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Editor’s Letter
Sheffield,
S1 3NJ

Consumer travel publication of

the year
This summer the UK is set for high temperatures, with Travel Press Awards
rainfall staying below average. At least that’s what the new editor of the year
Winnie Agbonlahor, Highly Commended,
Name/Nom (1) Met Office tells us. Periodical Training Council
emmanuelle chazarin
Given nicknames/Surnoms
(2)
Last year, we were told almost exactly the same thing, and AITO young travel writer of the
the perfectionist
Foreign Languages/Langues
an
étrangères (3)
do you remember last summer? It was hardly dry, and it year
french, spanish, germ Emma Cryan
Place of birth/Lieu de naissa
nce (4)
certainly wasn’t hot.
montpellier, france
Hobbies/Activitvées (5)
, nutella So, what to do this summer?
films, hippie holidays(6)
Favourite drink/Boisson préféré
e
For those of you who are confined to British shores for lack editorial
strongbow Editor Winnie Agbonlahor
of funds, turn to p.90 and choose from our top five secret Assistant editor Emmanuelle Chazarin
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
>>>emmanuelle Chazrindirector>>>>>>>>>>>
> swimming spots around the UK. It doesn’t matter if it rains – Features editor David Limb
>>>>>>>>Creative art Staff writers Emma Cryan,
you’ll already be wet. Elizaveta Young, Mina Kasherova
After some real you-time? Maybe a Buddhist temple in Editorial assistant Joseph Innes
Name/No
Scotland will do the trick (p.87). Mythbuster Madame Irma
EMMA m (1)
CRYAN ART
Given nic
the opknames/Surnoms Think the recession has put a barrier around the UK, and it Art director Toby Hamand
timist (2)
Foreign
frenc
Langua
h
ges/Lan
gues ét
can only be unlocked with a pile of cash? That’s where we Designer Annabelle Lee
Plac
e of bir
rang
(3) ères
come in. Picture editor Edward Dyson
sheff th/Lieu de naiss
ield, u ance (4 Editorial assistant Joseph Innes
Hobbies
/A
Music ctivitvées (5)
,
k )
Why not hitchhike around Europe for free? Don’t feel safe? Thanks to Tim Knappett, Leah Whitfield,
Favourite french, q
u
gin AN drink/Boisson préf irky festiv We weigh up the pros and cons (p.72). Robert Corbury, Helen Reeve
D TONIC érée (6) als
>>>>>> How about crashing on a stranger’s sofa to save money on advertising
>>>>>> >>emma cry Advertising director Claire Russell
>>>>>> a
>>>>>> n>>>>>>>>>
>staff >>
accommodation? Sound dodgy? Let’s look at the new trend Advertising manager Joel Wright
write >>>>>>>>>>> they call ‘CouchSurfing’ (p.57). Senior sales executives Anna Williams,
r>>>>>
>>>>> Aled James
If you do have some cash to spare, we suggest you go ahead For advertising enquiries please call
Nom (1
)
ova (2)
and astound your mates by taking a tour of Siberia on the 0114 222 2512
Name/ asher
mina kcknames/Surnomr
s
ske s étrangères (3)
train. Publishing
Given
ni
ult i- t a Publishing director Alex Moore
t h e m
Langua
ge s/ La ngue
bic
Foreign rian, ara sance (4)
“Why would you do that? It’ll be freezing cold,” they’ll say. Marketing manager Monica Wilson
bulgabirth/Lieu de na
Place of bulgaria
is
Having read this issue’s complete guide to the Trans-Siberian Management accountants Len Bright,
ting Gareth Dickson
,
Sofia /Activitvées (5) cing, knit
n railway (p.21), you’ll be able to explain to your friends that,
Hobbies
w o od, dan préférée (6)
boll
Favour
y
ink/Bois
ite dr
so
actually, Siberia’s summers reach peak temperatures of up
MOJITO > >>>> to 40°C. Once you get to Russia’s Far East, follow the lead
>>>>>
va>>>
k a shero writer of our cover-boy Sergei, and dive into the deep-blue waters
a
>>>min>>>>>staff This season’s cover
>>>>> of Lake Baikal.
>>>>> >>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>
Want to chat to the locals? Easy. Just use our Russian
language guide inside this issue and the corresponding
dAv
Nam
m
e/No podcast on our website: wheninroam.co.uk/podcasts
id lim(1)
Give
n
the nicknames
b Got a daring side you’re just waiting to unleash? We take a
LAD
look at one man’s dance with danger (p.62) – and arm you
/S
Fore
ign L on t urnoms (2
fre angu our )
n
Place ch, sp s/Langu
age

bra of birth/Lie anish s étrangère

e with essential safety tips to make sure you avoid a similar
d
Hobb ford
u de s (3)
cigaies/Activitvé uk
, naiss
ance
(4) fate.
Favo rs, su s (5)
e
>>>> u it
any te drink/B s, wor
ri Made your feet itch? Don’t let us tease you any longer. Trust
>>>> >>>>>>> thin
g w isson préfé dplay
o
>>>>
>
>>da
>>>> v
et rée (6 your newly-elected Student Travel Magazine of the Year and
>>>fid limb>
)

eatu >>>>
res >>
break loose.
edit >>>>>>
or> >
>>>> >>>>>
>>>>
>

)
Nom (1 young Nam
Name/ (2)
veta noms winn e/No
eliza cknames/Sur
m
ni étrang
ères (3
) ie a (1)
Give Sergei Dovedov somersaults
Given river ngues then nickna gbonl
the d Languages/La m an ) Fore one es/Pre ahor
m into Lake Baikal on a sunny
ig n e r e (4
ian, g
nom
Fo re
naissa
nc
ion gerign Lang s (2 Saturday afternoon.
russ birth/Lieu de federat Plac man ages/L
u )
Place
of ian ,
boce of birth russ angues é
, russ ) shion
tula /Activitvées (5bbing, fa ) h u /Lie ia n tran
bies m, g de nais , ital gères (3
Hob u
es u (6
Hobbi
a t r e, cl sson préférée coo /Activ erm sanc ian )
the ink/Boi >>> Fav kin itvées any e (4)
Favour
ite dr
>>>>> >>> >winn
g
redurite drin , givin(5)
o photograph:
vodk
a >>>>> >>>>> w go
>>>>>
k/Bo
>>> olivia hellewell
>>> ie agb
in r
>> e is son
préfé ders
> > > >>>>>writer > >>> o rée , da
ung aff >>> nlah (6) ncin
ta yo >>>>>>st >>> o
>>> r>>>>
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izave >>
>>>el >>>>>>>> >>>
>>> >>>ed
>>>>> >>> ito
>>> r>>
>>> >
>>> >
>

Summer 2010 when in ROAM.co.uk 3

 how to navigate
wheninROAM
REGULARS
p.3 Editor’s letter
p.8 Your questions
p.10 In the news: WORKING WORLD
volcanic ash p.74 Slice of Paradise: Réunion
p.37 Your best and Island
worst travels p.78 Around the World in 80 Trades: AND ALSO
p.38 Competition Australia, Germany & Guatemala p.62
p.50 Your travel p.83 Destination unknown: working Colombia:
anecdotes style quiz Road to
p.61 Packed! - Aggression
summer deals ww p.66 Can we
p.70 Mythbuster: India Kick it? The
p.72 Comment: would other side of the
you hitchhike? World Cup
p.92 Sexion
p.94 30 travel facts
GLOBAL
FOREIGN FF GS STUDIES
FROLICS p.13 Heaven
p.42 TOP 20 and Halls
European festivals p.17 California
p.53 Unseen Bul- Dreamin’
garia
p.57 Get surfin’:
CouchSurfing UK
UNEXPLORED KINGDOM ‘offroad’
Festivals map p.87 An Urban Girl Converted: complete
‘How a week in Scotland guide to
changed my life’ the trans-
p.90 Take a Dive on the Wild Side: siberian
wild swimming spots at a glance railway
Musical p.21
Cultural
p.42

6 when in ROAM.co.uk Summer 2010

p.45
p.87

p.66

p.90

p.21

p.21
p.49
Summer 2010 when in ROAM.co.uk 7
Q ue
st
ion

Your Questions Just slip them in our

chatterbox

Backpackers’
Travel Insurance

Q
I’m going travelling for a year
before I go to university. I
don’t have any fixed plans
as, yet but I’m thinking about
turning up at a ski resort in France and see-
ing if I can find myself a job before heading
off to Thailand. If I get a job behind a bar, or
do one of those short courses to become ABOVE: Beach in Tristan da Cunha
a ski instructor, will my backpacker insur- left: Tristan da Cunha
ance still cover me?
Ben Stocks, Southampton
Secrets of the South Atlantic Ocean

A Q
Not knowing what to do next is I’ve always been fascinated by British Overseas Territory is home to around
part of the appeal of a gap year, the small islands in the South 270 people.
but naturally you want to have a Atlantic and Southern Ocean. 4,000 people live on St Helena, another British
safety net. Are they inhabited? Is it easy Overseas Territory, which measures just nine
Although travel insurance isn’t going to protect to get there? by five miles. The island has a long history,
you from the reality of holiday work - poor pay, Gavin Clacy, Reading spanning 500 years since it was first discov-
long hours, having to dress like a giant sand- ered in 1502 as an uninhabited island by the
wich and hand out leaflets - you’ll be covered Portuguese. The British used the island as a

by a standard backpacker policy as long as that
work is listed within our backpackers remit.
This list covers jobs ranging from restaurant
and bar work to fruit picking and work in the
retail sector - but nothing involving the use of
power tools and machinery.
And if the idea of doing adventure sports in
far flung locations is keeping you up at night,
a huge number of those - bungee jumping,
camel riding, surfing etc... - are included in the
standard policy too.
If you’re thinking of spending a year travelling,
read through the Backpacking Tips section on
our website (wheninroam.co.uk/backpacking),
which covers basics like planning, budgeting
and safety, and offers useful advice on travel
insurance. The rest is up to you.
Good luck!
MARK HODSON
A
The South Atlantic Ocean is
bordered to the west by South
America and to the east by Af-
rica. It begins at the Equator
and is referred to as the Southern Ocean as it
stretches south to Antarctica.
These vast waters contain a number of small
islands (Tristan da Cunha, St Helena and As-
cension Island to name a few). All are remote,
most are volcanic in origin and others are still
inhospitable.
But these tiny dots on your map are hugely
important, as they are breeding grounds for
several rare plant, bird and mammal species,
so are often designated protected wildlife re-
serves.
The Tristan da Cunha archipelago is the most
remote inhabited group of islands in the world,
lying 1,750 miles from the nearest land. The
place of exile, most notably for Napoleon and
over 5,000 Boer prisoners of war.
The good news is that it isn’t completely inac-
cessible, but you will need a sense of adven-
ture to get there and your passage will have to
be by sea.
The RMS St Helena, operated by MSC Cruis-
es, the last working Royal Mail Ship, makes the
voyage from Portland (just off Weymouth) to St
Helena twice a year (rms-st-helena.com). This
is probably your best option.
A few cruise operators also stop at St Helena,
including P&O Cruises (pocruises.com) and
Holland America Line (hollandamerica.com),
but note that if the sea is too rough they won’t
anchor and you will miss out, as St Helena has
no port and it’s necessary to ferry passengers
to shore.
ERIK PETERSEN

the panel Planning a stay abroad? Get inside advice from the best in the business
david wickers Mark Hodson teresa erik petersen
travel correspond- travel writer rodriguez travel and feature
ent, voted Travel with 15 years travel expert, found- writer, expert on
Writer of the Year of experience, er of Tangodiva travel bargains
three times founder of Travel (social-networking and international
SEO site for women cuisine
travellers)

8 when in ROAM.co.uk Summer 2010

 Winging it at the 2010 World Cup

Q
I’m planning on heading
to South Africa for the
2010 World Cup. I don’t
have tickets or accommo-
dation booked, but I want to be there
for the atmosphere. What options are
there to camp or stay in hostels?
Lorna Harper, Liverpool
ern hemisphere, temperatures may drop
well below zero at night in some places.
However, while the weather might be
cold and wet in Johannesburg and Cape
Town, Durban and Bloemfontein should
be hot and humid.
For all the camping details, go to world-
cupcamping.com.
Hostels are also a good option. They are
your homestay, go to tour2010.net.
Be sure to check out specific locations
of a house as well as the city, though, as
South African neighbourhoods can often
change from chic to shabby at the turn
of a corner.
david wickers

A
This year’s World Cup is
expected to see 500,000
visitors arrive in South Af-
rica during June and July.
Spirits will most certainly be high, but ac-
commodation is likely to be in low supply,
and many places will probably put prices
up to try rip off tourists. Go to the official
website of FIFA, the world football gov-
erning body, where it lists and grades all
sorts of accommodation: ams.match-ag.
com/match-pty-booking.
Camping’s a good idea, but only if you’re
prepared to cuddle up in woolly hats and
thick scarves to keep warm. Since June
and July are winter months in the south-
often located close to the city centre and
within reasonable travelling distance from
the airports. See worldcup2010southaf-
rica.org.uk for details and descriptions
of hostels throughout South Africa. For
photos, customer reviews and online
bookings go to hostelbookers.com. An-
other useful site for accommodation is
sa-venues.com, which provides maps
with matches and stadiums.
For those who want to experience the
South African way of life outside the sta-
diums, cafés and bars, homestays are for
you. There are likely to be numerous South
Africans opening their doors to fans, and A camp site in Cape Town
is probably the cheapest option. To plan

