the internet you can play live chess across the world from your computer or even your smartphone.”

Klein agrees. Not only does the internet make finding a chess match easier, it also dramatically increases a player’s options. “You can find oneminute games, five-minute games, one hour games, and anything else you want,” he says. “People can play anytime they want, as opposed to the old model, which was open to Chess Life, find a tournament, and go. Each game lasted three, four, or even five hours.”

Traditional over-the-board players continue to move online. Stuart Chagrin, president of New York City’s famous Marshall Chess Club that hosted the legendary encounter between a 13-year-old Fischer and Donald Byrne, sees it happening every day.

“I almost think I’m the only one who doesn’t play on the internet.

Everybody does it,” he says. “It’s a different type of competition. It’s

the master / Five-time world champion Viswanathan Anand

convenient. You can do whatever type of time controls you want. Your rating isn’t that critical. You can do it in your home.”

That said, face-to-face meetings will never die out completely. They are too ingrained and too important.

“Our members, however, really like to play tournaments over the board.

The real chess hierarchy competitions are played over the board. If someone serious wants to play other people who are serious and disciplined, they sit at a board,” Chagrin continues. “You’re not going to get a title playing on the internet.”

Major tournaments and matches, from Carlsen versus Anand on down, will continue to be in-person affairs, at least for the next decade or three.

(It’s similar to online poker versus the World Series of Poker.) But the internet has increasing value for the chess masses, especially when it comes to training the next generation of superstars. “Amateurs watching grandmasters can understand how weak they are playing,” Alexandra Kosteniuk, a 29-year-old Russian-born player and former Women’s World Champion, says.

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And the benefits of the internet as a teaching tool are immense. “Most of the players take online lessons from strong grandmasters,” Babaev adds. “I used to do the same before I became a grandmaster. It is easy to get information. You can research

Before the internet, games played through the mail could take months or even years to finish.

That has changed and download the best books and access millions of grandmaster games.”

In chess, like in almost any other discipline, knowledge is power. And there’s nearly unlimited knowledge on the internet.

The recent rise of chess is not only an internet phenomenon. A growing importance in school systems plays

a major role as well. “I think chess has become a lot more accepted as a pedagogically sound educational teaching method. When I was growing up, learning chess was strictly extracurricular. Chess is now much more inoculated into the curriculum.

Kids take it home and play with their parents or even teach their parents the game,” Klein says.

The evidence, especially in United States, is everywhere. A record 5,000 students competed at a scholastic event in Nashville, Tennessee, and Chagrin says membership at the Marshall has tripled in the past decade, much of the growth fuelled by the rising level of youth players. A single programme in New York City has 14,000 kids participating and another in Miami has more than 6,000. A film called Brooklyn Castle depicted the surprising success of the team at New York’s Intermediate School 318 and demonstrated the positive impact the sport can have on an educational institution.

At the same time, chess is appealing because it requires very little in terms of financial investment. “Budget cuts are having an impact on after-school programmes. Chess is a very low-cost programme that has very measurable benefits,” Robert McLellan, director of marketing at US Chess Federation and executive producer of Brooklyn Castle, says. “While you’re learning chess, you are acquiring executive function and cognitive thinking skills.”

And finally, chess – with its rich history and assumed level of intellectual prowess – can help a school gain respect on an academic level.

“Having a strong chess team is a symbol for the school and is a way of showing their intellectual level in comparison to their peers,” Babaev, who teaches children at Chess NYC, says.

The sport is growing on the college and university level as well.

Susan Polgar, one of the Polgar sisters, the most famous family of wo-

Technology has enabled a new generation of players to cheat, throwing the sport into disarray men in international chess, shocked the chess establishment when she jumped from Texas Tech University, where she led the team to the 2011 national championship, to take a position as the coach of Missouri’s Webster University. Her arrival instantly transformed the team into a powerhouse that won the 2013 President’s Cup, the collegiate national championship.

Countries besides the United States are working to bring chess to the young masses as well. Susan’s sister, Judit – the best female chess player in history – developed a curriculum that will be taught in every Hungarian school. Anand’s home state in India plans to debut a pilot programme targeted at more than 10 million children. If it is successful, and there’s no reason to think it won’t be, the world’s second-most populous country could have 100 million additional players.

In a world where youth sports grow ever more serious and competitive, oftentimes to the detriment of personal development, chess remains relatively innocent. Children learn life lessons while having a good time.

“You have to be taught patience, discipline and the control of your emotions. There is nobody else.

You win or you lose on your own merit,” McLellan says.

