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Private Notes
Christina Chang journeys through Greece, the cradle of the ancient world which has an archaeological legacy bearing testament to its varied past.
Traveller Ian Wright journeys through a land which, though ripped apart by political conflict, is renowned for its hospitality. The spirit of good time is known only in Ireland as the craic.
Ian begins his trip on the spectacular Antrim coast in Northern Ireland, boasting a geological wonder known as Giant's Causeway. The origins and name of this rocky landmark are enshrouded in myth and speculation, though Ian has his own theories.
Belfast is the city where Northern Ireland's political troubles have been most intense. Ian takes a cab ride through the city and learns about the perils of Belfast life, and the terrifying events his driver has witnessed. That evening Ian tours the lively bars and clubs of the city on a mission to discover for himself the true meaning of craic.
From Belfast Ian heads south towards Dublin. His journey takes him through the county of Armagh - known as bandit country due to the troubles - where he joins a game of road bowls. He also takes a detour to Boa Island in Fermanagh in order to visit a statue called Janus - a 2000 year old fertility symbol which was one of the first Christian burial sites.
When he finally reaches Dublin Ian spends the evening at the Dublin Music Centre, hotbed of burgeoning Irish talent following in the footsteps of the internationally successful band U2. Also on the entertainment agenda is the semi-final hurling match between Kilkenny and Cork. It's the world's oldest surviving stick and ball game, faster than hockey and even more violent then rugby.
Ian travels by train to Cobh in County Cork, a seaside town which was once a major shipping port and final resting place of victims of the Lusitania, sunk by a German submarine in the first World War. While he's in the vicinity of Cork Ian visits Blarney Castle, Ireland's most popular tourist spot where each year thousands come to kiss the Blarney stone, reputed to give you the gift of the gab. Not that Ian needs it!
From Cork Ian gets on his bike
Ian Wright journeys through America's 'Bible Belt' - the Deep South, home to the civil rights movement, the American civil war, and blues, jazz and rock.
His trip begins with a trek in the stunning Smoky Mountains on the Tennessee / North Carolina border. It's the most visited National Park in the country but there's still incredible remote wilderness and breathtaking vistas all the way to the top of Mount Le Cont.
Driving south, Ian's first stop in North Carolina is Asheville. The town is best known for its home-grown entertainment and the lively mountain music festival in the summer. Back on the road he learns a little about the Cherokee Indians who lived in this region until the white man arrived, a whole tribe of Cherokees was to walk to Oklahoma.
In Scottsboro, Alabama, Ian pays a visit the baggage reclaim superstore. Ian discovers there's thriving business to be made out of bargains and bizarre articles which never find their way back to their owners hands at airports all around the world.
In the conservative, fundamentalist southern states of the 'Bible Belt' it is thought that the snake is the embodiment of the devil. Ian meets Reverend Carl Porter uses deadly snakes during his sermons, believing that if you can master a snake you can master the power of the devil. Not surprisingly, his five hour services have had a few casualties!
Ian begins his day in Atlanta, gateway to the Deep South, with the ultimate southern breakfast of country fried steak and grits & gravy. Atlanta is the place where the world famous drink Coca-Cola was invented.
The birthplace of Martin Luther King Jr, Atlanta's most famous son, is situated at the end of 'Freedom Walk'. The house is now a national monument. When he was shot dead in Memphis in 1968 his body was returned home and every year thousands of pilgrims inspired by dreams of interracial harmony pay their respects.
From Atlanta Ian takes a greyhound bus to Tuskegee, Alabama, for the public reunion of Americ
Traveller Megan McCormick heads beyond the southern tip of India, to two of the most beautiful tropical locations on earth: Sri Lanka and the Maldive Islands.
Colombo, the capital of Sri Lanka, has been an important trading port and commercial centre since the 1870s. It here that Megan begins her trip, travelling around town on a bajajs and sampling some exotic foods.
From Colombo Megan sets our along the coast for Matara. On the way she sees toddy-tappers at work high in the coconut trees and stops off at Weligama, where the local industry is a peculiar type of fishing: stilt fishing. Megan wades out to the stilts embedded into the seabed and tries her hand with little success. Next day she reaches Matara and just outside the town is the temple of Wewurukannala, site of Sri Lanka's largest statue of Buddha.