We asked you for the best restaurant

you’ve found on your global travels
Editor’s pick:
Keira Ives, from Man-
chester, suggests the
mouth-watering spread in
Det Grønne Hjørne (The
Green Corner) in Århus in
Denmark.
Det Grønne Hjørne (The choose from with prices
Green Corner) is situated on starting at 109DKK (£12).
Frederiksgade, near the main They also offer a catering
shopping street in the centre service for special occa-
of Århus. sions. The waiters are friend-
It is famous in Århus, espe- ly and welcoming and the
cially among students, for an restaurant is refreshingly un-
amazing buffet packed with pretentious. The homely at-
Mediterranean and Middle- mosphere makes the spread
Eastern foods: homemade all the more delicious. But be
bread, tzatziki, meat rolls, warned: once you tuck in, it
moussaka, pasta salads, ol- is hard to stop...
ives, hummus, Greek salad,
couscous with vegetables,
rice, chicken, yoghurt and
fresh fruits dipped in choc-
olate are only some of the
dishes you will be presented
with as you walk into the
restaurant. The buffet costs
59DKK (£6.70) everyday from
11:30 to 16:30 and 99DKK
(£11) from 16:30 to 22:00.
Perfect for a student budget!
There is also a menu to
Summer 2010 when in ROAM.co.uk 9
 ash
in the news
Don’t just d off:
how to make your wait great
It’s a strange type of natural disaster that ends not
with the loss of human life, but only with disruption.
In the wake of the Eyjafjallajokull volcano eruption in
April, flights have been sporadic and could be halted
again. But never fear, if it does happen again EMMA
CRYAN has some tips on how to make the most of your
extended holiday, anywhere.
I
t’s an excuse straight out of an imaginative
schoolboy’s exercise book: sorry, I can’t come
in today. I’m stuck overseas because of the vol-
canic ash.
The eruption of the Icelandic volcano Eyjafjal-
lajokull in April was more violent than expected,
but rather than demolishing villages it caused
most damage by closing much of northern Europe’s
airspace for nearly a week. Trains and boats were
crammed to bursting, and the Armed Forces were
drafted in to rescue Brits stranded in northern
France. Chris Moyles couldn’t even get home for
his Radio 1 slots, although that may not have been
such a bad thing.
Despite another standstill in May, air traffic is
now moving again (at the time of printing, any-
way!), and most travellers have found their way
home, whether by plane, train or automobile. But
volcanoes are an unpredictable and uncontrollable
force of nature, and an eruption like this could hap-
pen again.
“When life gives you
lemons,
make lemonade.”
So if you do find yourself stranded, after making
the phone calls home and gathering some emergen-
cy cash from your account, remember to relax and
just go with it. After all, there’s not much you can
do, so you might as well head back to the bar and
calm down with another Mojito while you plan your
next move.
The new flying regulations, which came into force on
May 17, allow airlines to fly in higher ash densities than
before,reducingdisruptiontoflights,althoughnotelimi-
nating it.
With the possibility of engine failure if you get on
a plane, is getting home really worth the risk?
No one likes to wait. It’s boring and it’s stress-
ful – that feeling of helplessness drives most people
crazy – but with some of our ideas to help you pass
the time, you can turn your tiresome wait into an
awesome adventure!
As the saying goes, when life gives you lemons,
10 when in ROAM.co.uk Summer 2010
make lemonade.
Instead of frantically trying to book onto heavily
oversubscribed ferries and trains back to good old
Blighty, why not take some time out to explore your
temporary new home?
Try learning a new language. By this point
you will have heard airport announcements in a
variety of tongues, but we recommend picking up
a guidebook for the country you’re in – get out, ex-
plore, and chat to the locals!
Book into a hostel instead of a hotel
until you can get home. Hostels are usually
much more flexible, and actively encourage their
guests to socialise. Many also have dedicated com-
munal ‘lounge’ spaces, and even organise nights
out together.
Take a tea tour. Missing your morning mug of
Tetley’s? You might not realise it, but even though
other countries don’t seem as tea-crazed as the
Brits, they do know how to make a good cuppa.
Chat to the barmen. Try out your language
skills on the barmen. Chances are they’ll have some
great stories to tell you, and you might even get a
round or two on the house.
Try out a dance class. Most countries have
their own traditional dances, whether it’s the
flouncing Flamenco in Spain, the Samba rhythms
of Brazil or the Bhangra beats of northern India, so
why not see what where you are has to offer?
Eat local. This is always the best and most ad-
venturous way to eat abroad – but always remem-
ber to use your guide book to check out what’s in the
dishes! Instead of finding the closest pizza joint, or
settling for beans on toast, look for a place serving a
regional speciality – you could find a new favourite
meal. For some tips on tasty treats in Denmark,
check out page 9.
Get on track. Do you break out into a cold
sweat at the thought of staying put? Are your feet
itching to make a move? InterRailing will give you
the chance to make your way home, while allowing
you to exercise your inner adventurer and exploit
the ash as the perfect alibi for dodging a few days
of university or work. The InterRail Global pass
(priced from €159, visit interrailnet.com for more
details) allows you to visit 30 European countries
in whichever order you choose, making it the ideal
way to travel home on a budget, and create your
own great adventure.
SO WHICH ONE IS NEXT?
The hot favourite at the moment
is Eyjafjallajokull’s bigger and
badder brother, Katla, which
normally erupts every 40 to 80
years, usually preceded by the
smaller blast.
“Eyjafjallajokull has blown three
times in the past thousand
years – in 920, 1612 and
[around] 1823, and each time
it set off Katla,” said Dave
McGarvie, a volcanologist at
Britain’s Open University.
Although the evidence points to
Katla as a main contender for
the next big bang, the reality is
that there is no way of knowing
when it will happen, or how
another eruption would affect
flight paths.
Whether or not airports are
closed depends largely on
the weather conditions at the
time. The unusually high winds
during the Eyjafjallajokull
eruption dispersed the ash very
quickly over much of northern
Europe, increasing the risk of
the volcanic dust getting into
the aircraft engines and causing
the planes to fail.

above: Route taken by the volcanic ash cloud

Summer 2010 when in ROAM.co.uk 11

12 when in ROAM.co.uk Summer 2010
 Halls
feature - halls

Heaven and
Fancy a year abroad in a place where the social scene is anaemic,
chivalry is on its last legs and the higher education system is on a
life-support machine? Look no further. DAVID LIMB is your tour guide.

‘T
here’s a lot going on in this town,” a particularly
cantankerous member of the university’s
incongruously-titled ‘Welcoming Team’ told me
and a fleet of fellow foreigners as the native tribe
of open-mouthed, narrow-minded French students stared
on. “We’ve got a cinema and a tram,” he said without the
slightest shred of sarcasm.
Welcome to the concrete paradise of Le Mans: the city in
western France where I studied for a year as part of my de-
gree in French. Its crumbling apartment blocks, run-down
university campus and one-star hotels have earned it twin
town status with Bolton.
And with such a scintillating social scene at its disposal,
coupled with a ceaseless strike season which left the uni-
versity lapsing in and out of a coma, it’s easy to see why the
schedule of your average international student consisted
primarily of all-day drinking, casual infidelity, and, per-
haps most deplorably of all, exercise.
As morals and livers fell into decay, so did the campus
itself, with ongoing strikes serving as a blank cheque for
carnage. Stairwells were barricaded, windows broken and
doors battered down as rebellious students sought retribu-
tion for shattered government promises.
With the buildings in dire need of repair and no student
union to offer social structure, we were forced to take a
‘DIY’ approach to entertainment.

Summer 2010 when in ROAM.co.uk 13

 feature - halls
Having being told in no uncertain terms
global studies
that the halls of residence were ‘no place for
parties’, we made the local Irish bar – a ha-
ven for international students – our second
home as abstinence remained the perennial
plat du jour for the natives.
For the French, without meaning to gen-
eralise, the mechanical, monotonous weeks
would be made up of microwave meals for one
and evenings of solitary study, followed by a
mass Thursday night exodus (most students
had Fridays off) in time for yet another three-
day weekend with the parents.
Compare this with life in English halls,
where the only time you’re likely to see the
folks is at the end of term, as you look to
scrounge a free lift and make the most of the
extra arms at hand for lugging home your
haul of ill-gotten reminders of nights out
you’d otherwise struggle to recall. And your
books.
Ironically enough, the most nocturnal activ-
ity we saw came at a time when strikes had
once again paralysed varsity life, and hordes
of incensed students descended on the town
centre to burn effigies of President Sarkozy.
Looking decidedly out of place in our pyja-
mas and receiving looks that were even more
scornful than usual from the academic lynch
mob, a friend and I beat a hasty retreat be-
fore we ended up on the pyre ourselves.
Protocol is another area where the indig-
ABOVE: The tram - pride and joy of the Le Mans tourist office. An image of the bright-orange chariot can even be seen

“Wandering around the hurtling through the golden arches of the McDonald’s logo in the town centre.
BELOW: The foliage and frivolity of first-year halls in Sheffield seemed a million miles away.

grounds of the halls on a
Sunday was like a scene
from I Am Legend. ”
enous students can be particularly unforgiv-
ing: confuse your bonjour with your bonsoir
– the transition between which, I worked out
after months of trial and error, takes place
around 5.30pm - and they’ll probably look at
you as though you just kicked their grand-
mother down a flight of stairs.
Despite being less than 200 miles from
British shores, the provincial town at times
seemed light-years behind in terms of culture
and technology. Most lecturers are yet to dis-
cover the delights of the new invention that
is email, and the student-teacher relation-
ship is as archaic as the third-century wall
14 when in ROAM.co.uk Summer 2010
that serves as the centrepiece of the Le Mans
old town; addressing a lecturer using the fa-
miliar tu rather than the more formal vous is
completely out of the question.
Symptoms of a gaping financial chasm be-
tween the two countries are also evident from
the outset. As the University of Sheffield,
which I attend, splashes well in excess of £20
million on a new library, the Université du
Maine offers its students a state-of-the-art
technology suite complete with two dozen
computers. And a printer.
The town is perhaps best known for its an-
nual 24-hour endurance race, and you get the
sense that activity for the year is quite liter-
ally crammed into one day, with little in the
way of weekend entertainment, save for the
occasional market in the city centre.
Wandering around the grounds of the halls
on a Sunday was like a scene from apocalypse
thriller I Am Legend – the ravenous mutant
dogs being replaced by somewhat more placid
company in the form of the occasional squir-
rel, but still a distinct lack of human pres-
ence all the same.
The aforementioned rabid Rottweilers were
instead confined to the porter’s lodge. The
resident guard dog – the aptly-named Ma-
dame Dondon which roughly translates as
‘a big lump of a woman’ – was certainly cut
from the same deranged cloth as the infa-
mous Papin twins – the maids who murdered
their employer’s family in the 1930s and who
are arguably the town’s most well-known ex-
ports to date.
The dreaded Dondon, who wasn’t doing an
awful lot for the national stereotype, would
hand out eviction threats and shut kitchens
at the drop of a beret; at one point, closures
meant that there was one kitchen, consisting
of four temperamental hobs, and a micro-
wave, to accommodate a block of more than
80 students.
The redeeming positive of life in the ‘Vaur-
ouzé’ halls of residence – a high-rise building
“Confuse your bonjour
with your bonsoir and
they’ll probably look at
you as though you just
kicked their grandmother
down a flight of stairs.”
with low standards of cleanliness and even
lower levels of friendliness - was the cost of
rent.
The€110permonthincludesallbillsandiseasily
coveredbyarathergenerousErasmusgrant,while
languageassistantswerepaying morethan€400
to stay in private flats just streets away. Compare
this with the thousands you’ll fork out for a year in
UK digs, and it really is a steal, although the deso-
lateanddilapidatedsurroundingsofthisindustrial
jungleareafarcryfromthelushandleafysuburbs
of Sheffield.
Summer 2010 when in ROAM.co.uk 15
16 when in ROAM.co.uk Summer 2010
 feature - USA

California Dreamin’

global studies
Thought American Pie and Legally Blonde were nothing but shamelessly
romanticised images of life in an American university? Cait Kopik, 20,
from Bracknell did too. She is a final year International Politics and History
student at the University of Sheffield, and tells MINA KASHEROVA how she
spent a year abroad in the US to make her American Dream come true.

‘W
hen I went to an
American sorority
house for the first
time it felt like the
opening scene of ‘Legally Blonde’
– the doors opened, all the girls
were lined up from the staircase
to the door, they were all wearing
matching outfits, and they were
just so…”
Cait jumps from the leather
sofa, straightens her back, glues
a big smile on her face and sings
out a high-pitched “Welcome!!!”.
She bursts into giggles as she
sits back and brings her legs to
her body. Being as petite as she
is (her friends usually call her
“little Cait”) she looks even tinier
sitting like this. But her face is
still glowing as she remembers
her first encounter with sorority
culture.
“I really wanted to join a soror-
ity, and I passed the initiation
week, but I couldn’t join in the
end because of the £3,000 join-
ing fee. But I still went to some
of their fundraising events after-
wards. England just doesn’t offer
things like that.”
Why would people pay £3,000 for
joining a university society? Cait
tells me that joining a sorority is
a great way to make friends as
you live in the sorority house and
communicate with other sorori-
ties and fraternities around the
campus and the country. From
a more practical point of view it
works wonders for your CV as it
proves you had good grades (a
requirement for all members),
you were actively involved with
charity work and you have devel-
oped some coveted networking
skills. The tradition is as old as
the US itself, and many students
go through initiation rituals, se-
cret ceremonies and, in some
cases, hazing. But it
seems to be
worth it for most as the major-
ity of members of the Congress,
Senate and even the Who’s Who
in America list are members of a
sorority or a fraternity.
“I knew I wanted
to go on a year
abroad before I
even came to uni.”
Cait wanted to join it for the
social work and fun factor as it
offered a very different experi-
ence to her student life in Shef-
field. But it was only one of the
reasons why she wanted to go to
the USA.
“I like America, I’ve been there
a lot in the past, and my mum
went to uni at Occidental College,
CA. And almost every summer
since I was thirteen I have spent
between one and three months
with family friends in Florida
just outside Jacksonville.”
From that age onwards Cait
knew she wanted to go to Amer-
ica for more than just a summer,
and wanted to study at a US uni-
versity for a year.
“Although I always wanted to
go on a year abroad before I even
came to university, I was put off
by the cost. American universi-
ties often accept international
students because they want their
money as they pay about five
times more than American stu-
dents.”
British students only have
to pay half of their tuition fees
(£1,500) when they go on a year
abroad, but a yearly tuition for
international students would of-
ten be £20,000 more than what
their American coursemates are
paying.
The spice of a Yankee accent in
Cait’s Received Pronunciation is
proof that she made her American
dream come true. She went to the
University of California (UC) for
her second year of university af-
ter applying to the Study Abroad
programme. She made a smart
move in choosing modules

Summer 2010 when in ROAM.co.uk 17

 feature - USA
that would count towards her de-
global studies
gree back at home.
Cait chose Santa Barbara
from the UC’s several campuses
for many reasons: the campus
seemed to offer a nice mix of
strong academics as well as en-
tertainment, but it was also rec-
ognised as a top party university
by no other than Playboy owner
Hugh Hefner. Plus, who would
mind going to a university that
has its own beach?
AsdreamyasstudyinginCalifornia

“Some things were

so stereotypical
that it was just like
on TV.”
sounds, Cait didn’t adapt immedi-
ately.
“The night before I moved to
Santa Barbara I freaked out. It
just suddenly hit me that I was
going to be there by myself, and I
thought, ‘Why the hell did I ever
think about doing this?’ But once
I was there, it only took me a cou-
ple of weeks to make friends and
feel at home in California.”
Cait immediately fell in love
with the community feeling on
Santa Barbara’s campus.
“Everyone celebrates holidays
together. Lecturers even gave us
a small bonus if we dressed up
for their classes on Halloween.
We also helped residents, whose
houses were destroyed in the
California wildfires as they had
to stay in the auditorium and the
gym.”
Cait also adds that the weather
in California was amazing. She
quickly got used to a routine of
going to classes in the mornings
TIPS ON STUDYING ABROAD
Cait had a fantastic time studying abroad at the Santa Barbara campus, and the experiences she had were unforgettable.
and swimming in the afternoons.
“I am definitely a sun-worship-
per. Even if it wasn’t hot all the
time it was always sunny and I
felt a lot more motivated than I
did in England.”
Beaches, trips to LA, sorority
events – it almost sounds like ev-
ery American teenage movie ever
made. And that is exactly how
Cait felt at times.
“Some of the things were so ste-
reotypical that it was just like
on TV. So many people cycle to
class that you have to wait for
five minutes to find a gap and
cross the street. Or you would see
someone cycling with a surfboard
in their hand. It could have been
in a film, you know?
“Santa Barbara is a very rich
area and accommodation was
very expensive. In total, my fami-
ly and I had to pay about £10,000
including travelling, accommoda-
tion, food, fees and books.”
Cait, however, thinks it was
worth the investment as she got
to experience things she wouldn’t
have if she stayed in England for
the three years of her degree.
“When you apply to universi-
ties in the UK you have to decide
what you want to do with your
life when you’re 17, and I didn’t
have a clue at that age. Now, I’m
starting to wonder if I made the
right decision. But in America
you have to decide on your major
two years into university when
you’re 19. For me, that would’ve
been so helpful.”
The academic feel to Santa Bar-
bara was also very relaxed and
gave Cait a different perspec-
tive to what studying towards a
degree can feel like. The courses
didn’t feel as demanding with
2,500-word essays, constant test-
ing on the material and little re-
search. She was also surprised by
how friendly and helpful teach-
ers were and how attending of-
fice hours was the norm for all
classes.
“I don’t get why more people
don’t study abroad. A lot of the
people who do absolutely love it
and it adds a lot of value to your
degree. It has so many benefits to
you personally, enjoyment-wise
and for your future. Plus, I can
go visit my friends in Califor-
nia next year and stay over for
free.”

Think how much you Be brave and make

will spend on your year
abroad and save up more,
just in case. If you can,
work the summer before
you go.
Apply to only one
country if you want to
convince them of your
desire to study in a
particular location.
Choose a university
that reflects your
personality - you’re doing
this for fun.
new friends, don’t just
stick with the other British £1 = $1.53
students. Be there getting there
Talk to students
who already attend the - the essentials London Stansted to LA
university before you leave Pint of beer £1.50 International £386 with Air Berlin.
- they can give you some Glass of wine £3.70 Manchester International to LA
vital tips. Portion of chips £3.20 International £438 with JetBlue
Don’t be afraid to apply Pound of apples £1.99 and Aer Lingus.
to a university because Litre of milk 80p Taxes and VAT included.
you think you won’t be Pack of cigarettes £6.50
accepted. If you don’t Bus fare £1.65 Visa - Apply for a B-2 (Holiday)
apply, you’ll never know! visa (usembassy.org.uk), and
meet with a consular officer.