Of course, with the good comes the bad. Technology has brought plenty of benefits to the sport, but it has also enabled cheaters. Tiny hand-held computers or smartphone

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apps can analyse a board and tell a player the best move. Cheating isn’t rampant, but it happens. And when it does, it’s a big deal. At a tournament in Ireland, Grandmaster Gabriel Mirza pulled his 16-year-old opponent from a bathroom stall and accused him of consulting a chess programme on his phone. Word of the incident spread across the globe and marred the integrity of the game.

“There has always been cheating in chess. He who wants to cheat will find a way. But with the internet and so many strong chess engines, it has become very easy,” Babaev says, although he argues it is less frequent than media coverage might lead one to believe. “I will say it is very rare at the highest levels, because those players greatly value their reputations. In chess it is fairly easy to catch cheaters. People grow very suspicious when a player has a several games in a row with unexpected moves and long calculations. Eventually they are discovered and disqualified from the tournaments for a long period of time.”

Chagrin agrees. It has never been a problem at the Marshall Club, although one member was accused of cheating elsewhere and the club’s management asked him not to play in Chelsea until the matter was resolved. “It’s really easy to have some sort of small device with openings in it, tricks in it, or some computer that tells you what to do. I’m sure people do it, but I’ve never seen it,” he says.

“It’s not prevalent. I think you’d get caught. You’d have to be really sophisticated. It’s more trouble than it’s worth.”

FIDE is taking steps to deal with cheating, establishing the Anti-Cheating Committee in May 2013. The 10-man group – they are all men – includes Russian Grandmaster Konstantin Landa, an outspoken advocate for reforming the game. They will put forth their recommendations at an upcoming meeting in Tromso. Norway.

Front and centre / Carlsen at a fashion event beside the actress Mena Suvari

Grandmasters will grow younger and younger and champions will come from an increasing number of countries If nothing else, it’s a start. “You can always do more. You can always improve. But it’s very important that we are talking about the problem and trying to fix it,” Kosteniuk says.

In 2012, Mike Klein reported on the Chess Olympiad in Turkey. Each country sent its five best players, and Armenia took home the title. “They played the Armenian

national anthem at the awards ceremony in Istanbul. That was probably one of the very few times that it has been played in Turkey in the past hundred years,” he says, recalling the touching moment that drew two countries with a terrible history a bit closer.

Chess won’t save the planet.

Carlsen and Anand won’t inspire world peace when they sit across from each other in November and play for the championship. But it certainly won’t hurt, either. The professorial Anand is a symbol of the game’s rich past. His cosmopolitan opponent – FIDE promised to import two Norwegian chefs to Chennai although Carlsen says he enjoys Indian food just fine – offers a glimpse into the future. There will be more like him as grandmasters grow younger and younger and come from an ever-increasing number of

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countries. He might not beat Anand but his time is coming. And most people who are involved with the game understand the importance of this moment in time.

“We have to be thankful that we have players such as Magnus Carlsen.

He helps get the sport more known.

It reminds me of the days when Fischer was playing. The Soviets dominated the sport, but Fischer got the western world interested.

Carlsen comes from Norway, which is not a traditional chess power. He is No 1 in the world and the Western world is getting more interested in chess because of him,” Kosteniuk says. Checkmate.

Noah Davis is a writer living in Brooklyn, New York

SCIENCE

CAN THI THIS S MAN MAKE YOU LIVE FOREVER?

Aubrey de Grey believes that the first human to live to 1,000 years of age could be alive today. Ian Taylor investigates the evidence that we may soon be able to live longer than we ever thought possible

I

n a glass dish in a laboratory in San Francisco there lives a super race. These beings live six times as long as regular members of their species, and remain youthful and healthy long after their cousins wither and die.

They’re called roundworms. Each one is a squiggle no longer than 1mm, yet it’s possible that these tiny, magnificent creatures hold secrets that could help you or I live longer than we ever dreamed possible.

The mutant superworms are bred in the lab of biologist Cynthia Kenyon. Twenty years ago, she disabled a gene called daf-2 in a sample of worms and unexpectedly doubled their lifespan. Since then, she has experimented with different genetic variants, switching off insulin receptors, subtly altering their respiratory system or improving the worms’ abilities to repair their own cells. Now, not only are the worms’ lifespans increased sixfold, their youth also stretches on for what was once considered an impossibly long time. “That’s the cool thing,” Kenyon says. “These long-lived mutants are resistant to a lot of the diseases of ageing. Cancer – they just don’t get it. Their hearts have less atherosclerosis. If they do get neurological diseases, they’re not as severe.”