In Buttula Megan stays at a sanctuary called Yala Tissa. It's situated in the midst of beautiful countryside where reforestation programmes are in progress. She then takes a bus to Arugam Bay, a fantastic place for hardcore surfers but also an area which has been caught in the crossfire of the civil war between the government and Tamil rebels. Megan sees the evidence of political turmoil first hand when she takes a tour of the bombed cinema.
From Arugam Bay Megan hitches a ride to Ratnapura, which means 'City of Gems'. This is the town where miners come to sell their gems to the dealers the most abundant being pink and blue sapphires and the occasional ruby. Megan goes down the nearby mine accompanied by a guide - it's a terrifying experience but they do find some topaz to reward their efforts. Megan then hires a car to drive up into the hills to visit the tea plantations. Also in hill country is Pinjnewala, home of the famous elephant orphanage. The parents of the orphan elephants have been poached for their ivory and Megan hears some incredible stories about the backgrounds of the animals that live here.
A few miles up the road is Sigiriya, the
Presenter Ian Wright explores Bolivia, one of the poorest countries in Latin America but one of the richest in culture and landscape.
His journey begins on Lake Titicaca. It's the highest navigable lake in the world and covers some 3000 square miles, linking Bolivia and Peru. The Island of the Sun is the place where the Inca Empire began and Ian learns that the first Inca married his sister, then convinced the people that they were the children of the sun god who had risen up from the lake. An hour by boat from the Island of the Sun is Copacabana, where every Sunday the locals bring their cars for a blessing by Father Bernadino. The ceremony is Christian but has its roots in the Inca tradition.
From Copacabana Ian hitches a ride to La Paz where he hunts out some bargains at the Market of Sagarnaga. Next door is the Witches Market, the place to find bizarre cures for uncommon ailments, such as llama foetus.
Ian flies to Sucre and plans to catch a bus to Potosi from there, however there's a bus strike and Ian has to spend the night at an enchanting hacienda just outside town. Next morning he resumes his journey and en route to Potosi he witnesses preparations for a bull fight. He also stops off Tarabuco, famous for its handmade clothes and weavings.
At last Ian reaches Potosi, one of the richest cities in South America due to the discovery of silver in the 16th century, by a llama herder called Diego Huallpa. Ian plans to go underground and experience the mines for himself, but first he stops at the miners market to purchase gifts for the miners: cigarettes, alcohol, coca leaves and a few sticks of dynamite! Miners start their career at the age of 8 or 10. They are self-employed and gifts from visitors supplement their meagre incomes. During colonial times millions of African and Indian slaves died due to the harsh conditions in the mines.
From Potosi Ian makes his way to Uyuni. Just outside the town is the largest salt flat in the world and Ian hooks u
Presenter Ian Wright travels through Madagascar, 'the red island' 250 miles off the east coast of Africa. It's the 4th largest island in the world, with landscapes ranging from rainforest to arid desert, and animal and plant life found nowhere else in the world.
His journey begins in Antananarivo (Tana), the capital of Madagascar. Here he learns about the unique history and culture of the Malagasy. The earliest rulers were the highland 'Merina' tribe, and the first king Andrianampoinimerina united the island by marrying one wife from each of the 12 tribes. His granddaughter, Queen Ranavalona, came to power in 1828 and became the most notorious ruler - she threw foreigners out of the country, banned Christianity and slaughtered her own people in the most brutal ways.
Megan McCormick explores the foods of Vietnam. The Pho Binh noodle shop in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam; imperial cuisine; traditional banquet hosted by the Flower Hmong tribe; seafood feast.
Megan McCormick discovers Micronesia, a little known region in Oceania consisting of over 2,000 islands and making up over a quarter of the world’s atolls.
Making a splash: Megan hits the waves
She begins her journey in Guam, the gateway to Fox Hill, which boasts one of the most important military bases in the Pacific. Megan is invited on board the USS Freight and Cable’, where she learns about how the island was liberated by the marines at the end of World War II. She also visits a traditional tattooist and learns about the art, which is indigenous to Micronesia.
Traveller Ian Wright ventures to the heart of south-east Asia, to Cambodia - a country which has endured a history of famine, civil war and mass genocide, but in recent years has become increasingly popular as a tourist destination.
Ian starts his journey with a trip through the mango swamps to the oldest temple in the country. In the sixth century Phnom Da was the capital of the Chenla dynasty. Nowadays it’s home to a community of monks and nuns who invite Ian to stay overnight so that he can witness the Buddah’s Day celebrations the next day.