18 when in ROAM.co.uk Summer 2010

Summer 2010 when in ROAM.co.uk 19
20 when in ROAM.co.uk Summer 2010
Your complete guide to The
Trans-Siberian
Railway

St Petersburg

Moscow
Yekaterinburg
Vladimir Tomsk
Irkutsk

In this guide
Chilling in the Siberian Taiga page 24
Trans-Siberian rucksack - dissected page 29
En route to Siberia
St Petersburg page 30
Moscow page 31
Vladimir & Yekaterinburg page 32
Tomsk & Irkutsk page 33
Russia Factfile page 34
A few things to know before you go page 35
 Lake Baikal
22 when in ROAM.co.uk Summer 2010
 FEATURE - TRANS-SIBERIAN

Chilling in the

Siberian
Taiga
Siberia – land of the eternal freeze. Vastness reaching
beyond anyone’s comprehension -
and never-ending snow.
On a three-week tour on the Trans-Siberian Railway,
Winnie Agbonlahor discovers that Siberia has
much more to offer: quaint towns, busy cities,
stunning architecture, friendly folk, weird people. And,
more importantly,
a hot summer. Beaches. A lake to swim in.
But first came the train ride. Intrigued?
Turn over the page to experience the journey.
Summer 2010 when in ROAM.co.uk 23
‘‘ W
special FEATURE - TRANS-SIBERIAN

ould you mind giving me this

injection? anelderly,5’6’’tallman,askedmehoarselyinRussian.Withhiscrookedback,paleshirtandevenpaler
skin he looked like he was slowly fading away and leaving this world. As he approached us, Jim and I
looked at each other in disbelief. Was the old man pulling our leg? It turns out all he was pulling was a
big, rusty needle out of his pocket. Unashamed as only a true Russian can be, the old man, Boris, was
completelyoblivioustothestrangenatureofhisrequest.IrefusedpolitelyandglancedoveratJim.It’s
times like these that we were happy to be foreigners in Russia.
“What the fuck?” Jim said.
“Yeah, Jesus Christ, what a weirdo,” I replied.
We put our poker faces back on and continued to gamble for sunflower seeds. After six
hours on the train this was the first oddity we saw. We were on the Trans-Siberian Ex-
press.
Some call it a microcosm of Russian culture. Others call it a crash-course in the most
shocking aspects of Russian life. But when my friend Jim and I decided to board the Trans-
Siberian, we expected to witness some of the most fascinating scenery from the comfort of
our cosy train cabins. We hadn’t bargained on ghostly Russians asking us to bring them
back into the world of the living.
We were sure to be overwhelmed by the never-ending Siberian steppe, or ‘Taiga’. A strange
sensation gripped hold of us at the prospect of seeing firsthand the soil which soaked up the
blood, sweat and tears of so many prisoners of war during Soviet times.
It didn’t take long for us to find out that Siberia wasn’t actually that exciting to look at. In
fact, the only overpowering aspect about the Siberian Taiga was its monotony and tedious-
ness: mainly empty fields and never-ending seas of spruces.
The real mystique of the Trans-Siberian journey was the train ride and the beauty of a few
places on the way.
So here we were. Jim and I met at Yaroslavskii Vokzal, one of St Moscow’s main railway
stations, both fresh out of the University of Yaroslavl (155 miles north-east of Moscow)
where we had been for our year abroad. During our nine months there, we learnt our les-
sons on the Russian use of adjectives in popular literature, and the Russian use of vodka in,
well, everywhere.
After our Trans-Siberian adventure, we would face the real world again. But at that mo-
ment in time we only had Siberia to conquer.
I was glowing with excitement - just like Moscow’s intense July sun was gleaming off Jim’s
shades. Jim’s smile stretched from ear to ear. He was basking in the sun just like Lenin
posing on a pedestal a few yards behind him.
Eager and excited, we went to the ticket-window to buy our singles to Yekaterinburg, the
first stop on our Trans-Siberian adventure. Ten minutes of frustrating verbal ping-pong
between the moody cashier lady and me later, we finally had them. With an hour left until
our train would depart at 2.38pm and 32 hours until it would get us to Yekaterinburg, we
made a quick trip to the nearest super-market.
We returned equipped with a big carrier-bag full of food, a few beers, a bottle of vodka and an un-
breakable spirit that we would struggle to keep up throughout the next three weeks, and made our
way to the platform.
As we boarded the train, it felt like we had entered another world. The sun was shin-
ing through the windows, illuminating the dust particles in the air and giving the scene a
mystical atmosphere. The wagon was packed with people talking quietly, napping, eating
or staring into space.
But as soon as we walked in, all eyes were on us. We walked cautiously down the narrow
aisle, past the slim bunks, which served as seats during the day and beds at night. There
were four bunks in each compartment, two bottom and two top ones. If you were allocated
a bottom bunk you had to share it with the person from the top bunk, because up there, it
was impossible to sit up straight.
All of the passengers looked so at home. They might as well have been sitting in their own living
room. They certainly knew they weren’t at home when - shock horror - a foreign couple entered the
train.Butwhileallthestaringmademefeellikeafree-loaderwhoturneduptoaprivatepartywithout
an invitation, Jim seemed to think he was Johnny Depp walking the red carpet.
Havingsettledin,JimandIhadaboutsixhourstokillbeforebedtime.Wedecidedtoplanourtrip.We
were amazed by St Petersburg, where we had stayed the previous week, so we wanted to see as many
placesonthewayaspossible.Theplanwas:stopatVladimir,thenYekaterinburg,thenTomsk,
24 when in ROAM.co.uk Summer 2010
FEATURE - TRANS-SIBERIAN

Summer 2010 when in ROAM.co.uk 25

 FEATURE - TRANS-SIBERIAN
get to Irkutsk, stay there for five days, and stop off in Krasnoyarsk and Novosibirsk on the way back.
special
After that, Jim tried to teach me to play poker. And so we played for sunflower seeds until I lost all
the 50 I owned. I was about to force Jim to play a card game I was actually good at, when the ghostly
Russian appeared.
Boris had inspired us to check out the locals. There must be other strange men like him
around, we thought, and set off down the train until we reached the restaurant carriage.
Over a cup of tea we discovered that everything else on the menu was extortionate. So we
headed back to our carriage and on the way, encountered our first true Russian hostility.
Luckily, we were mere spectators: we had stumbled upon a full-blown argument between
a woman and a man in their 50s. The woman was shouting at him for invading her personal
space and offending her.
“Don’t I have a right to a peaceful journey on this train?” she cried out.
Instead of replying, the guy laughed at her, shrugged and dismissed her as old-fashioned and up-
tight.
Everythingbecameclearafter15minutesofattentiveeavesdroppingandprudent
“Don’t I have consultation with fellow voyagers. The man liked to sit around without a top on and
a right to the woman couldn’t bear the sight of his ‘fat belly’. To be fair, when temperatures
reach up to 35°C, which is characteristic of Siberian summers, it can get very hot on
a peaceful the train. I would have quite liked to walk around in my underwear too, but, well, I
didn’t.
journey?” Jim and I chuckled away like primary school children. And just like it is
- woman at school, an authoritative grown-up had to come and separate the two hoo-
ligans. The grown-up in this case was the train attendant, or provodnitsa,
disturbed by in Russian. She mediated, shook her head, told both quarrellers off, raised
her voice and hands - but the arguing continued. Would he ever put his shirt
the sight of a back on? It didn’t look like it, so we moved on.
Although we had just quenched our thirst for entertainment and satisfied
passenger’s our hunger for scandals, we were feeling quite peckish. And as we walked
‘fat belly’ back into our compartment we saw that nearly everyone else in the car-
riage felt the same way. Our eyes were taken on a tour. We saw everything
from an elderly woman’s multi-coloured salad to the pies, roast chickens and
smoked fish that the other passengers were indulging in.
How sad we felt when we reached for our crisps, sandwiches and yoghurt drinks. We could
have been so much more creative on a train like this!
So we went to bed, or bunk, rather. I woke up the next morning from the soundest sleep
I had in months. It was 8am, Moscow time. But because we had crossed the Urals at some
point during the night and entered Siberian Russia, which is in a different time zone, it was from left:
actually ten. We got off the train and explored Yekaterinburg. We made a mad dash Our provodnitsa;
traditional Russian
across the city to see all its sights during the day and by the end we were anxious to cuisine; a typical
take a nap on those comfy bunks. Russian snack:
Back on the train we stored away our luggage and went straight for that long- sunflower seeds; a
awaited nap. We now had 23 hours before we arrived in Tomsk and because we’d cup of Russian tea;
a train carriage,
be going through two more time zones, we would virtually gain five hours and have and a Russian girl
all the time in the world. we met on the train.

26 when in ROAM.co.uk Summer 2010

 FEATURE - TRANS-SIBERIAN
Still, when Jim and I were forcefully woken up by new people joining our four-bunk com-

special
partment, we were not amused.
We had to get up and let the two young men tuck their bags underneath the lower
bunks.
Kaerim and Ahmed took up the entire table with their sausages, cheese, tomatoes and
bread. Jim and I looked out of the window, and for about 20 seconds we were impressed with
the way the sunset was casting a light on the spruces. We turned around only to find that we
had been pushed onto the very edge of our bunk, as seven more hungry men had sat down
to eat. We couldn’t even eavesdrop on their conversation because they were speaking in a
language which sounded like a mixture of Turkish and Arabic, with a hint of Russian. When
they realised our dismay at the crowded situation, they suddenly bombarded us
with questions. “You’re
“Are you two married?”
“No. We’re just friends.”
from the
“Would you like some food?” West.
“No, thank you. We have just eaten.”
“No, no, no. Have some!” Why
“No, really, we’re quite full.”
“No, here, here.” Kaerim cut some bread, sausage and cheese. would
“Please, have some, have some!”
We couldn’t refuse their hospitality. And once I had a bite of that smoked cheese,
you
I was in culinary heaven. A slice of fluffy white bread topped with cheese, a bit of travel to
salami, followed by more cheese, more bread, and more salami. Before we knew
it, we were having our second dinner and our stomachs were fit to explode. But Siberia?”
the Kazak crowd poured us shots of vodka, and the fun began.
“So, you two are students from England? Wow! What are you doing
- traveller
“What here then?”
We told them.
baffled “You are exploring Siberia? Why?” Ahmed slammed his shot glass onto the table
and shook his head. “You’re from the West. Why would you come here?”
me the It took us the rest of the night to answer that question, while our shot glasses
most was kept magically refilling themselves. Jim and I suddenly became so fluent in Rus-
sian that we started discussing highly complicated subjects with our new friends,
outside: using flawless grammar and perfect accents.
I woke up at 11am Siberian time (4am in Moscow) to a dreadful techno remix of
I saw the Pirates of the Caribbean soundtrack. My head was pounding. I looked around
people.” and was astounded by a multitude of things: Jim was snoring loud enough to give
a jackhammer a run for its money (I began to dread the next 20 nights I’d have to
spend by his side) and our new best friends had left. Our table was empty again.
But what baffled me most was the scene outside: I saw people. They were working in gar-
dens. How did they even get there? Nothing appeared to surround these gardens: no roads,
no stations, no civilization. Too tired to find a solution to this puzzle, I got up slowly and
made my way to the tiny bathroom.
“It’s engaged,” our pravodnitsa told me. “A lady is washing her hair, so it’ll be a

Summer 2010 when in ROAM.co.uk 27

FEATURE - TRANS-SIBERIAN
while.”
Washing her hair? The bathrooms on this train, if you can call them that, were about as
big as my wardrobe at home, with a sink that could barely fit two hands in at once. Again, I
was too exhausted to work out this mystery.
The next few hours flew by faster than ever. We chatted to some passengers in a mixture
of Russian, English, and sign language. We ate, we read, we packed our things, and before
we could even say the word ‘Vodka’, we arrived in Tomsk. After spending one day and one
night there, we were finally within range of Irkutsk and the famous Lake Baikal. And so we
returned to the train.
Jim and I really appreciated the towns we visited on the way, having seen
nothing but field after field and spruce after spruce during the length of the
journey. “Then, with a
But after all the churches, statues and impressive building facades, we
were craving some greens and blues, some fresh air, and some of that space
jolt of liberation,
we kept seeing outside. All our hopes lay with Lake Baikal. The world’s tomorrow finally
deepest, oldest and most voluminous fresh water lake was already having a
major effect on us, and we were still 12 hours away. came.We had
Our anticipation grew as soon as two soldiers boarded the train and sat
down beside us. It was times like these that I was so glad I was with a male
arrived. I almost
companion. It was 2pm and Dima and Vladimir, who were starting their six-
month leave this very moment, were reeking of beer, vodka and cigarettes.
jumped on Jim
They could hardly focus or hold their balance, let alone keep their voices and gave him a
down. Soon, they became unpopular with every single passenger in the wag-
on and the pravodnitsa asked them to keep it down, but without success. gigantic hug, but
We endured hours of nodding and politely answering each of their ques-
tions before we stuck our earplugs in and went to sleep.
we had to get
Then, with a jolt of liberation, tomorrow finally came. We had arrived. I out of the train
almost jumped on Jim and gave him a gigantic hug, but we had to get out of
the train fast. fast.”
Five hours later, we were lying on the beach of Olkhon Island, right in the
middle of Lake Baikal, playing poker. This time, we were placing bets using seashells. I lost
all five games. But I didn’t care because I could just climb up the hill near us and dive into
the lake. I looked back at Jim and gave him a big smile.
“Take a picture,” I shouted. And three, two, one, go!

28 when in ROAM.co.uk Summer 2010

Trans-Siberian Rucksack - dissected

special
Pot Noodle

your copy of
WheninROAM

bottle of water

diary

tea bags

slippers

torch
(lights are
switched off
at around
8pm)

travel adapter iPod

a good book
water
purifying
ear plugs tablets
Summer 2010 when in ROAM.co.uk 29
 al
ky C athedr
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Anichkov Bridge

This is one of the architectural

highlights of Nevsky Prospekt
and is an essential place to
visit both for the spectacular
views of the surrounding palac-
es and for the famous bronze
sculptures (the Horse Tamers)
that crown its four corners.

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m
Neva River, so a bo ost entirely built on a series of island
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30 when in ROAM.co.uk Summer 2010
 uare
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Metro
Get around the ci
ty via the intricate
designed Mosco ly
w Metro.

The Arbat

Moscow’s most famous

street, the Arbat, is also worth
a visit. Each day, talented street
performers and instant portrait
painters gather on the street
to entertain passers-by.
Izm
ayl
In th ov
e oM
don m ood ar
’
ban want for ket
k ? t to sho
may The raid ppin
a go lovo M n hea your g, but
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aph i a e
ern ques a rt, ha nir
alia n n
d S dma
. ovie de
t

Summer 2010 when in ROAM.co.uk 31

Vladimir Cathedral of St Dmitry

Unfortunately the mysterious church is permanently closed,

but its exterior is something of a spectacle. The walls are cov-
ered with over one thousand relief images of lions, centaurs,
snow leopards and exotic ornaments.

GOLDEN GATE

Take a stroll to the centre

of the town where the
Golden Gate of Vladimir
stands. Right at the top,
you will find the town’s
Military Museum.