Building on her work, other researchers have since produced similar results in species like mice and fruit flies. Kenyon’s next target is you and me. Her lab is investig-

ating the possibility that human cells could display the same properties as those of her roundworms.

It may be early days, but she’s optimistic. “It’s hard to make predictions, but I don’t see any intrinsic reason why people couldn’t live a lot longer than they do,” she says.

“I would say it’s unlikely that we happened to bump into the longest possible life extension this early in the research.”

The worms prove something extraordinary. They are the living, wriggling proof that the ageing process is not set in stone (or genetics), but is a malleable process that we are able to hack and tinker with. That’s a very tantalising idea, and one that many scientists today are taking seriously. If we can stop ageing in its tracks, or at least throw the brakes on, not only do we get the gift of a few more years, but more people will reach old age in better health and ease the suffering caused by age-related illnesses.

Although even that is not enough for all researchers. Some believe it will one day be possible not just to stop the ageing process, but to reverse it. If the most optimistic – or sensationalistic – predictions about cell therapies and regenerative medicine pan out, the possibilities are quite literally limitless. You could live forever.

But let’s not get ahead of ourselves. Human beings are already living longer than ever before. Life expectancy has been on the march since the

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mid-1800s, creeping up by around three months per year in developed nations. In Japan, the life expectancy is 82.6 years, the highest of any country in the world. “That’s already a very long time,” Kenyon says. “In molecular terms, 80 years is forever.”

Even so, in 2009, a study in the leading medical journal, The Lancet, predicted that half of all babies born in the developed world today will live to see their 100th birthday.

Increases in life expectancy were once driven by more children surviving into adulthood. Today, it’s that more old people survive for longer. The elderly may be getting older, but in some ways they’re also getting younger. Evidence is growing that the frailties associated with old age are being delayed. The Lancet study even suggested that there were now four ages of man: childhood, adulthood, young old age and old old age. Sixty is the new 40.

Of course, some people already see out a century quite comfortably. The UN estimated in 2012 that there are more than 300,000 centenarians alive in the world, with about a third of those living in the US or Japan. They are a rare breed.

Even in the US, which has more citizens in the hundred club than any other country, has only 1.73 people per 10,000 live that long.

Dr Tom Perls studies them. He’s the director of the New England Centenarian Study at Boston University, the largest of its kind in the world.

He is trying to find out why some

THE JAPANESE LIVE LONGER THAN ANY OTHER GROUP, WITH A LIFE EXPECTANCY OF 82.6 YEARS

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people live 20 or 30 years longer than average. “In general, people have the blueprint to get them to their late 80s, kind of like a car designed to go 130,000 miles,” Dr Perls says. “If you treat the car well, you may be able to go a little further. If you treat it poorly, obviously it’s not going to go as far.”

He reels off a list of strategies that everyone should adopt to keep the engine ticking. Some you know: exercise for 30 minutes a day, quit tobacco and eat a diet that maintains a healthy weight. Other strat-egies are more surprising. Having an optimistic attitude correlates with long life, and by staying open to new experiences – like learning languages or playing musical instruments – you can protect against memory loss or even lower your risk of neurodegenerative conditions like Alzheimer’s disease.

As proof that lifestyle factors are at least as important as any gene variation found in microscopic worms, Dr Perls points to the Seventh Day Adventists. A group of these protestant Christians were studied in California by the US National Institutes of Health.

The study found that, on average, the Adventists live 4–10 years longer than other Californians. “These are a very mixed group of people in terms of ethnicity and geography, yet they have the highest average life expectancy I know of,” Dr Perls says. “The reason probably is the health-related behaviours that the religion asks people to participate in. They don’t smoke, they don’t drink, they regularly exercise, they’re vegetarian and they partake a lot of time in religion and family, which helps them manage their stress levels.”

By following these strategies, however, Dr Perls doesn’t promise that you’ll live to 100. Instead, he believes these measures give you the best possible chance of reaching your ‘genetic potential.’ If there’s one thing he’s learned from studying centen-

arians and super-centenarians (those who live to 110 or older), it’s that many of them have a healthy disregard for good living.

Take Jeanne Calment, the French woman who holds the record for the longest confirmed lifespan. She died in 1997 at the age of 122 – that’s 40 years older than the average life expectancy in Japan. The secrets of the Japanese: a low-calorie diet and a cultural predilection for hygiene.