From Phnom Da Ian travels to Kampot, at the foot of the Elephant Mountains. The mountain used to be a major Khmer Rouge stronghold but as Ian discovers from his Italian guide David, its now safe for trekkers and travellers to visit the extraordinary Bokor Hill Station, built by French colonisers in 1912.
Cambodia’s trains are notoriously slow and it takes a whole day for Ian to reach the seaside resort of Sinhanoukville. He meets up with a group of tourists who have hired a boat to take them to the nearby island of Koh Rong, where a local chef prepares a fantastic seafood dinner for his guests.
Next, Ian heads for the capital of Cambodia, Phnom Penh. He hitches a ride with some members of the Mines Advisory Group who take him on a detour via one of the villages which the group is clearing of mines. It is estimated that there’s about 6 million unexploded mines in Cambodia, remnants of the fighting which has consumed the country for much of the last 50 years. Ian is dropped off at a killing field just outside the capital - one of the 450 sites where the Khmer Rouge carried out mass extermination of their countrymen by the most gruesome means. He meets Yuk Tang, a local historian who has been documenting the genocide for 20 years who tells him some poignant tales about the troubled times he has lived through.
Ian finally arrives in Phnom Penh, where traditional arts and culture are enjoying a revival and a
Justine Shapiro travels to the Eastern Caribbean, a 600 mile long group of islands also known as the Lesser Antilles. Most people think of the Caribbean as a luxury vacation destination for the rich and famous. But as Justine discovers, the Caribbean has a unique history and fascinating culture that will captivate the independent traveller.
Ian Wright journeys to Russia, the largest country in the world which covers more than 10 million square miles and spans 11 time zones. For 70 years travellers were unable to visit the then USSR, but since the collapse of communism Russia has become an increasingly popular destination.
Ian begins his trip in Moscow, the most affluent city in European Russia. He visits the Kremlin, the seat of the Russian government, and takes a tour of the palaces, churches and bell towers. He witnesses the changing of the guards, sees Red Square and the tombs of Russian dignitaries, as well as the embalmed body of Lenin. Later that day he takes a tour of the rest of city on horseback.
Next morning, Ian ventures out to the Izmaylovsky Market, which is held in the east of Moscow every Sunday. It’s a great place to find eccentric Russian souvenirs and communist memorabilia. Another relic of the communist era is Moscow’s impressive metro system: clean, safe and reliable, it was built in the 1930’s to showcase Soviet engineering, and is one of the great achievements of the Stalinist period.
Ian heads out of Moscow to Star City, home of the Russian space programme. This was where Yuri Gagarin trained to be the first man in space in 1961. It was once a top secret location, but these days it’s open to tourists who want to try out simulated moon walking, tour a replica of the Meer space station and even experience zero gravity in a special training jet used to prepare cosmonauts for space travel.
Ian takes the train from Moscow to St Petersburg, stopping off at the Monastery of St Boris and Gleb in Torzhok. Since the fall of communism, the Russian Orthodox Church is experiencing a revival and places of worship such as the wooden church built in 1742 are now being restored.
He finally reaches St Petersburg, which is the second biggest city in Russia with a population of 5 million. When Lenin died in 1924 the city was renamed Leningrad but 65 years later the people
Justine starts her historical journey dodging swords at the re-enactment of the Battle of Hastings, then travels up the coast to visit the Royal Pavilion in Brighton. Passing through London she takes a canal ride up to the Yorkshire Moors where she boards a double decker bus/hotel.
Next stop Whitby, the eerie coastal town which inspired Bram Stoker to write the world famous horror story, “Dracula”.
Then a stroll along the Roman built Hadrian’s Wall, a chance meeting with a Roman centurion, and a ride on a steam train before visiting Liverpool to pay homage to “The Beatles”.
Venturing south in a vintage car into England’s West Country, Justine meets the very eccentric Marquess of Bath, and joins a pagan celebration in Glastonbury before ending her journey in Ottery St. Mary.
Here fearless locals terrify spectators by running through narrow streets with huge, flaming tar barrels, to celebrate Guy Fawkes Night.
Christina Chang travels to Southern Spain. Although these days it’s commonly associated with golf, fast food, concrete and spoiled beaches, it is one of the most beautiful and diverse regions in all of Europe.