Assumption
Cathedral
The five-domed
Assumption Cat
capital of Rus’
(the ancient na hedral was built to announce
me for Russia)
and dedicated
to the holy icon . It was design the town’s claim as the
expanded in 11 of the Virgin M ed as a tomb fo
85–1189, and ary. It was cons r grand princes
iconographer D pa inted by the fam tructe
aniil Chyorny. ous Russian ar d in 1158–1160,
tist Andrei Rub
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Yekaterinburg.
32 when in ROAM.co.uk Summer 2010
Tomsk us eum -
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k found now
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o
and o

Summer 2010 when in ROAM.co.uk 33

 The Russia factfile
Tourist visa
The RUSSIAN TOURIST VISA is the easiest to get
and the least expensive, so it is ideal for tourists.
This visa can be single-entry or double-entry and is
valid for the period of up to 30 days.
It usually takes the Russian Consulate three to eight
working days to issue and costs £189 or £115 respective-
ly.
To get a Russian tourist visa, you need a tourist invita-
tion. This comprises a tourist voucher and a tourist reser-
vation confirmation. This is issued by any Russian travel
agency and costs about £20.
Fill in the visa application form AFTER you have re-
ceived your invitation, specifying on it the same data,
i.e. the name of the inviting travel agency, the purpose
of the trip (tourism), the visa dates, cities to visit, etc.
After you come to Russia, your visa will need to be
registered within 72 hours.
If you stay in a hotel, they will register your tourist
visa for the whole period of your stay (hotel registra-
tion costs about £5).
If you stay in an apartment or with your friends, the
landlord (the owner of the apartment) should fill out
a special landlord letter and submit it to immigration
authorities via the post.
Apply for your visa and tourist invitation on visitrus-
sia.org.uk
Be there
How much do the essentials cost?
Pint of beer £3.95
Glass of wine £4.50
Bottle of Russian sparkling wine £9.00
Portion of chips £1.15
Pound of apples £1.30
Litre of milk 68p
Pack of cigarettes 80p
Bus fare 45p
34 when in ROAM.co.uk Summer 2010
student visa
The STUDENT VISA is issued only to students who
come to Russia as part of an exchange or for educa-
tion.
You can only get this visa if you have applied to
study at a Russian university or institution.
You will need to submit your data to the university and
the foreign department of the university will take care of
all the formalities. They will submit all your data to the
immigration officials and have your student invitation
ready in about seven to ten days. After that, they’ll send
you the invitation by post.
Usually, the student visa doesn’t have a limited va-
lidity, it is extended all the time, depending on how
long you study.
When you apply to the Consulate for a student visa,
you’ll need to pay a normal fee, which will be about the
same as for a tourist visa.
To get a visa You will need:
Your passport, valid for a minimum of six months
after you leave Russia and containing at least two
unused pages. Photocopies will not be accepted.
One passport photo. Ensure it has been taken with-
in the last month.
A completed visa application form.
Consular fee. This starts from £50 per person, ac-
cording to processing time, for British passport hold-
ers. Plus Consulate service administration fee of
£22
Self addressed envelope to return your passport.
If you are applying for a tourist visa, you will also
need a tourist voucher (visa invitation) from a regis-
tered Russian tourist company.
getting there
£1 = 44.40 rubles
London Heathrow to St Petersburg Pulkovo Airport
return from £158 with Lufthansa Airlines, taxes and VAT
included.
Check skyscanner.net for real time prices.

A few things to know
before you go
What do you do upon entering a Russian’s home? Not sure?
Our Russia expert Elizaveta Young uncovers some of the
most important cultural and social rules you must follow to avoid
embarrassment, awkwardness and insult.
L
et’s play a game of word association. Someone says Rus-
sia, you say...? Snow, fur hats, bears, Vodka? Yes, when it
comes to defining this great country our expectations are
completely warped and stereotypes, it appears, still reign
over reality.
In the summer it can get as hot as 40°C in Russia and bears only
roam the wild forests of Siberia. That said, Russia still harbours
lots of weird and wonderful traditions that would surprise and be-
muse many.
Compared to other countries, Russians can initially come across
as rather unfriendly. Don’t be alarmed when a shop assistant snaps
at you or tuts impatiently as you count out your rubles. It is a well
known fact that Russia’s customer service has a long way to go be-
fore it reaches European standards of normalcy.
But once the ice has been broken and you seize the opportunity
to befriend a Russian, you will find that the trait, which is rooted
deeply into most Russians, is one of overwhelming generosity and
hospitality.
If you are invited to a Russian home, make sure you go with an
empty stomach, but not empty-handed. A bottle of sweet wine or a
cake would go down well, or, if you want to surprise your host with
some flowers, make sure there’s as odd number of them, as even
numbers are strictly for funerals.
On entering a Russian’s home, you will be supplied with a pair of
slippers. These, you must wear inside the flat at all times. If you
don’t, as any Russian will explain, you will catch your death.
After washing your hands, you will be led straight into the kitch-
en, where you will be plied with mounds of food and gallons of
drink. On occasion, be prepared to toast your arrival with a few
shots of Vodka – despite the fact that it may only be ten o’clock in
the morning.
After dinner, tea will be served. Bear in mind that drinking tea on
its own is considered strange behaviour, so make room for cakes,
cream éclairs and chocolate sweets.
If you decide to do a spot of food shopping, make sure you wear
comfortable shoes. Outside big cities, if you head for a Produkti
store (a small shop that sells basic food) you will often find yourself
standing in three different queues just to buy a loaf of bread.
You must firstly queue up and request your bread. Then, you
must get in line and pay the cashier who will hand you a receipt.
Only then are you eligible to get into the first queue again where
you can exchange your receipt for your purchase. And they say the
English like to queue.
Please note that in small towns many shop staff do not work on a
rota basis and close their doors at lunch for up to two hours. Don’t
be caught out – go shopping early.
It is no wonder that in a country where beer is classed as a non-
alcoholic drink, a litre of Vodka can cost you less than a packet of
fruit juice or a visit to the cinema. And if you do decide to treat
yourself to a movie, remember that the earlier the showing, the
cheaper the ticket.
Russian transport is also something you will have to get used to,
because there’s no getting around getting around. Gypsy cabs are
FEATURE- RUSSIA
special
one of the fastest and cheapest ways of getting across the city. As
long as you agree on the price before getting in, you and your five
(yes, five!) friends can experience an invigorating ride in a rusty
Russian Lada.
If you find yourself on a Russian elektrichka (electric train) during
rush hour, the most important thing to remember is not to panic.
Yes, an elderly grandma may be elbowing you in the ribs, and yes,
your head may be thrust into someone’s sweaty armpit. But look on
the bright side – at least you’re in the carriage, unlike the man who
is wedged between the sliding doors.
On the Moscow Metro, you may find that you are not the only
mammal in need of a ride. Stray dogs are frequent Metro consum-
ers and can easily navigate between stations. If you’re lost, try fol-
lowing a dog, they probably know where they’re going better than
you.
Incidentally, if you are after a degree or medical certificate or per-
haps you want a work permit, you needn’t waste your time at uni
or in some bureaucrat’s office. Pop down to your local Metro station
and buy one from a gangly boy in a baseball cap. Sorted.
As night approaches, you will no doubt want to explore the Rus-
sian night-life. A metropolis like Moscow will keep you up all night,
with almost everything open 24 hours.
Fancy Italian at five o’clock in the morning? No problem, step this
way. Maybe you want a coffee to perk yourself up before the next
club? Easy, just round this corner. And if you can’t wait to get your
photos developed tomorrow, don’t fret, there’s bound to be a 24-
hour photo developing service down the road.
The success of your night, however, depends on Russian bounc-
ers. Many clubs have a ludicrous face-control policy which ensures
clubs are filled with rich, beautiful people, dressed to impress.
Remember, Russian bouncers do not negotiate, if they say no,
walk away. Don’t worry though, while one club refuses your entry
because you are foreign, another will welcome you with open arms
– for that very reason.
If you are male and are lucky enough to worm your way into an
exclusive expat club – beware the gaze of beautiful Russian ladies.
There have been times when unsuspecting male students got a lit-
tle bit more than what they bargained for when they woke up in the
snow, half naked, without a penny to their name.
At least you can come home and have a nice relaxing shower. Wait,
spoke too soon. If you are staying in Russia in the summer, you may
wake up one morning to find that your flat has no hot water.
However infuriating, this is perfectly normal. During the summer
months hot water is cut off for two weeks in Russian flats so that
maintenance work can be carried out on pipes.
Don’t let this put you off. Russia is a vast place where opportu-
nities and new discoveries lurk behind every corner. It is a place
where a pair of tights can set you back 700 rubles (£16) and sun-
flower seeds are sold by the kilogram in case you get peckish.
So instead, why not try to fit in? Pull on your tracksuit, get your-
self a mullet hair cut and step outside. Somewhere along the spit-
stained pavement you will find your way, and when you do, you
may not want to go back.
Summer 2010 when in ROAM.co.uk 35
36 when in ROAM.co.uk Summer 2010
 s
Your best and worst

Your best and worst tra v e l

Every issue we ask three readers about their best and worst holidays.

Email your answers

to readerstravels@
wheninroam.co.uk

Joanna Bending, 24, Basildon Murad Abouammoh, 29, Riyadh Michael Hunter, 22, Billingham

My best trip... I went to India with my dad. We

went on the toy train to Shimla,
which I wanted to do ever since I
was a kid. My dad wanted to pay
for slightly fancier hotels and res-
taurants than I was used to, so it
turned out to be quite fancy.
After finishing my undergraduate
degree me and four friends went
on a spontaneous trip from the
north of Saudi Arabia down to the
south. We ended up spending
several days in the Empty Quarter
(Rub al Khali) - a vast uninhabited
desert.
Backpacking in Thailand. It was
the first time I’ve been out of Eu-
rope, and the country is so differ-
ent from city to city. In the north
you can go to the jungle or go
trekking, and down in the south
you have the party atmosphere.

A friend’s wedding in India. There Visiting Hard Rock Café in Orlan- I went to this Italian restaurant
My favourite were 30 or 40 different stalls, do, FL. It was my first visit to Hard near the Eiffel Tower. It was a

meal while each stall offering ten dishes

prepared in front of you. The
Rock, and it triggered
off my obsession to
classic place, which was weird
as I was in Paris. They had the
travelling... strategy was to find a middle-
aged uncle or aunt and ask them
visit as many
restaurants
biggest pizza I’ve ever tried, and
I ate it while looking at the Eiffel
what a foreigner should try, and from the chain Tower.
they would take me and fill up my as possible.
plate.

My worst When I stayed in Moscow I was

alone and people would stare at
holiday me on the metro until someone
with a darker complexion would
memory... get on and then they would stare
at them. I wouldn’t say it was bad
but it was weird, and I felt a bit
singled out.
When I was 15 I travelled alone
for the first time. I had to spend
As a youngster I went on a cara-
van holiday in Clacton-upon-Sea.
three weeks in the UK, but on the Activities included walking and
second day of my visit Princess visiting Chester Zoo, so it wasn’t
Diana died, everything was shut, the greatest holiday
and most people were not in the experience
mood to be welcoming and happy for a 10-
hosts. year-old
child.

I never go Faith in the kindness of other

people.
My Qur’an, Sejadah, laptop and
beloved iPod.
An open mind.

travelling
without...
If I could live Cuba. Life is a lot
slower, so people
Preferably somewhere close to
the sea, but anywhere where I
Tallinn, in Estonia. It is one of
the most unspoilt old towns in
anywhere in have time to talk
and feel safe and
can become a better person and
improve my quality of life.
Eastern Europe I’ve ever seen.
The cobbled streets make you
the world, I’d confident. feel like you are stuck in the 19th
century.
choose...
Summer 2010 when in ROAM.co.uk 37
New York
win a trip to

38 when in ROAM.co.uk Summer 2010

Summer 2010 when in ROAM.co.uk 39
WHENINROAM COMPETITION

To bag you and a mate a week in a 3* New York City hotel, plus
return air travel from London with Virgin Atlantic and £500
spending money, just answer the following question:

When did New York become a state?

a) July 26, 1769 b) July 26, 1788 c) July 26, 1791

Visit the Sta

tue of Liberty

l Park T
C e n t ra ake th
a r o und e Sta
a w al k g o sigh ten Is
Tak e tseein land fe
g (it ’s rry to
free !)
How to enter:

Log on to wheninroam.co.uk and click on the

‘Competition’ tab to enter your answer and contact details. Entries must
be submitted by July 10, 2010.

40 when in ROAM.co.uk Summer 2010

Summer 2010 when in ROAM.co.uk 41
 1 2
foreign frolics

8
7
9

12
13

42 when in ROAM.co.uk Summer 2010

16
 7-PAGE GUIDE ON SUMMER FESTIVALS

5 6

foreign frolics
3 4

20
11

European 10
Music & 14
Cultural
Festivals
Think you’ve done them all?

15
From indie anthems to
pounding basslines,
food fights to duck

19
races, even the most
seasoned festival-lover
is sure to find something
new and exciting inside.

17 18 20
Summer 2010 when in ROAM.co.uk 43
foreign frolics
1 Ozora, Hungary
E
very year, 40,000 people
gather in the beautiful Ozora
valley for six intense days of
24-hour blasting psytrance,
hardcore dancing and hippy-style
living. With a cinema, playground,
corn labyrinth and an A-list line up,
this underground festival is a must
on the psytrance calendar. Interna-
tional artists and electronic music
lovers can finally come together in
the Hungarian sunshine and moon-
light.
The main stage is set in a huge,
natural amphitheatre in a cove
formed by steep hills on three
sides, with the tallest at the back of
the stage. Atop the highest stand
two 15-metre-tall wicker figures
with a myriad tiny, multicoloured
lights enlaced around their danc-
ing bodies. Around the figures,
overlooking the plain, hundreds of
different-shaped crystals shine in
the dark. While the valley pounds
to the sound of the bass, the sur-
rounding hills contain the loud
beats within, making the music
almost impossible to hear from
the campsite. The hills around
the stage also offer an attractive
perspective on the dance floor for
the many revellers splayed out in
the shade or dancing under water
44 when in ROAM.co.uk Summer 2010
spurting from sprinklers.
A sea of tents pops up between
international campervans as the
vast campsite expands throughout
the week and into the weekend.
The organisers have changed
the rules for the better this year:
no personal sound systems are
allowed to be played on-site. In
previous years campervans would
set up their own dance floors and
compete with one another to see
who would be the loudest or stay
on the latest.
The whole festival is a visual ex-
perience, from the setting in the
heart of a green valley, t h e
colourful, thatched
structure circled by
uprooted trees
which constitutes
the main stage to
the range of people
who go. Along the
dirt ‘high street’, you
can spot hippies
with bare-footed
toddlers sprawling
on the Arabian-style
café rugs, Goths buy-
ing fluorescent gear,
trendy types drinking
smoothies while hungry
psytrance fans queue at
Book
no
ozora w
fest.h
u
the pizza van. dard language. At Ozora, the fin-
On the dance floor, all types merge ishing touches are what make the
into a trance, stamping the ground real difference: you can buy afford-
rhythmically to the sound of live acts able fruit and veg from a stall sell-
and DJ sets echoing around the hills ing organic produce, with a fridge
during the full length of the festival. packed full of yoghurts and freshly
Poi spinners and fire jugglers share pressed juice – far from the main
the dance floor with the jumping path overflowing with expensive
crowd – everyone dances alone, but make-shift snacks. A giant roaring
everyone is together. There’s no de- bonfire is restocked throughout the
nying the widespread use of all kinds nights near the main stage, and
of psychedelic drugs in these circles. the toilet and shower facilities are
Illegal drugs are part of the experi- numerous, spread out and well-
ence for some, but everyone can looked after. The hill of light over-
have fun in Ozora, whatever their looking the dance floor offers a
choices. magical journey through the night,
Everything is payable in euros or and the maze is sure to keep you
forints, although traders tend to entertained during the long hours
round figures off to the high- of sunlight. Volunteers hold instru-
est euro, so sticking to the mental and pottery workshops dur-
national currency will re- ing the day, and among the crowd
duce expenses. Close to are some of the friendliest people
90 per cent of attendees you’ll ever meet – they’ll share
are non-Hungarian, which their shade, water and even their
means English is the stan- glowsticks with you.
Date: August 3 - 8, 2010
Location: Dádpuszta, Ozora, Hungary
Cost: €90 in advance + booking fee, €100 at the gate
Line up: Laughing Buddha, Blue Planet Corporation,
Christof, Carbon Based Lifeforms, Vibrasphere,
Protoculture, Solar Fields, Transwave, Union Jack, Logic
Bomb, Liquid Soul and Burn in Noise.
 MUSIC

foreign frolics
Melt!, Germany
Date: July 16 - 18, 2010
Location: Ferropolis, Gräfenhainichen, Germany
Cost: €94 - full weekend ticket; €75 - 2 day ticket for Friday & Saturday
Line up: Massive Attack, The XX, Booka Shade, The Wombats, Foals,
Goldfrapp, Shout Out Louds, Jamie T, Friendly Fires and The Big Pink.