But here’s the thing: Jeanne Calment smoked for over 100 years. “Many super-centenarians smoke well into late adulthood,” Dr Perls says. “Some have bad diets. Many are overweight.

And still they’re able to get to these extreme old ages.”

To live beyond your late 80s, Perls says, there’s a greater reliance on having protective genes.

You have to win the genetic lottery.

“It’s probably not just one or two genes but many. Getting to the age of 110 – which is incredibly rare, about one per five million in the population – probably entails a rare combination of hundreds of genetic variants, each with moderate effects.

Together, these variants slow down your rate of ageing and also lower your risk of certain age-related diseases.” What that means is, even if more people are likely to live to 100 this century, the genetic odds are still heavily stacked against us making a significant ‘natural’ extension to the old mortal coil.

Dr Perls’ research is still hugely valuable, of course. By studying the genetics of centenarians, it’s likely that scientists will discover ways to reduce the risk of illnesses like Alzheimer’s disease, cardiovascular disease, stroke, diabetes and certain cancers. “However,” Dr Perls says, “I think it’s very unlikely, given how complex the overall ageing process is, and how difficult it would be to interfere with those mechanisms, that we will come up with drugs that will increase lifespan.”

That’s certainly a setback, but

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don’t cancel plans for your 200th birthday party just yet. The 21st century is predicted to be dominated by the biological sciences.

Genomics and the convergence of computer science with biology have led some researchers to speculate that advances in biomedical technology will become exponential in the coming decades. If that’s true, all bets are off. It becomes very difficult to accurately predict what new technologies may be around the corner.

And your optimism will stir again when you read about the latest advances in regenerative medicine.

Earlier this year, for example, scientists at the Massachusetts General Hospital announced that artificial kidneys will be ready for human transplant within five years, after scientists there bioengineered rat kidneys made from the cells of a living donor. The same technology is used to build synthetic windpipes. Fully functioning bladders have also been ‘grown’ in the lab, as have some heart cells, and 3D printing technology has produced artificial blood vessels and bone tissue. It’s difficult not to imagine an organ shop of the future, where you will be able to pick up a replacement body part for one that’s been ravaged by tumours, overindulgence or time.

If you want to give your optimism about ageing a serious boost in the arm, however, then speak to Aubrey de Grey. He is probably the most audacious and controversial figure in the world of ageing research. A former computer scientist, he is on record as saying that the first human being to live to 1,000 could be alive today – and even that he or she could already be 50 or 60 years old. It’s all just a matter of funding.

De Grey is chief science officer at the SENS Research Foundation in California, which he co-founded in 2009. There his work centres around Strategies for Engineered

Negligible Senescence (SENS), the framework he uses to define therapies and technologies we’ll need if we’re all going to live long enough to cram 1,000 candles on our birthday cake. “Ageing is the lifelong accumulation of various types of molecular and cellular damage,” he says. “With SENS, we seek not to slow this accumulation down, but to actually reverse it by repairing the damage.”

Here’s a simplistic telling of how it might work. A new stem cell therapy emerges to repair microscopic damage to your tissues, adding a few years to your life. Because of this, you live long enough to take advantage of the next breakthrough, which in turn delivers you in good health to the one after that.

De Grey believes there’s a 50 per cent chance, subject to funding, that in 20 to 25 years, researchers will reach the point where we’re improving therapies fast enough to

stay one step ahead of the problem.

“It could be 100 years, of course,” he cautions. “With any pioneering technology, we never know until we’ve done it, but that’s my best guess.”

De Grey corrects you if you describe this as a “cure for ageing”.

“We can never have a one-time treatment that makes someone non-ageing: the repair must be repeated periodically,” he says. It sounds like cellular Botox. You go back in for a top-up as and when you feel you need it, and come out as youthful as the genetically modified worms in Cynthia Kenyon’s lab. De Grey says longevity or immortality are not his motivations, just fortunate side-effects in a bid to improve health.

His target is “the suffering that ageing causes. The sheer magnitude of the collective loss of quality of life that results from age-related illhealth vastly outstrips that for any other cause.”

Even so, he remains a hugely controversial character. He operates largely outside of the scientific mainstream, and his critics claim that he deals in science fiction, that he distorts the impossible and makes it sound achievable. We can’t reverse ageing, they say, and to claim that we can diverts attention and research money away from more pressing needs.

Professor Tom Kirkwood, Director of the Institute of Ageing and Health at Newcastle University in the northeast of England, is careful not to name any names (he and de Grey have had academic run-ins before). He says, “The scenarios painted by those on the margins of science are simply not backed up by the research. It’s very easy to argue that science is capable of making wonderful breakthroughs.