2
The 13th annual Melt! Festival is held this year in a giant industrial mu-
seum in Ferropolis, Germany.

Benicassim, Spain
With everything from indie-pop to electronica, hip hop and ambient
beats, echoing around inside the bizarre metallic structure, Melt! is a
festival that has something for everyone.

Date: July 15 – 18, 2010

Location: Benicassim, Spain
Cost: €193 for a four-day pass (via seetickets.

com)
Line up: The Prodigy, Kasabian, Vampire
Weekend, Leftfield, Dizzee Rascal, The Cour-
teeners, The Cribs, Echo and the Bunnymen,
Goldfrapp, Ian Brown, Hot Chip, Ellie Goulding,
Mumford & Sons, The Specials, The Temper
Trap, Scratch Perverts and Two Door Cinema
Club.
The Benicassim festival, near Valencia, is one of Europe’s most popular – and
for good reason. With bands such as Vampire Weekend and Echo and the
Bunnymen playing the beachside venue, it’s sure to be an unforgettable
weekend. Enjoy the relaxed Hispanic atmosphere with tapas and sangria
and take an afternoon siesta before hitting the arena until the early hours.
5
Soundwave, Croatia
Date: July 23 – 25, 2010
Location: Petrcane, Croatia
Cost: €75 + booking fee
Line up: Alexander Nut, Andreya Triana, ASM (A State of Mind), Gentle-
man’s Dub Club, Toddla T, Benji B, Blue Daisy, Broke’n’£nglish, Danny
Drive Thru, Part Time Heroes, Laura J Martin and Zero 7 (DJ Set).
Set on a beautiful peninsula, where the Dalmatian Coast meets the Adriatic
Sea, festival-goers can dance the night away under the stars, or swim in the
sparkling blue waters.
Catch some rays on the beach or party at the Main Stage where the
Terrace gives you prime views of the live sets against the backdrop of
the stunning Petrcane bay.

Grupo Fantasma

3 EXIT, Serbia

6
Date: July 8 – 11, 2010
Location: Petrovaradin Fortress, Novi Sad, Serbia

Tempo Latino, France

Cost: from Jan – May: 4 day festival ticket: €85 + booking fee;
June onwards: 4 day festival ticket only - €99 + booking fee. Camping
ticket: €20 + booking fee (via exitfest.org and lastminute.com)
Line up: The Chemical Brothers, Faith No More, Mika, Missy Elliott,
Placebo, David Guetta, LCD Soundsystem, Röyksopp, Behemoth, Sui-
cidal Tendencies, Ricardo Villalobos, Crystal Castles, Pendulum Live,
Bonaparte, The Horrors and Does It Offend You, Yeah?
EXIT, a festival held in a fairytale-like fortress on the banks of the Dan-
ube, began with rebellion. The slogan for the first EXIT festival in 2000
was “EXIT from ten years of madness” – a reference to the Milošević
regime. EXIT is growing in popularity every year and encourages every-
one to bond over fantastic tunes and a wish to make the world a better
place.
Date: July 22 – 25, 2010
Location: Vic-Fezensac, Gers, France
Cost: €80 (if booked online via tempo-latino.com)
Line up: Sebastián Avispa, Ojos de brujo, Calambuco, Salsa Celtica,
Grupo Fantasma, Choco Orta, La Sucursal SA, Especial Salsa Dura
and Jimmy Bosch e amigos.
Every July red-hot salsa rhythms fill the pretty streets of Vic-Fezensac, a quiet
French village in the heart of the countryside. With dance classes for those
less confident everyone will be able to mambo, salsa and cha-cha-cha the
night away.

Summer 2010 when in ROAM.co.uk 45

foreign frolics

Strapped for cash? Think you can teach?

We need people like you to teach English at our renowned language
centre.
Send your CV and covering letter to
info@englishforyou.eu
46 ROAM Summer 2010
when in or fionamary.cullen@tiscali.co.uk
.co.uk
 MUSIC

foreign frolics
Iceland Airwaves, Iceland
Date: October 13 – 17, 2010
Location: Reykjavik, Iceland
Cost: €70 for early bird tickets
Line up: Alex Metric and Charli XCX, Tunng, Mount Kimbie, and Every-
thing Everything

A late one in terms of the festival calendar, Iceland Airwaves is now known
as one of the premier spots for showcasing new music. Held in Reykjavik,
Iceland’s welcoming capital, you can party all night and explore all day. The
Blue Lagoon is only a short bus ride away, and, to us, soaking in the hot
springs sounds like the perfect hangover cure.

9 Hellfest, France
Date: June 18 – 20, 2010
Location: Clisson, France
Boo
nowk
Cost: €129 for a full-weekend ticket
€59 for a one-day ticket for Friday, Saturday or Sunday. Camping in-
cluded in ticket price
Line up: Deftones, Fear Factory, Alice Cooper, Twisted Sister, Kiss,
Motorhead, Slayer, and Dying Fetus

A medieval French fortress in Clisson, Brittany, is the spectacular set-

ting for Hellfest. Attracting metalheads from all around the world, and
with Kiss’s debut Hellfest performance, this summer’s party is sure to
be one of the best yet.

8 Sziget, Hungary
Date: August 9 – 16, 2010
Location: Óbudai Island, Budapest, Hungary
Cost: €170 for an eight-day pass with camping included (for other op-
tions please see wheninroam.co.uk or szigetfest.co.uk)
Line up: Muse, Kasabian, The Specials, Iron Maiden, Faithless, Ill Niño,
Papa Roach, The Hives, Orquestra Buena Vista Social Club®, Omara
Portuondo, Calvin Harris, 30 Seconds to Mars, and The Cribs

The word sziget means ‘island’ in Hungarian, explaining the festival’s

location. Famed for its diversity, Sziget hosts artists from all kinds of

10
genres – from blues and folk to rock and indie. In addition to these
audio treats, Sziget also offers a range of activities, including bungee-
jumping, volleyball, film screenings and even a life-sized foosball (table
football) pitch. Springfestival, Austria
Date: May 12 – 15, 2010
Location: Graz, Austria
Cost: €81 + €2.77 booking fee (if booked online via the springfestival
website springfestival.at)
Line up: Pendulum, Mowgli, and Zombie Nation Live

Wend your way along the cobbled streets to discover springfestival’s extraor-
dinary locations, such as a cave carved into a mountain and a ‘Friendly Alien’
museum. Perfect for lovers of electronic art and music, springfestival is an
exciting mix of indie riffs and electric beats.

Summer 2010 when in ROAM.co.uk 47

 CULTURE

13
foreign frolics
Festa del Redentore,
Italy
When: Every third Saturday and Sunday in July
Location: Venice, Italy
Get there: Get a flight to Treviso airport (18 miles from Venice). The
ATVO bus meets Ryanair flights and takes 70 minutes. Or take the
Number 6 bus into Treviso, then take rail and bus connections to Ven-
ice
Info: Venice Tourist Office - Web: turismovenezia.it, Tel: +41 529 87 11

The Redentore began as a feast to give thanks for the end of the ter-
rible plague of 1576, which killed 50,000 people. Preparations begin

11
Balaruc-le-Vieux early on Saturday morning as people decorate their boats and small
wooden terrace rooftops, from which they will admire the fireworks later

Medieval Festival,
that night. At sunset, Saint Mark’s basin begins to fill with up with boats
festooned with balloons and garlands, and thousands of Venetians
await the fireworks while dining on the boats. At around 10pm the fire-
France
14
works are let off from pontoons near the island of San Giorgio and last
45 – 60 minutes.
When: July 16 - 17, 2010
Location: Balaruc-le-Vieux, France
Get there: Get a flight to Montpellier from London Gatwick or Leeds,
La Tomatina, Spain
and jump on a bus which will take you the last 16 miles to Balaruc-le-
Vieux
When: Every last
Info: Montpellier Tourist Office - Web: ot-montpellier.fr, Tel: +33 4 67 60
Wednesday in August
60 60
Location: Buñol, Spain
Get there: Take a flight to Manises International
Once a year Balaruc returns to medieval times. The small town is built
Airport in Valencia (20 miles from Buñol), then a train
around a feudal castle where the festival begins with a torchlit proces-
to the town.
sion followed by a cavalcade show. In the morning everyone attends
Info: Valencia Tourist Office - Web: turisvalencia.es, Tel:
mass in their medieval costumes, and then the Lord of the Castle
+34 963 153 931, Email: infoturistica@turisvalencia.es
knights a chosen candidate. Afterwards, a jousting tournament is held
in the town hall square while soldiers practice their sword skills outside
Essentially one big food-fight, La Tomatina brings a whole new
the city walls. Elsewhere in town there is a medieval market and a ban-
meaning to playing with your food. Nearly 140 tonnes of toma-
quet where food is cooked over an open fire. The festival ends with a
toes are trucked in from around the countryside and, come
fireworks show.
Wednesday, the town’s streets turn into one hot salsa riot,
with over 20,000 revellers pelting each other with the
large, squishy fruit. This is part of a week-long fes-
tival, which features music, parades, dancing,
and fireworks. It is tradition for the women
to wear all white and the men to
go shirtless.

15 Koninginnedag,

12
Amsterdam
Gentse Feesten, When: June 30, 2010
Location: Amsterdam, the Netherlands

Belgium Get there: Easy - get a flight to Amsterdam

Info: Amsterdam Tourist Office - Web: iamsterdam.com/en
Tel: +31 900 400 40 40
When: July 18 – 27, 2010
Location: Ghent, Belgium Koninginnedag is a national holiday to commemorate the birthday of the
Get there: Get a flight to Brussels and then a train or bus to Ghent (only country’s former queen, Queen Wilhelmina. It is by far the most widely
40 miles away) celebrated holiday in the Netherlands and can be described as one
Info: Ghent Tourist Office - Web: visitgent.be, Tel: +32 9266 56 60, huge party across the whole city. Queen’s Day begins on April 29 with
Email: toerisme@gent.be a day-long vrijmarkt (free market) and open-air concerts in the city’s
parks. At night, it turns into Koninginnenacht or Queen’s Night, when
Belgium’s bustling medieval city of Ghent is transformed every summer by Amsterdam’s bars and clubs host a series of spectacular all-night par-
Europe’s largest cultural festival, which attracts a 1.5 million-strong crowd ties.
of music and performing arts lovers. The festival is, in fact, made up of four
separate ones: the Blue Note Festival of Jazz; the International Puppet Busk-
ers Festival; the International Street Theatre Festival and; the dance festival
- 10 Days Off. The origins of the latter lie in the 19th century, when Ghent’s
peasants took a ten-day break to release all their pent-up holiday spirit in an
immense, vigorous party.

48 when in ROAM.co.uk Summer 2010

 CULTURE

16

foreign frolics
Festa de São João,
Portugal
When: June 23 – 24, 2010
Location: Porto, Portugal
Get there: Get a flight to the Porto Airport - Aeroporto Francisco Sá
Carneiro, with a change at Lisbon
Info: Porto Tourist Office - Tel: +351 22 339 3472

Arm yourself with a squeaky rubber mallet or a particularly smelly

bunch of wild garlic stalks and head to Porto for some serious head-
whacking in one of Europe’s most riotous festivals. No one knows the
origins of this tradition, but every year thousands of people come to the
city centre to pay tribute to Saint John the Baptist in a party that mixes

19
sacred and profane traditions. The party starts early in the evening of
June 23 with street concerts, street dancing, flame jumping, boat racing
and fireworks and ends with the release of illuminated flame-propelled
Gorolski Swieto,
balloons over Porto’s summer sky.
Czech Republic
17 Tübingen Duck Race,
Germany
When: July 1 – 31, 2010
Location: Tübingen, Germany
When: The first weekend in August, Friday – Sunday
Location: Jablunkov, Czech Republic
Get there: Get a flight to Prague and then a direct train to Jablunkov.
Info: Ostrava Tourist Office - Web: infolbc.cz, Tel: +596 485 10 17 09,
Email: mic@infolbc.cz

Get there: Get a plane to Stuttgart and then jump on a bus, which will
take you the last 21 miles to Tübingen
Info: Stuttgart Tourist Office - Tel: +49 711 22 28 240, Email: info@
stuttgart-tourist.de
Ladies and gentlemen, start your ducks! Up to 7,000 ducks make a
break for it every summer in the annual Tübingen Duck Race. Not
ducks of the feathered variety, but the plastic, yellow ones of the bath-
tub species. Thousands line the course, which runs from Alleenbrücke
to the finishing line at Neckarbrücke Bridge. The flag drops at 2pm, but
those looking to rent a duck need to be registered and at the starting
line by 1pm. To enter the race, a small fee of €3 will be required.
The primary goal of this international cultural and folklore festival is
the presentation of Gorol folklore groups from the surroundings of
Jabłunkóv and the Zaolzie region. The festival honours Gorol history
with storytelling and songs while small wooden cottages are set up
so that visitors can buy traditional food and beverages like miodula
(mead). Entertainment includes singing, folk dancing, a display of fine
arts and handicrafts. There is also a parade and a feast with traditional
Czech, Slovakian, Polish, Hungarian and South American cuisine.

18
Wife Carrying
Championships,
When: Every July
Finland
Location: Sonkajärvi, Finland
Get there: Get a flight to Kuopio, which connects at Helsinki, then a
train to Sonkajärvi
Cow Painting
20
Info: Iisalmi is the nearest major town to Sonkajärvi. Iisalmi Tourist Of-
fice -Tel: +358 17 272 3223, Email: tourism@iisalmi.fi

At the annual Wife Carrying World Championships men carry their

wives on their backs over a 250-metre-long obstacle course. Like so
Festival,
many of the world’s bizarre festivals, wife carrying has its
origins buried deep in an age-old local Luxembourg
tradition - wife stealing in When: April – September
the 19th century. Finnish Location: Luxembourg
men of the era were Get there: Get a plane to Luxembourg City
known to ransack Info: Luxembourg City Tourist Office - Web: lcto.lu/en, Tel: +352 22 28
neighbouring villag- es 09, Email: touristinfo@lcto.lu
and steal their women. To enter
the modern Due to its minuteness, Luxembourg has to find a way to get noticed – and
day championships a wife cow painting seems to be as good a method as any. Every summer the city
is a necessity, but could easily be mistaken for a crazy barnyard, as local and international
she doesn’t necessarily have to be yours. artists pull out all the stops on their canvases – fake cows. Metal, wood,
The winner is awarded concrete, fibreglass – no ‘canvas’ is out of bounds as long as it is cow-shaped.
the spouse’s weight in beer. What a Don’t believe us? Pop over to Luxembourg City this summer and see for
sobering thought. yourself.
Summer 2010 when in ROAM.co.uk 49
 Your travel
Izzy Dean, 21, from
Formby, BA Zoology
In the summer of my second
year at uni I went inter-railing
in Europe with a friend. In a
hostel in Budapest, a group
of English girls approached
me because I was wearing
my uni hoodie: “Oh my god,
we’re Sheffield University
students too!” After 15
minutes of chit-chat, we
were shocked to realise
that we’d been living
next door to each other
in Sheffield for a year,
and we had to be in
Hungary to meet!
50 when in ROAM.co.uk Summer 2010
Joanna Sullivan, 23, from Greenwich, BA
Accounting & Chinese
When I went to Mongolia last
winter, we stayed in a traditional
yourt for a night as an organised
trip. The trip also included a little
tour on Mongolian ponies with a
21-year old Mongolian guide who
would, rather than speaking to us,
sing Mongolian folk songs in a very
loud voice. It was cold, and I was freezing. And because I
am quite an experienced horse-rider, I knew how to make
my horse go faster. I was well ahead of everyone else, when
suddenly my horse decided to have a lie-down, with me on
it. I was terrified that I had done something to it, or that it
had hurt itself. I jumped off immediately only to find seconds
later that nothing was wrong with my ponie: it just felt like
shaking me off and going on its well-deserved lunch break.
anecdotes
David Austin, 21, from Nottingham, BA
French, Spanish & Russian
Andrew Martin, 21, from North
Lincolnshire, BA French & Management
I was born in Peru, but I was adopted and brought up by I broke my hand after
my English parents. a quad bike accident
I feel completely British, and I seem to have none of back in Canada, where
the Peruvian inborn character traits in me: I don’t have I’m on my year abroad.
any of that fire, that passion. I’m really laid-back about When faced with what
everything, but I never learned how speak fluent Spanish, would have been a huge
and I can’t dance to save my life. I don’t have a feeling for medical bill the doctor
rhythm or beat. And when I last went to Peru on a summer said it was free as he
holiday, all these women dancing couldn’t be bothered
really close to me in the club just with the paperwork. And
assumed I was one of their men then he winked at me.
and would bust out some moves. Crazy Canadians…
It always gets really awkward for
me when they find out I’m foreign,
and painful for them when I start
stepping on their feet.
I wish I could dance.