I’m an optimistic scientist myself.

But most of the claims are made from a standpoint that is so far removed

THE ROUNDWORM HAS SEEN ITS LIFESPAN INCREASED SIX-FOLD AFTER A SERIES OF TWEAKS 110

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WHAT WOULD YOU DO WITH 150 OR EVEN 1,000 YEARS? YOU COULD HAVE FIVE CAREERS, LIVE ON EVERY CONTINENT AND CONSTANTLY REINVENT YOURSELF. THE QUESTION IS, WOULD YOU WANT TO? from the current state of play that they have no credence.”

De Grey’s response is to ask his critics for specifics about where he has exaggerated the potential of regenerative medicine. “It works every time,” he says. “It always turns out they haven’t read my book.”

Even with the muscle of the scientific mainstream against him, there’s at least a little part of you that wants de Grey to be right.

Maybe it’s just survival instinct – ask most 80-year-olds whether they’d like to die tomorrow, and their answers would probably be the same as most 18-year-olds. What de Grey is talking about is prising open the stranglehold that death has over life, to chip away at the morbid, frightening inevitability of it all.

What would you do with 150 or even 1,000 years? Life could be a long series of reinventions. You

could have five careers, live on every continent and teach your greatgreat-great-grandchildren how to dance Gangnam style. But would you really want to? It’s understandable that people with opportunities, good health and financial security would. Imagine what Einstein, Gandhi or Steve Jobs might have accomplished had they lived to 150.

On the other hand, not everyone is Steve Jobs. What about the people who struggle through life in poverty or in ill-health? Even for the amateur golfer, the answer isn’t easy. Is it an opportunity to take up a new game? Is it a glorious extra decade to spend on the fairway? Or is it just a very long time to be frustrated by your handicap?

In a future where the slow decay of time has been thwarted and illnesses like cancer no longer pose a threat, the thing that gets you in

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the end... could it be boredom? “I think most people get bored as it is,” says bioethicist Nigel Cameron, President of the Center for Policy on Emerging Technologies, who has considered the implications of dramatic life extension on the human psyche. “It is surprising how people cope with being bored, however. One reason I think it’s pointless arguing against life extension is that people are always going to want another year. Humans are extraordinarily adaptable. If you have an incremental development, where generations or individuals live just a little bit longer, then I think individuals will find a nice way of occupying themselves.”

Aside from debilitating ennui, there are already major fears predicted about the trends for ageing populations. Last year, the UN warned that the world is ill-pre-

pared for a huge demographic shift that will see the number of people of the age of 60 swell to two billion by 2050. While it’s a cause for celebration that more people are living longer, it will also put a significant strain on pensions and healthcare systems around the world. Plus, there are fears about food production, energy security and global warming. Cold as it sounds, against that sort of backdrop, it’s tempting to think that having many millions of people living longer and longer would just be impractical.

De Grey doesn’t think so, claiming this is a misunderstood area.

“The challenges predicted are, as we all know, the result of the dependence of the elderly on those in the workforce. If the elderly were still functioning just as well as young adults, they would be contributing wealth to society, not consuming it. It’s a solution to the population ageing crisis, not an exacerbation of it.”

It should not be a question of age but of capacity, he says. And he stands as firm in his belief that emerging technologies can deliver that capacity as his opponents are in saying they can’t (or at least not yet).

“There’s no reason not to be positive,” Kirkwood says. “But I think equally, one should be cautious about making any claims about what might be delivered until we know more.”

It leaves us wanting a quantum leap in ageing research, just like Kenyon discovered two decades ago with her roundworms. “When I started looking for long-lived mutants, people didn’t think it would be possible to find them. Everyone was surprised that we could double the lifespan and that the animals would stay so healthy with just one gene. I can’t say that couldn’t happen with humans.” If there’s one thing we can cling to, it’s hope. Never say die.

IF THE ELDERLY WERE FUNCTIONING AS WELL AS YOUNG ADULTS, THEY WOULD BE CONTRIBUTING TO SOCIETY, NOT CONSUMING IT

Ian Taylor writes for Men’s Health magazine in London

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NEWS

EMIRATES SkywARdS cREdIT cARd To lAunch In uk

EmiratEs skywards has

collaborated with MBNA to launch two new co-branded credit card accounts in the United Kingdom.

Customers of both the standard, no annual fee Emirates Skywards Credit Card Account

and the Emirates Skywards Elite Credit Card will receive both an American Express™ card and a Visa card.

Holders of both cards will be able to earn Skywards Miles on their expenditure and redeem them for Emirates flights and

other Emirates Skywards rewards.

Membership of the Emirates Skywards frequent flyer programme is free and allows members to earn and spend Miles with Emirates and its partners, as well as offering a range of other benefits.

nEw duBAI SToPoVERS EmiratEs has announcEd a range of packages for passengers with stopovers in Dubai. Dubai Stopovers packages start from $40 per person and include a UAE visa for guests stopping over in Dubai for less than 36 hours, a meet and assist service upon arrival at Dubai International Airport, return airport transfers, a night’s stay at one of 74 hotels, buffet breakfast and a welcome pack containing information on the city. The Dubai Stopovers packages also offer a range of benefits, such as discounts on car hire and local sightseeing experiences and excursions.

Perfect timing Don’t miss your next Emirates flight.

Make sure you get to your boarding gate on time.

Boarding starts 45 minutes before your flight and gates close 20 minutes before departure. If you report late we will not be able to accept you for travel.

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NEw LiNKED sErvicE tO cONaKrY

EmiratEs OPENs LONDON aviatiON ExPEriENcE EmiratEs has opEnEd a new aviation-themed attraction in Greenwich, London. The stateof-the-art Emirates Aviation Experience offers visitors the opportunity to enjoy a different perspective on the airline industry and try their hand at piloting an Airbus A380 or Boeing 777, with the help of four interactive, virtualreality simulators.

Visitors can also enjoy a 3D hologram of the internal mechanisms of an aircraft, an HD video-wall and a full-size A380 nose cone and flight deck.

Based at the south side of the prestigious Emirates Air Line cable car, in London’s exciting docklands district, the attraction covers an area of 300 square metres and aims to provide a fun and educational insight into the science behind the aviation world.

EmiratEs, onE of the world’s

fastest growing airlines, is set to open a new linked flight service to Conakry, Guinea. Commencing operation on October 27, 2013, the service will link to the four-timesweekly Dubai to Dakar route.

The new link will allow business and leisure passengers to connect to an ever-growing list of global destinations through Emirates’ Dubai hub.

Once in operation, the service to Guinea will take Emirates’ destinations in Africa to a total of 24, and will give more customers the chance to experience Emirates’ award-winning in-flight service.

As well as passenger services, Emirates SkyCargo will offer approximately 13 tonnes of cargo capacity per flight, to support Guinea’s key exports.

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action plan at the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) focused on agreeing a global approach to limiting international aviation emissions.

In a recent speech on climate change, President Barack Obama outlined the USA’s position in supporting a global agreement. He said, “Just as no country is immune from the impacts of climate change, no country can meet this challenge alone.”

The action plan calls for an ambitious, incisive and flexible treaty to address

announced its intention to make the new Concourse D as environmentally friendly as possible.

Working with Dubai Aviation Energy Projects, the aim is to reduce the overall carbon footprint of the airport in line with the aviation industry’s long-term goal of carbon-neutral growth.

Concourse D is set to open in 2015 and will boast 192 solar panels to generate power for the facilities. The use of natural light will also be used to cut energy consumption, along with a programme of recycling to reduce waste.

Dubai Airports hopes to limit the footprint of the new concourse in operation, consumption and construction by using locally-sourced building materials and insulating the building to help regulate temperatures.

climate change on a broad scale, and Obama seemed hopeful that an international agreement on controlling aviation emissions would be the first step in achieving such a plan.

pariS welcomeS biofUelled aircraft ViSiTorS To The Paris Air Show recently witnessed an Airbus A321 flight powered by fuel made from sugar. The aircraft arrived at the world’s largest airshow from southern France, fuelled partly by the biofuel Farnesane.

The fuel is made from sugarcane and offers a green alternative to traditional aircraft fuels. It was manufactured by

Amyris, a US-based company owned by the French oil firm Total.

The Airbus A321’s specially designed engine, a product of Air France and Safari, allowed the aircraft to demonstrate the effective use of new technology to combat CO2 emissions. The fuel could be available as early as 2014.

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COMFORT

Wellness in the air

to help you arrive at your destination feeling relaxed and refreshed, emirates has developed this collection of helpful travel tips. regardless of whether you need to rejuvenate for your holiday or be effective at achieving your goals on a business trip, these simple tips will help you to enjoy your journey and time on board with emirates today.

smart traveller

Before Your JourneY Consult your doctor before travelling if you have any medical concerns about making a long journey, or

drink plenty of water

if you suffer from a respiratory or

rehYDrAte With WAter or Juices frequentlY.

cardiovascular condition.