Summer 2010 when in ROAM.co.uk 51

foreign frolics

52 when in ROAM.co.uk Summer 2010

 feature - BULGARIA

Unseen Bulgaria

foreign frolics
Bulgaria is one of the most popular travel destinations at the moment –
here, you get more than your money’s worth and there’s plenty of seaside
in summer and ski slopes in winter. But if you want to avoid mainstream
resorts and bars packed full of Britons, follow this guide to some of the best
places in Bulgaria, off the beaten track.

aste ry
Rila mon

Kukeri
ghost
chase
rs

Alexander Nevski cathedral ill age

u r a v
Et

For the tourist on a mission – roundtrip tour

I
f vegetating on a beach
turning a lobster colour is
not how you want to spend
your holiday, then make
like Michael Palin and soak in
the culture and traditions. While
most people come to Bulgaria for
the nature, the country is over
13 centuries old, so it has a lot
to offer in terms of history, archi-
tecture, customs and crafts. It’s
really up to you and your budget
to decide what to see, so why not
customise your tour with Alexan-
dertour (travelinbulgaria.eu/en)?
For about £400 you can visit ten
destinations in less than a week.
We recommend that you include
Etura, Plovdiv and the Rila
monastery in your trip. Etura is
an open-air museum where you
can experience the traditional
18th century architecture of the
region, and have a look at some
conventional crafts. Plovdiv is
one of Bulgaria’s cultural centres
and home to landmarks from dif-
ferent eras, from an ancient Ro-
man amphitheatre, to a medieval
mosque and a Bulgarian Renais-
sance Old Quarter. The 10th
century Rila Monastery will give
Brits a better understanding of
the little-known Eastern Ortho-
dox Christianity.

Summer 2010 when in ROAM.co.uk 53

 FEATURE - BULGARIA

For the music fan – the seaside

foreign frolics

N
o matter what kind
of music you are into,
there are enough op-
tions at the Black Sea
seaside to keep you happy.
If you are a flower-power lov-
ing hippie, Bulgaria has a
unique ritual to offer. Every 1st
July tens of thousands of people
gather at different seaside loca-
tions to greet the sunrise and
the beginning of summer.
So, if you are into drinking
beer all night while trying to
stay awake in anticipation of the
‘purifying’ sunrise, this mystical
ritual is for you. Central loca-
tions for the tradition are Varna,
Burgas, Kavarna and Kamen
Briag.
The tradition started as a
protest against the communist
regime 20 years ago and was
inspired by the song ‘July Morn-
ing’ by Uriah Heep, which prais-
es the morning as a symbol of
cleansing and the beginning of a
new life.
Rock and metal fans will love
Kavarna Rock Fest, which takes
place between July 23 and 25
(kaliakrarockfest.com). Kavarna
is the rock capital of Bulgaria,
and in the past six years has been
graced by the likes of Manowar,
Scorpions, Black Sabbath, Al-
ice Cooper and Whitesnake.
This year the festival features
Epica, Kreator and Annihilator.
A three-day pass costs £40 and
includes an entry into the prize
draw for a Harley Davidson,
which could make your trip back
to the UK significantly more in-
teresting. Rooms can easily be
rented around Kavarna for as
little as £6 a night. Two of the
popular guest houses are ‘Dora’
(+359570 85475) and ‘Rusanka’
(+359899 80722).
The biggest music event of the
summer is without doubt the
Spirit of Burgas festival, which
takes place between August 13
and 15 (spiritofburgas.com).
There are many fans of elec-
tronic music in the country, but
it was this three-year-old event
that finally put Bulgaria on the
European music map. Fans are
offered a choice of seven stages
located on the beach and 100
performances, headlined by The
Prodigy, Gorillaz Sound System

For the couple in love - spa retreat in Velingrad

I
f you want to treat your
significant other to a
well-deserved getaway,
Velingrad is the place for
you.
While this is one of the most
famous spa resorts in the coun-
try, you will rarely find foreign-
ers in any of the many mineral
pools around the town. Be pre-
pared for Velingrad’s socialist
realist architecture to leave
you underwhelmed at best.
Apart from a handful of worn-
out cafes there is little to do in
town, giving you all the more
reasons to focus on your better
half.
We recommend you
stay in
the five-star ‘Dvoretsa’ hotel
(+359295 05895, dvoretsa.
com). For £20 a day per person
you get a double room, break-
fast and access to the warm
mineral water pools, sauna,
steam room, and the Turkish
bath and gym. Some of the spa
procedures are quite pricy, but
there are a few quality mas-
sages and aromatherapies to
try for no more than £15. A
special couple relaxation pro-
cedure comes with wine.
While the hotel restaurant
is overpriced to say the least,
you can indulge in some tra-
ditional Bulgarian dishes in
the nearby ‘Omar’ and ‘Mil-
lennium’ for almost half the
money. The taverns offer a va-
riety of fresh salads, including
Shopska (feta cheese on a bed
of cucumbers, tomatoes with
traditional Bulgarian spices)
– probably the most popular
dish amongst Bulgarians.
Also on the menu are a variety
of fresh offal and fish dishes.
If you do decide to break
your loving embrace and leave
the hotel make sure you find
the time to visit the Kleptusa
Lake, which is romanti-
cally illu-
minated at
night and
calls for an
intimate
dinner in the
restaurant
surrounding
it. take your camera with you to
If you feel capture the rustic village scen-
like stretch- eries and picturesque land-
ing your legs scapes.
after all that How to get there: There are
pampering, ask regular buses to Velingrad
at the hotel for leaving from ‘South’ bus sta-
the best hiking tion in Sofia (‘Dragan Tsank-
routes around ov’ Bld 23, +359287 22345).
Velingrad. Tickets are £6, and cannot be
Make sure you pre-booked.

54 when in ROAM.co.uk Summer 2010


and Serj Tankian from System
of a Down. A three-day pass
costs £54. If you were born
and bred on the festival fields
of Glastonbury you won’t mind
shedding an additional £14 for
a three-day camping pass as
long as you bring your own
tent.
If you really think it’s worth
the money you can see the
trance guru Armin Van Buren
play in Sunny Beach resort on
August 13, but we think you
can just wait for his next ap-
pearance at the Global Gath-
be there
- the essentials
Pint of beer 79p
Glass of wine £2.70
Portion of chips 90p
Pound of apples 45p
Litre of milk 50p
Pack of cigarettes £2.48
Bus fare 50p
FEATURE - BULGARIA
foreign frolics
ering festival in Stratford-
upon-Avon on in the end of
July (globalgathering.com),
which will be a much closer
and easier option.
How to get there: There
are regular flights to
Varna and Burgas Inter-
national Airports. If you
want to go to Kavarna,
take the 409 bus from
the Varna airport to the
central bus station (70p),
where you can catch a
regular bus to Kavarna
(£3.50). Tickets cannot
be pre-booked.
Kavarna
Etura
Plovdiv Burgas
Rila
Velingrad
For the tourist on a mission
For the music fan
For the couple in love
£1 = 2.20 leva
getting there How do I say…
Manchester International to
Sofia Airport £69 with Easyjet Hello, how are you? - Zdravei! Kak si?
Thank you. - Blagodaria/Mersi.
London Gatwick to Burgas £63
Bye bye! - Dovijdane!
with Thomas Cook
Nice to meet you. - Priatno mi e da se
London Gatwick to Varna £105
zapoznaem.
with Bulgaria Air
How much is this? - Kolko struva tova?
Taxes and VAT included.
I am a student from Britain. - Az sum
student/ka ot Velikobritania.
Visa - None required for stays
I’m sorry, I don’t speak Bulgarian. –
of up to 90 days.
Sujaliavam, az ne govoria balgarski.
Summer 2010 when in ROAM.co.uk 55
foreign frolics

56 when in ROAM.co.uk Summer 2010


GET SURFIN’
It’s the latest trend to wash up on British shores. From meeting new people to
discovering new cultures and countries, CouchSurfing is the cheapest and most
exciting way to travel. Emmanuelle Chazarin jumps in at the deep end.
T
o the uninitiated, CouchSurfing
must sound like an adrenaline sport
for the indolent. As if someone who
counts playing their Xbox as a form
of exercise suddenly awoke from their lethar-
gic state to don a skin-tight wetsuit and bal-
ance on the living room furniture surrounded
by an ocean of cheap lager.
That’s certainly the image that sprang to
mind for Alyesha Ingrouille, 21, from Brack-
ley, Northamptonshire, when her friend first
mentioned it to her.
She was mesmerised. Now that she’s done it
once, she’s become an addict.
CouchSurfing is actually a rapidly grow-
ing way of travelling the world on the cheap.
It’s a not-for-profit network that connects
travellers and locals in over 230 countries.
Members sign up online for free and create
a personal profile where they can post their
interests and tastes, much like on dating or
social networking sites.
So if a cash-strapped architecture student
is hell-bent on seeing the Eiffel Tower, he can
find a like-minded Parisian on a CouchSurf-
ing site to host him for a night or two, for free
or in exchange for a couple of beers. Emails
are sent, and a meeting is arranged. Surfer fi-
nally meets couch – and the adventure begins.
Since its launch in 2004, the CouchSurfing
site has enabled over a million meet-ups
which would otherwise never have happened.
By offering people the chance to stay in locals’
homes, CouchSurfing allows travel lovers
worldwide to experience the places they visit
from a new perspective, while hosts benefit
from the opportunity to meet people from all
over the world without leaving their home.
The exchange that ensues between host and
surfer helps boost the understanding of differ-
ent cultures in a way no travel guide ever will.
CouchSurfing has one key advantage for
students: it doesn’t work on a purely recipro-
cal basis. If someone puts you up it doesn’t
FEATURE - COUCHSURFING
foreign frolics
necessarily mean that you should have them
over in exchange. You can sign up on the
website as a host or a surfer, or both, depend-
ing on whether you’ve got room for visitors.
“The exchange between
host and surfer helps
boost the understanding
of different cultures like
no travel guide ever will”
The concept rests on the assumption that one
good deed will inevitably be repaid with an-
other, even if the two involve different people
and take place on opposite sides of the world.
Eddie Mallard, 19, from Bristol,
Summer 2010 when in ROAM.co.uk 57
 crashed on CouchSurfing, and we decided to go spend a
foreign frol-
many a couch few days in Rennes, France, to see an exhibi-
during his Eu- tion. We met with Elodie, a 27-year-old con-
ropean tour last firmed CouchSurfer, and stayed at hers for
summer. three nights.
“At the minute “She gave us her bed and took the couch for
I can’t register herself, showed us around the city centre and
on the site as a took us to a huge outdoors market where we
host because I live sampled amazing types of goats’ cheese and
in university ac- rustic breads. On the last day she drove us into
commodation, but the countryside, and we helped her pick wild
as soon as I have sorrel that went into that evening’s quiche.
enough room, I’ll “CouchSurfing’s like visiting a long-lost friend
definitely change - it’s awkward for the first five minutes and then
my status,” he says. everything falls into place. Since you’re with a
This way, CouchSurf- local, others start accepting you for who you
ing also gives more are. They teach you words and explain expres-
people the chance sions. It’s a great alternative to hostels where
to become travel- you’re inevitably confined to a foreign bubble.
lers because ‘surfing’ I loved it and will be back on the road after I
lowers the financial finish my degree.”
cost of exploration. Staying with strangers is one thing, but
Alyesha is a language CouchSurfing relies largely on the generos-
student and loves to ity of those who welcome the relative strang-
travel. She uses the ers into their own homes. Daniele Rinaudo,
site to host strangers a 24-year-old chef, has hosted more than
in her London home, ten CouchSurfers at his home in Sheffield.
and reckons she has “People tell me it takes guts to open my doors
crashed on about 15 to people I don’t know for a couple of nights,”
couches in England, he says.
Germany, Portugal,
Serbia, Holland and Canada.
“The first time I tried it, my friend and I
“CouchSurfing is a great
hitched a ride into Amsterdam but couldn’t
get hold of our intended host,” she says. “We
alternative to hostels.”
went to an Internet café, logged back onto - Lily Walker
the site and ended up getting hosted at the
last minute by Rik, a 32-year-old guy who “I just think of it as a sort of repayment for
was about to go visit his family in Rotterdam. all the fantastic people who welcomed me into
“Despite us turning up virtually unannounced their homes when I was skint but still wanted
he still cooked for us, made sure we were OK to go travelling.
and then left us to use his flat even though he’d “However, I do screen the people I accept -
only just met us. Actually, everyone gets references on their online pro-
I’ve had this happen plenty files from people who put them up or stayed at
of times - people just give you theirs. But people usually contact me because
their house key after know- they see I’m a vegan on my profile, and are veg-
ing you for five minutes. It’s an or veggie themselves.
very cool!” “It’s a bit odd to invite people into your house
Lily Walker, a 23-year-old when you’ve never seen them before, but the
art student from Chatham, more people you host the quicker you get com-
Kent, agrees. “I hate be- fortable with each of them. We usually start
ing spotted as a tourist talking about travel experiences, and take it
when I’m abroad. I hate from there.”
how instantly, because of Yet for many the idea of CouchSurfing raises
the language barrier or deep concerns. Understandably, they fear that
whatever other factor, wandering into a stranger’s home, or allowing
people single you out as them into yours, makes you vulnerable to crime
the naïve foreigner who or fraud. However, seasoned CouchSurfers in-
can get fooled by exorbi- sist that the dangers are minimal.
tant prices and lame “My only bad experience was when a guy
attractions. called Mitch came over from the US,” says
“Last autumn my Daniele. “It turns out he wasn’t vegan despite
friend told me about claiming he was in our e-mails –after an hour
of normal conversation he started tak-
ing the piss out of me and my house-
Anti-clockwise from top:
Daniele in his Sheffield house with mates’ lifestyles. I let him stay for the
German CS Madeleine; Elodie’s night because it was late and he had
house in Renne, France; Lily and nowhere to go, but the next day I told
Elodie; Alyesha at a CS party in him he should find somewhere else to
Berlin; meeting point in Renne;
Eddie on a Serbian couch and; stay.”
Rosie and Alex in their Brighton Alex and Rosie Fenwick, 24 and 25,
house, with Swedish CS Katrien. have never stayed at anyone’s while

58 when in ROAM.co.uk Summer 2010

 FEATURE - COUCHSURFING

foreign frolics
abroad but have hosted a dozen people in their Anti-clockwise from top:
Alex with Canadian CS in Brighton;
Brighton home. They’ve only had one slightly Lily playing bongo in Rennes with
unpleasant encounter where the surfer was Elodie’s boyfriend; CS sleeping at
antisocial to the point of treating them like Daniele’s house; Christmas vegan
hotel staff, but overall have ended up making feast with friends and CSs and;
Alyesha in Amsterdam with friend
friends with most people they took in. and host.