Drink teA AnD coffee in moDerAtion.

Plan for the destination – will you need any vaccinations or special medications?

Get a good night’s rest before

travel lightly

the flight.

cArrY onlY the essentiAl items thAt You

Eat lightly and sensibly.

Will neeD During Your flight.

At the Airport Allow yourself plenty of time for check-in.

wear glasses

Avoid carrying heavy bags through

cABin Air is Drier thAn normAl, therefore

the airport and onto the flight

sWAp Your contAct lenses for glAsses.

as this can place the body under considerable stress.

Once through to departures try and relax as much as possible.

use skin moisturiser

During the flight

ApplY A gooD quAlitY moisturiser to ensure Your skin Doesn’t DrY out.

Chewing and swallowing will help equalise your ear pressure during ascent and descent.

Babies and young passengers may

keep moving

suffer more acutely with popping

exercise Your loWer legs AnD cAlf

ears, therefore consider providing

muscles. this encourAges BlooD floW.

a dummy.

Get as comfortable as possible when resting and turn frequently.

Avoid sleeping for long periods in

make yourself comfortable

the same position.

loosen clothing, remove JAcket AnD AvoiD

When You Arrive

AnYthing pressing AgAinst Your BoDY.

Try some light exercise, or read if you can’t sleep after arrival.

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Your home in Dubai

‫ﻳﻘﻊ ﺍﻟﻔﻨﺪﻕ ﻓﻰ ﻗﻠﺐ ﺇﻣﺎﺭﺓ ﺩﺑﻲ‬

Located in the heart of Dubai

‫ﺃﻣﺎﻡ ﻣﺤﻄﺔ ﺍﳌﺘﺮﻭ‬

Opposite Metro Station Walking distance to Burj Khalifa, world’s tallest skyscraper Dubai Airport - 15 min.

Abu Dhabi Airport - 45 min.

Walking distance to shopping malls Close to Business Hubs ( DIFC, DWTC ) Spa & Outdoor Swimming Pool

US$150 Starting Rate.

Terms and conditions apply

‫ﺑﻴﺘﻚ ﻓﻰ ﺩﺑﻲ‬

‫ ﺃﻃﻮﻝ ﺑﺮﺝ ﻓﻰ ﺍﻟﻌﺎﻟﻢ‬، ‫ﻣﺴﺎﻓﺔ ﻗﺼﻴﺮﺓ ﺇﻟﻰ ﺑﺮﺝ ﺧﻠﻴﻔﺔ‬

‫ ﺩﻗﻴﻘﺔ‬15 ‫ﻣﻄﺎﺭ ﺩﺑﻲ ﻋﻠﻲ ﺑﻌﺪ‬

‫ ﺩﻗﻴﻘﺔ‬45 ‫ﻣﻄﺎﺭ ﺃﺑﻮ ﻇﺒﻲ ﻋﻠﻰ ﺑﻌﺪ‬ ‫ﻣﺴﺎﻓﺔ ﻗﺼﻴﺮﺓ ﳌﺮﺍﻛﺰ ﺍﻟﺘﺴﻮﻕ‬ ( ‫ ﻣﺮﻛﺰ ﺩﺑﻲ ﺍﻟﺘﺠﺎﺭﻱ ﺍﻟﻌﺎﳌﻲ‬،‫ﻗﺮﻳﺐ ﻣﻦ ﻣﺮﺍﻛﺰ ﺍﻷﻋﻤﺎﻝ ) ﻣﺮﻛﺰ ﺩﺑﻲ ﺍﻟﻌﺎﳌﻲ‬

‫ﺳﺒﺎ ﻭﺣﻤﺎﻡ ﺳﺒﺎﺣﺔ ﺧﺎﺭﺟﻲ‬

.‫ ﺩﻭﻻﺭ‬150 ‫ﺗﺒﺪﺃ ﺍﻻﺳﻌﺎﺭ ﻣﻦ‬ ‫ﺗﻄﺒﻖ ﺍﻟﺸﺮﻭﻁ ﻭﺍﻷﺣﻜﺎﻡ‬

Sheikh Zayed Road, P.O Box 116957, Dubai, United Arab Emirates Tel: +971 4 323 0000 Fax: +971 4 323 0003 reservation@emiratesgrandhotel.com www.emiratesgrandhotel.com

VISA & STATS

Guide

ELECTRONIC SYSTEM FOR TRAVEL AUTHORISATION (ESTA)

If you are an international traveller wishing to enter the United States under the Visa Waiver Programme, You must apply for electronic authorisation (ESTA) up to 72 hours prior to your departure.

TO US CUSTOMS & IMMIGRATION

Whether you’re travelling to, or through, the United States today, this simple guide to completing the US customs form will help to ensure that your journey is as hassle free as possible.

ESTA FACTS:

CUSTOMS DECLARATION FORM

Children and infants require an individual ESTA. The online ESTA system will inform you whether your application has been authorised, not authorised or if authorisation is pending.

A successful ESTA application is valid for two years, however this may be revoked or will expire along with your passport.

APPLY ONLINE AT WWW.CBP.GOV/ESTA NATIONALITIES ELIGIBLE FOR THE VISA WAIVER*:

Andorra, Australia, Austria, Belgium, Brunei, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Latvia, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxemburg, Malta, Monaco, The Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Portugal, San Marino, Singapore, Slovakia, Slovenia, South Korea, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland and the United Kingdom**

* SUBJECT TO CHANGE ** ONLY BRITISH CITIZENS QUALIFY UNDER THE VISA WAIVER PROGRAMME.

All passengers arriving into the US need to complete a CUSTOMS DECLARATION FORM. If you are travelling as a family this should be completed by one member only. The form must be completed in English, in capital letters, and must be signed where indicated.

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ROUTE MAP

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Europe

+1hrs

+2hrs

St. Petersburg

Stockholm

+4hrs

Gothenburg Glasgow

Moscow

Copenhagen

Newcastle Dublin Manchester Birmingham GMT 0 hrs London

Amsterdam

+3hrs

Hamburg Warsaw

Dusseldorf

(Heathrow & Gatwick)

Liege Frankfurt

Kiev

Prague

Paris Zurich Geneva

Lyon

To New York City

Milan

Munich

Vienna

Venice

Nice

Lisbon

GMT +1hrs

+1hrs

140

+2hrs

OPEN SKIES / AUGUST 2013

ai

Istanbul

Madrid

ub

Barcelona

Rome

D To

+2hrs

Zaragoza 0 hrs

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Open skies / august 2013

FLEET

The Fleet

Our fleet cOntains 204 planes Made up Of 194 passenger planes and 10 cargO planes

Boeing 777-300eR Number of Aircraft: 90 Capacity: 354-442 Range: 14,594km Length: 73.9m Wingspan: 64.8m

Boeing 777-300 Number of Aircraft: 12 Capacity: 364 Range: 11,029km Length: 73.9m Wingspan: 60.9m

Boeing 777-200LR Number of Aircraft: 10 Capacity: 266 Range: 17,446km Length: 63.7m Wingspan: 64.8m

Boeing 777-200 Number of Aircraft: 9 Capacity: 274-346 Range: 9,649km Length: 63.7m Wingspan: 60.9m

Boeing 777F Number of Aircraft: 8 Range: 9,260km Length: 63.7m Wingspan: 64.8m

For more inFormation: www.emirates.com/ourFleet

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Open skies / August 2013

Airbus A380-800 Number of Aircraft: 36 Capacity: 489-5 17 Range: 15,000km Length: 72.7m Wingspan: 79.8m

Airbus A340-500 Number of Aircraft: 10 Capacity: 258 Range: 16,050km Length: 67.9m Wingspan: 63.4m

Airbus A340-300 Number of Aircraft: 4 Capacity: 267 Range: 13,350km Length: 63.6m Wingspan: 60.3m

Airbus A330-200 Number of Aircraft: 23 Capacity: 237-278 Range: 12,200km Length: 58.8m Wingspan: 60.3m

boeing 747-400erF Number of Aircraft: 2 Range:9,204km Length: 70.6m Wingspan: 64.4m

aircraft numbers as of 31/08/2013

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Open skies / august 2013

ext month we showcase some of the machines pushing the boundaries of science in a series of stunning photographs around Europe. We travel to one of Europe’s coolest cities and check out a hotel with a vintage vibe. The London Underground is 150 years old and one of its regular commuters examines the love-hate relationship Londoners have with the transport behemoth. An interesting new store has opened in Dubai’s Media City, and we drop by and see what all the fuss is about. Brooklyn has, in recent years, come out from the shadow of Manhattan and established itself as a destination in its own right. We take a bicycle tour through one of the East Coast’s most happening neighbourhoods. See you next month.

www.omegawatches.com