“If you enjoy meeting

new people and learning
about other cultures, I
recommend getting into
CouchSurfing.”
- Rosie Fenwick
“That Swedish guy expected us to provide
clean towels and sheets, but wasn’t interested
in engaging in conversation with us. It was re-
ally frustrating because it made us feel like we
were being utterly used.
“But some have come back for full holi-
days because we got on so well the first time
round.
“If you enjoy meeting new people, learning
about other cultures and offering hospitality
for a few nights, then I recommend getting
into CouchSurfing.”
CouchSurfing has become a sort of com-
munity, where hosts and surfers meet in
their home cities for events and parties to
celebrate multiculturalism. Or that’s the
excuse they give, anyway. But, as the slogan
goes, together they try to ‘participate in creat-
ing a better world, one couch at a time’.
Want to get involved? Then visit couchsurf-
ing.com and off you go!

GENERAL TIPS TIPS FOR SURFERS TIPS FOR HOSTS

You are never obligated to
meet another member. Be picky
when accepting a CouchRequest
or choosing a host.
Keep your contact information
private. Other members
should contact you through the
CouchSurfing messaging system
at first.
References protect community
safety. Whether it’s positive
or negative, leave a specific
reference after you’ve hosted or
surfed with another member.
Be a part of the community. Get
to know other hosts and surfers in
your area by joining groups online
and attending events.
Always have a back-up plan.
Know what to do if your hosting
situation doesn’t work out: keep
a list of a few hostels nearby.
Know where you’re going.
Have a written copy of the
directions to your host’s home
or meeting place as well as their
phone number.
It’s never too late to say
no. If something makes you
uncomfortable when you arrive
or during your stay, you are
always free to leave. Just explain
that you’re leaving the city
sooner than expected - and then
check into a hostel.
Set your boundaries. Write detailed
guidelines in the Couch Information section
on your profile. Be honest about what
behaviour you expect from Surfers.
Set a meeting place. You can ask
CouchSurfers to meet you at a café or park
before you show them where you live.
It’s never too late to say no. If a
CouchSurfer makes you feel uncomfortable
at any time, you should ask them to leave.
Surfing is a privilege, not a right. You can
invent a last-minute excuse and make your
couch unavailable.
Explain your rules early. Your comfort
is more important than the convenience
of your Surfer. Let them know right away
what’s available to them and what isn’t.

Summer 2010 when in ROAM.co.uk 59

SUBSCRIPTION

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Summer 2010 when in ROAM.co.uk 61

FEATURE - COLOMBIA

“The two male drivers turned to face us, one

waving a blade in our faces. They barely
spoke a word of English, but were fluent in
the language of intimidation. They looked
about 40, and in dire need of a wash. The one
with the knife stank of booze, although I was
hardly one to judge.”

It was going to be the trip of their dreams. Two boys

were looking for adventure and got so much more than
that. Tim Knappett tells their story.

Road to
aggression
62 when in ROAM.co.uk Summer 2010

Y
ou only really experience life when
you travel. I don’t doubt the num-
ber of kicks you can get out of the
standard nine to five, but you realise
just how colourful things can get when you’re
placed in situations so alien to the usual rou-
tine. Sure, 99 per cent of the time this liber-
ating lifestyle is enchanting and rewarding.
But when it goes wrong, you find yourself
completely out of your depth. Three years
ago, I was in that one percent.
The Trip
It was to be the trip of our dreams. Seven
months slaving away in factories, through
a particularly harsh English winter, to save
enough money to hit South America.
It was to be the ultimate travelling expe-
rience: few English speakers, thousands of
miles from home and tinged with an element
of danger we’d been warned about.
The plan was to arrive in Panama, make
our way through Colombia then Venezuela
before travelling south to Brazil.
I’d been through a lot with my best mate
Darv (a shortening of his surname – Darvill).
We grew up together in rural Leicestershire
- a sleepy place where endless fields are bro-
ken up by small villages containing the odd
pub and phone box. The drowsiness of the
countryside only awakened our sense of ad-
venture.
It started when we were 18, being the first
of our friends to fly the nest, backpacking
around Europe for three months. It gave us
‘the bug’ and since then, year on year, we’d
been hatching plans to discover other parts of
the world, gradually getting more and more
ballsy about our choice of destination.
‘Be careful of muggers’ was the advice we’d
received, and we were told to keep well and
truly on the beaten track whilst in South
America.
Taking this on board, we set off, armed
with travellers’ cheques and dummy wallets,
ready for what lay ahead.
Calm before the Storm
Whether trekking through Panama’s Cordil-
lera de Talamanca mountain range, touring
the Rocinha favela town in Rio de Janeiro, or
skiing in the resorts above Santiago, the con-
tinent guarantees a treat at every turn.
Over the two months we’d been blown
away by the jaw-dropping scenery and heart-
warming openness of the people. We’d seen
some rough areas, but the closest we’d come
to any form of crime was when a ticket seller
charged us well over the odds for a ten min-
ute train journey. And this particular act
of villainy was partly down to our dreadful
knowledge of the local currency.
The holiday had been all we’d wanted and
more. Since living costs were so cheap, we’d
managed to do activities we wouldn’t even
have imagined in Europe.
Due to the spontaneous nature of travelling,
we’d decided to leave Colombia until last. The
flight back was from Medellin, so we trav-
elled to almost all of the other 12 countries
in the continent before landing in Bogotá, the
capital.
FEATURE - COLOMBIA
Here we checked into the Sunshine hostel.
The name provoked rapturous laughter when
we saw it, as after eight weeks of sweltering
heat, we were now, in our last few days, faced
with high winds and rain. How fitting a back-
drop for us to leave for England, we thought.
Despite the laughs we were in subdued
mood. This was our last night abroad. The
reality of going back to Blighty, where the rat
race began again and we both had to start
thinking about what we really wanted to ‘do’
with our lives, dawned on us like the storm
clouds above.
Darv and I had a pact: no matter how much
money we had left over, we were going to
have one hell of a blowout in Bogotá. There’s
nothing worse than forlornly packing your
bags, getting an early night and feeling sorry
for yourself that the experience is over. We
were going to eat a dinner fit for two kings,
enjoy a few beers, and head out into the city
to see the lights.
“The closest we’d come
to any form of crime was
whenaticketsellercharged
us well over the odds for a
ten minute journey on the
train.” FROM TOP TO
BOTTOM: Party
scene in Bogotá; the
Latin honey trap; Tim
and Darv enjoying
Meal times at hostels are a real lottery.
their last day.
Sometimes the facilities are so poor that
you’re forced to eat out. At others, you find
you’re the only ones cooking and have an
industrial-sized kitchen all to yourself. On
the whole, though, they are the best places
to meet fellow travellers, and, although some
conversations end after the small talk stage,
we’d made many a friend over a hostel din-
ner table.
And we were in luck at the Sunshine hostel.
We met three Spanish students who, after
we’d mentioned it was our last night, offered
to cook for us if we supplied drinks. They’d
been staying in Bogotá for three weeks on
a research project and were excited about
showing us the city.
Happy to be accompanied by speakers of the
language, we donned our evening wear and
hit the town, blissfully unaware of what lay
ahead.
The Incident
The Spaniards took us through winding al-
leys where we were coaxed into bars by pushy
Latin men with too much charisma for their
own good.
The smell of cigars and head-spinning spir-
its engulfed every bar we entered. Naturally,
we got into the mood, and by our sixth tequila
we were both starting to forget that we were
even heading home the next day. The atmo-
sphere was so far removed from the arrivals
lounge at Stansted that it was barely believ-
able, even more so for the fact that
Summer 2010 when in ROAM.co.uk 63
FEATURE - COLOMBIA
we had struck up conversation with three
beauties who found it funny to mock our lack
of Spanish and naive understanding of the
city.
We couldn’t believe our luck. These girls
were stunning and we weren’t doing too
badly despite the obvious communication
problems. I had my eye on one of them in
particular. Flowing dark brown hair, smooth
caramel skin and the body of a goddess, Ma-
ria had a glint in her eye and it seemed to
be for me. Desperate to keep the girls inter-
ested, I ordered another round of drinks. It
cleaned out my wallet, but it seemed com-
pletely rational at the time. The shots were
called ‘Ayahuasca’ and were renowned for
their hallucinogenic effects. In hindsight, it
was a bad decision.
I downed my drink in a show of confidence
which completely tipped me over the edge,
and everyone found it funny to watch me
struggling to cope with the new experiences
that were being inflicted upon me.
It was only when I was outside that I started
to come round. Hit by the intense humidity,
it was the feeling of sweat dripping down my
face that alerted me to the fact that we were
no longer in the bar. Darv was tugging at my
shirt, eager to inform me of how I’d been act-
ing for the last 20 minutes and even more ea-
ger to tell me what was next on the agenda.
After finding out that I’d been walking the
bar shaking hands with strangers, Darv told
me that the girls wanted to take a bus to a
club up in the mountains. He still had some
extra cash, and assured me he’d pick up the
bill from then on.
I didn’t take much convincing, although I
remember thinking it weird that a minibus
was already waiting for us. Unfortunately,
we’d lost our Spanish friends, thus putting
us in a much more vulnerable position.
We clambered in, and the door slammed
shut. I looked out and saw Maria and the
other girls shuffling off into the night. The
two male drivers turned to face us, one wav-
ing a blade in our faces.
They barely spoke a word of English, but
were fluent in the language of intimidation.
They looked about 40, and in dire need of a
wash. The one with the knife stank of booze,
although I was hardly one to judge. He poked
the end of the weapon into my throat and told
me we were going on a journey. He had dark
brown shades on and I could see my own re-
flection in them. It wasn’t a pretty site, and I
was sure that it would be the last time I’d see
myself in a mirror.
“We had a pact: no matter
how much money we had
left at the end, we were
going to have one hell of a
blow out in Bogotá.”
We drove for ten minutes in complete si-
lence. Darv had been sick in his hands, the
mix of alcohol and sheer dread combining to
ill effect. When the bus stopped at a small
house on the outskirts, the men dragged us
out and blasted us for the mess we’d made.
Outside, we were pushed
towards two more men, the
Colombian equivalent
of the Mitchell broth-
ers. Both big, bald and
dripping with jewellery,
they looked happy to see
us as they exchanged
jokes with our chauf-
feurs. They looked ridicu-
lous. And menacing.
Predictably it was money
they were after, and they frog-
marched us to a cash point,
where I withdrew my full bal-
ance. The biggest one of the
lot ripped it from my hands,
punching me to the ground
for good measure. Thankfully,
the alcohol numbed the pain.
Darv helped me up and I
muffled ‘wanker’ under my breath - a minor
victory in what had become a harrowing ex-
perience.
The men had one final trick up their sleeves.
The hygienically-challenged pair held us
while the bald banditos opened our mouths
and forced nearly a litre of some black spirit
down our necks. It left us disorientated as
they walked away in rhapsody.
We were left in a badly-lit suburb of a city
we’d never even seen a map of. Luckily, due
to the surrounding land, we had a rough idea
of where we needed to get to. With blurred vi-
sion we staggered back, cursing our stupidity
and wondering how we’d get to the airport in
the morning with no money. Furious and up-
set, we vented our frustrations at each other.
We rarely talk about that walk nowadays.
It took two hours to get back to the hostel
after numerous falls and even more fallings
out. We were ashamed of ourselves for ne-
glecting our Spanish friends to chase some
women we knew were too good to be true.
As we stumbled through the door it crashed
shut behind us – an instant reminder of the
hellish ride we’d just endured. We managed
a smile as the realisation that we’d survived
dawned on us.
Out of the Woods
At breakfast the following morn-
ing we were greeted by our smil-
ing Spanish friends. Unsurprised
at our story, they laughed at how
we’d been suckered in.
They gave us enough money for a
train to the airport and more for food
on the way. We’d seen the best and
worst of human nature within 12 hours,
an overwhelming experience that was
rewarding yet crippling, and left South
America with a bittersweet taste in our
mouths and plans for our next trip on our
minds.
How do I say…
(See basic language
guide on p.81)

be there
- the essentials
Pint of beer £1
Glass of wine £1.20
Portion of chips 40p £1 = €1.15
Pound of apples 30p
getting there
Litre of milk 90p
London Heathrow to Bogotá
Pack of cigarettes £1.10
Airport return £792 with KLM.
Bus fare 10p
Taxes and VAT included.
Check skyscanner.net for real
ABOVE: time prices.
A shot of
Ayahuasca
Visa - None required for a
LEFT:
Darv and Tim in
stay of up to 180 days
Bogotá, the day
before the kidnap

64 when in ROAM.co.uk Summer 2010

 Colombia
Confidential
• Colombia is a deeply divided, conflict-
ravaged country, where right-wing
paramilitaries, left-wing rebels and drug
gangs have fought the state for control for
many decades.

• Despite being plagued with travel

advisories because of the crime rate,
Colombiahasseenayear-on-yearincrease
in tourism since outgoing President
Álvaro Uribe took office in 2002. The cause
appears to be a hard-line stance which
seeks to push rebel groups away from
major cities.

• Criminal organizations based in large

cities practice express kidnappings
(secuestros express), colloquially
named ‘Millionaire Tours’ (Paseo
Millionario). These are most commonly
performed after victims withdraw money
from ATMs or while riding in fake,
terrorist-operated taxi cabs.

• The British embassy in Bogotá strongly

advises tourists to undertake no overland
travel whatsoever outside major urban
centres. The northern city of Ciudad
Perdida - or ‘Lost City’- where British
backpacker Mark Henderson was held
hostage in 2003, is notorious for crimes
against tourists.

• There have been several cases of

assailants drugging tourists. Drugs are
administered through food, drinks,
needles, cigarettes, aerosols, powder, and
have even been impregnated in ‘flyers’
handed out at traffic lights. Never accept
food, drink or cigarettes from strangers –
no matter how friendly they appear.

• Avoid unnecessary visits to deprived

parts of all Colombian cities. In Bogotá,
you should be vigilant in areas to the
south of Candelaria and to the west of the
airport road as these areas are particularly
dangerous.

Summer 2010 when in ROAM.co.uk 65

 A Kick4Life football match in Lesotho
66 when in ROAM.co.uk Summer 2010
 FEATURE - world cup

Can we kick it?

As World Cup hysteria reaches fever
pitch, one British HIV charity is sure:

‘Yes, we can!’
He collects the ball inside his own half.
He dodges, dribbles forward and takes
his shot as the cheers erupt inside his
head.

But the goal is empty and nobody’s

watching.

DAVID LIMB and EMMA CRYAN speak

to the founder of Kick4Life.

S
outh Africa will this year be the first African nation in history to
hold the World Cup tournament, with hundreds of thousands of
people of all colours, cultures and clubs due to arrive in droves – a
huge landmark, considering that only 16 short years ago the coun-
try was still in the grip of apartheid.
Symptoms of a stark divide will still be visible this summer, however. As
South Africa prepares to welcome the football elite, resplendent in their
designer boots and glittering egos, barefoot Pule Malephane – a 17-year-
old football fanatic from Lesotho – trudges alone through the dusty, rubble-
strewn streets that double as his pitch.
Lesotho – a small, landlocked country within South Africa - has the third
highest HIV prevalence in the world, and is the base of Kick4Life. The
charity, which uses sport as an educational tool, seeks to stem the spread
of HIV and AIDS in the impoverished African enclave.
While the mercenaries and the materialists fly in for a ‘Brits abroad’
bash, it is the love of the beautiful game which will remain the lifeblood of
Lesotho’s fight against HIV long after the event becomes little more than
a series of holiday snaps.
“Africa has an unrivalled passion for football,” says Steve Fleming, co-
founder of Kick4Life, as David Beckham beams back at us from one of
dozens of the charity’s photos that he has spread across the table.
Summer 2010 when in ROAM.co.uk 67
FEATURE - world cup

“That’s why we decided to focus Clockwise from left:

The teams get the chance to show off their
our efforts there.” football skills on an HIV awareness day;
The organisation is the brain- England head coach Fabio Capello sits
child of Steve and Pete Fleming, in on an HIV test with Pule Malephane;
two British brothers who found- David Beckham with Thabo Tau and Pule
Malephane from Lesotho.
ed the charity on the back of the
success of the Kick4Malawi chal-
ripples are sure to make waves on
lenge in 2005, which saw them
a global scale.
dribble a football for 250 miles
And we’re already beginning to
across Malawi to raise money for
see the effects: FIFA, football’s
children orphaned by AIDS.
international governing body,
“It was a life-changing experi-
has recognised the significance of
ence,” says Steve, flicking through
sport in the building of communi-
the images which catalogue his
ties in the developing world.
memories of Lesotho.
The ‘20 Centres for 2010’ project
Kick4Life raises awareness of
is a new FIFA initiative which
HIV and AIDS through football
will create sports, health and ed-
matches, where they also hold
ucation facilities across Africa. Five centres have already been built,
educational classes and HIV testing.
and the fact that Kick4Life has been selected to host the Lesotho cen-
The aim is to break down the stigma attached to the disease and
tre is testament to the tireless efforts of Steve, Pete, and their army
engage the youth and orphans in Lesotho, creating an atmosphere of
of helpers.
camaraderie which encourages them to take the test together.
“We have about 350 volunteers in Lesotho, and we couldn’t do with-
“We deliver a range of programmes focused on tackling HIV by pro-
out them,” says Steve. “People are
viding sports-based health education, voluntary testing, life-skills de-
really interested in getting involved, since unemployment is really
velopment and support into education and employment,” says Steve,
high in the town.”
suddenly business-like.
Aside from celebrity endorsements and community involvement,
Pule Malaphane first became involved in Kick4Life when he was
Steve also urges students to join the battle, citing Kick4Life All Stars
15 years old. After one of the charity’s football matches, with posi-
Tours as the dream ticket for gap year students and graduates alike.
tive peer pressure to get tested running at fever pitch, Pule and his
“It’s more than a typical ‘charity challenge’,” says Steve, himself a
friends made the decision to find out if they had HIV.
former University of Sheffield student.
It was two years ago in one of the makeshift testing tents that
“There will be football matches against local teams and they will be
England manager Fabio Capello joined Pule for the agonising seven-
taught about HIV testing and run education sessions. The current
minute wait to find out the results.
students love it.”
It was negative. Pule was one of the lucky ones, educated by
Later this month Kick4Life will become a household name as the
Kick4Life in HIV prevention before he was exposed to the vi-
charity which will benefit from the proceeds of this year’s World
rus.
Cup single.
To date Kick4Life have tested 8,000 teenagers in Lesotho
The song is called “We’re All England Underneath”, and has
for HIV. Approximately 4% of them were positive and were
been written by English classical crossover artist Thomas
immediately referred for treatment with antiretroviral
Spencer-Wortley, with the vocals on the track provided by one
drugs.
fan from each of the 92 clubs in the League, each one wearing
“This figure reflects the fact that we work with kids mainly
their own club’s football shirt.
before they become sexually active – after 18 years of age, the
“It brings together all the rivalries, and shows that we’re
figure is 23.2%, and so we try to reach people before it is
all ‘England underneath’,” says Steve.
too late,” says Steve.
So how does Steve think the World Cup hysteria will
So moved was Capello by Pule’s experience that he
affect South Africa – and Lesotho – in the long term?
was compelled to contribute to Steve Fleming’s new
“We hope it will promote Lesotho as it hasn’t been as
book – Eleven – which highlights the importance of
well-publicised as perhaps it ought to have been in the
sport as a tool for social development.
run-up to the tournament,” he says.
Steve stresses that the most important thing is
“Symbolically it’s massive for Africa. Let’s hope it’s
to ‘get the message out there’, and with influen-
a success and a lasting legacy for South Africa and
tial celebrities such as David Beckham and Prince
the continent as well.”
Harry working together for Kick4Life, these tiny
RIGHT: A boy takes part in an HIV awareness exercise, to Further details on wheninroam.co.uk
teach children the causes of the disease and how to prevent it.

68 when in ROAM.co.uk Summer 2010

Kick4Life All Stars

The concept is simple: travel, play football, change

lives.

We are now looking for people of all abilities to join

our upcoming two-week tour in September 2011.
During the tour you will:
* Play against local teams in front of hundreds of
supporters.
* Run HIV/AIDS education sessions at local schools
and orphanages. Full training provided.
* Visit local AIDS projects to see how the money you
raise will make a difference.
* Go on an adventure trip to Lesotho’s beautiful
mountain region.

Our tours are very popular with both men and women,
and if you don’t fancy playing football there is still
loads to get involved with.
To take part you must be over 18, and raise a minimum
of £2,500 which will cover flights, accommodation,
full board, transport, a range of activities, and a large
donation to charity.
To find out more email steve@kick4life.org or call
07710 999 169.

“The Kick4Life Tour is simply a life changing

experience. Helping to make a real difference to the
children and communities of Lesotho goes hand in
hand with seeing the wonderful beauty of the people
and landscapes of this amazing country.”

Dave, Tour 2009 kick4life.org/AllStarsTours.htm

Summer 2010 when in ROAM.co.uk 69
Mythbusters
In our regular page we took to the streets to find
out what goes through your head when thinking
of India - and how close it is to the real deal.
While most of you didn’t fail to mention Britain’s
unofficial national dish – curry – here’s what else
sprung to your minds, and what our very own
Madame Irma (right) thinks of it.

Milla, 19, Salisbury

10/10 Coco, 21, Leicester
8/10 Victor, 18, Norwich
2/10
I immediately imagine Bollywood India makes me think of Isn’t India famous for hot weather
and skin bleaching spices, colour and hair and Slumdog Millionaire?

Both answers are accurate. But, Milla, did you Spot on, Coco! Spices are a big thing in India (I
know they are also related? In India fair skin is wonder which take-away pointed you to this an-
considered a sign of good looks, but not everyone swer), and, indeed, they come in many colours.
is born with it. That is why, in order to look ‘sexy’, In fact, India produces 86 per cent of all spices in
many Indians put their health at risk by using dan- the world, or 1.6 million tonnes a year! But did
gerous products to get the desired paler look. As you know that the world’s must-visit spice
looks mean pretty much everything in market - Misir Carsisi bazaar - is actually lo-
the film industry, actors and cated in the centre of Istanbul, Turkey.
actresses are no excep- Some of the most commonly-used spices
tion to the rule. Many of in India are chilli pepper, cumin, garam masala
Bollywood’sA-liststars and saffron.
seem to get paler as As for hair, you are once again on top of your
they become more game! Few people associate India with locks, but,
famous. Next time you just like pale skin, long hair is considered a
watch a Bollywood sign of beauty and charm. In fact, a friend
dance scene, pay at- of mine who wears her hair at shoulder-
tention to the main ac- length was pointed at on her trip to India
tors’ skin complexion and constantly asked why she had ‘a young
and how paler it is in girl’s haircut’. If you want to see an impressive pic-
comparison to that ture gallery of ‘Indian Rapunzels’ go to indianra-
of actors dancing punzels.com.
in the background.
Coincidence? I
think not!
Oh, Victor! Let me stop you right there by telling
you that it is impossible to make meteorological
generalisations about a country as big as India.
The country stretches over three million square ki-
lometres, which comprise six major climate zones
ranging from desert in the west to alpine tundra
and glaciers in the north. With its four seasons of
summer, winter, monsoon and post-monsoon,
India’s temperatures can vary from -6 C to 50 C
nationwide. You forgot those tricky Himalayan
Mountains in the north, didn’t you?
And while we all loved Slumdog Millionaire
over here in Britain, it was a slightly different
story back in India. A lot of critics didn’t ap-
preciate the cheesy happy-ending of the story,
which didn’t have much to do with the reality
in Mumbai’s slums. A lot of Indian filmmakers
also didn’t like the fact that Indian movies on
the same subject have not been as success-
ful because they were not produced for Holly-
wood. Have a look at Salaam Bombay and The
Apu Trilogy if you want to score some points,
Victor!

Even Ayshwarya
Rai, the queen
of Bollywood,
advertises
skin whitening
products
Summer 2010 when in ROAM.co.uk 71
 Would you
COMMENT - HITCHHIKING
We all have thumbs, but a few of us are sitting on them. Wherever
choose your weapon smartly: Easyjet, megabus, roller-skates,
is like time: on your hands. Some people just twiddle away their
just swear by it. We weigh up the pros and cons…
Emmanuelle Chazarin:
W
e’re in the prime of our youth,
and yet we’ve already sold our
souls to schedules, fast-food
and online-shopping. We’re so
reliant on things working out as planned
that when a volcano freezes air traffic for a
few days, chaos ensues.
After all, many of us are broke or unwill-
ing to spend the bulk of our loans on trans-
port to the places we dream about – but
we’re not ready to sit at home and miss out
on all this Big Wide World has to offer. That’s
why we should go back to a slower-paced, sponta-
neous and adventure-filled life while we still can,
and squeeze the best out of it by hitchhiking.
Hitchhiking is THE cheapest way to travel when you
don’t have a deadline. Compare the maintenance of a
dirt-free thumbnail with the price of a railcard, plane/
coach/train/ferry ticket, car, or even a moped. Lola
Moy, 21, is a frequent hitcher and says hitching has
its perks: “While hitching I’ve been offered a night in
a sauna house, booze, bread, business cards, chips, cof-
fee, conversation, free entry to a metal gig, drum sticks
and joints. I tend to only accept conversation and food,
but my experience shows that hitching is cheaper than
free.”
Of course, it’s one thing to hope to arrive in Berlin city
centre by next Friday, and quite another to promise
you’ll make it to your sister’s wedding in Barcelona by
10.30am tomorrow. You may find yourself waiting for a
ride for three hours in the pouring rain, but you must
be prepared for a bit of adventure.
Hitchhiking means you immerse yourself in the local
culture from the start. When most people go abroad
they pretend to soak in the culture of their host country
staying in a hotel packed with tourists and visiting the
main sights. If you’re a friendly hitcher you will make
temporary friendships that will take you to places no
Don’t:
TIPS accept a lift from anyone who is obviously drunk or on drugs, or who makes
you feel uncomfortable; tell them to pull over if things don’t feel right and pretend that you are
going to be sick if they don’t; hitch after dark; NEVER hitch alone if you are a woman.
72 when in ROAM.co.uk Summer 2010
Which way?
tourists will ever go.
Lola says: “On every trip I got to meet a bunch of peo-
ple I’d never dream of talking to in my everyday life. I
hitched a ride with the mayor of Villach, Austria, from
a German petrol station and spent three days with
an English metal band – Djevara - on their European
tour.”
Admittedly, hitchhiking isn’t the most flawless mode
of transportation. Every now and again, a news story
comes out about raped or murdered hitchhikers and
frightens us out of trying it. But these incidents are
very rare in safe countries and rarer than train and
plane crashes.
“Hitchhiking is dangerous” is an axiom repeated by
family and friends. But Madeline Heys, 21 claims the
fear of hitchhiking goes both ways.
“The people who stop are generally those who used to
hitchhike themselves and who feel they can help out
one of their kind. All the lovely people who picked us
up did so because they’d been there before us,” Maddie
says.
Like for anything, it is crucial to do some prior re-
search about the countries you are aiming to hitch in.
Accept that you can’t hitchhike everywhere: in certain
countries like Yemen, just being a foreigner and out
after dark is suicidal. But in other places hitching is
sometimes a safer option than public transport. Costa
Rican city buses are, in fact, yellow school buses from
the 60s that have been shipped over because they do
not meet health and safety rules in the US.
Hitching makes sense. Students will always be broke,
and commuters will always drive half empty cars. So
the more drivers who believe in hitchhiking as a logi-
cal means of getting from point A to point B, the safer
thumbers will be.
Give your wallet a break and your thumb some exer-
cise. May the tradition of hitchhiking be continued by
the broke and the spirited.
hitchhike?
your hands may be, you’ll probably be moving along shortly, so
water-skis, or your friend’s Mini maybe? A frequently ignored method
option to hitchhike. Some criticise hitchhiking vehemently. And some
Elizaveta Young: No way!
I
magine that you are freezing cold, standing in the
pouring rain, on the side of a motorway. Now imag-
ine that you have been standing there for six hours.
And no one has stopped.
That, my friend, is a typical day in the life of a hitchhik-
er. Normally people who stop are ex-hitchers themselves
but they are few and far between. The rest of the time,
you will be greeted with that overbearing stench of ex-
haust fumes as the flickering lights of oncoming vehicles
pass you without a moment’s thought.
You can’t blame them for driving past. In our world of sched-
ules, working lunches and working overtime, most people just
don’t have the time or energy to indulge in idle chit chat with a
shabbily-clad stranger who doesn’t even have enough money
for a bus.
Yes, hitchhiking is economically viable – it costs very
little. It’s not free though, nothing ever is. The price you
pay for a ride is often a slow and exhausting journey that
doesn’t always get you where you want to go.
Ben James, hitch-hiking to Tallinn two years ago, dealt
with this on a daily basis.
“There was a time that we were standing at a service
station outside Berlin. It was really grey and miserable.
My backpack weighed a ton and I was freezing.
“When we finally did get a lift, the driver only took us as
far as he could go and dropped us off at a deserted road.
It took us ages to flag down another ride from there,”
said Ben.
Itiswidelyacknowledgedthathitchingbringsadventureand
uncertainty-itcanbringpeopletogetherandforgefriendships.
But it can also go wrong.
Ben explains: “After a while I started to get sick of peo-
ple in my group, we were always in each other’s pockets,
it was really stifling. I had to bite my tongue so many
times.”
Hitchhiking can also be very dangerous. Not cliché,
but fact. It is often forgotten that by entering someone
else’s vehicle, the hitcher cedes control of their journey.
Do: hitch in high-visibility areas; find out the correct hitching
sign for the country you are in; offer to pay for a lift if this is expected;
frequently let someone at home know where you are and; be polite.
COMMENT - HITCHHIKING
A driver that at first glance seems
harmless might sometimes turn out
to be quite the opposite.
When Ben and his friends got a lift
with a holistic doctor, they chose to
overlook the bottles of pills scattered
all over his car. They even overlooked
the fact that the he didn’t speak a word
of English. What they couldn’t overlook,
though, was his weak grasp of road safety.
“He was driving so fast I felt sick. He kept
looking at me and taking his eyes off the
road. I tried to tell him that he was going
too fast, so I pointed at his speed dial. But
he thought I wanted to go faster and put his
foot down. There weren’t even any seatbelts in
the back,” said Ben.
Danger looms at every junction and behind every steer-
ing wheel. Once you have climbed into the back of a
car, you have effectively put your trust into a complete
stranger. It’s impossible to render someone harmless
when you have shared a five-second conversation with
them as they rolled down their window. Would you trust
them with your bank details? No. So why would you trust
them with your life?
When Ben hitched a ride from a couple of young guys
who were on their way back from a house party, little did
he know that the driver held a bottle of Vodka at his feet
and would persist in swigging from it as he drove.
If you stop romanticising hitchhiking and actually see it
for what it really is: an exhausting journey that could
easily go wrong, then you might think twice before
embarking on such a makeshift adventure. When
you add up all hitchhiking can really cost you, the Lola Moy, Toby
bus suddenly doesn’t seem so bad. Hamand and
Madeline Heys
heading to
Slovenia.
Summer 2010 when in ROAM.co.uk 73
working world

Para
Slice of

Plage de l’hermitage La Saline - La Réunion

74 when in ROAM.co.uk Summer 2010
 feature-FRANCE

working world
Think of a year abroad in France.
Think being crammed onto the Paris Métro like a sardine
as Audrey Tautou beams sardonically back at you from the
billboard?
Think being stranded at the Gare du Nord or Charles de
Gaulle Airport as strikes bring your life to a standstill?
Think cold winters and even colder shoulders from rude,
resentful residents? Think again.

Think: Réunion Island.

dise
DAVID LIMB speaks to Ben Harvey.

‘T
he reason I decided to go there,” says Ben Harvey, a
warm nostalgia already creeping into his voice, “was
because of the cultural aspects - the fact that, histori-
cally, it has always been a place which brings cultures
together.”
Ben, a 24-year-old French and Economics student at the Univer-
sity of Sheffield, is referring to the Indian Ocean island of Réunion:
a land where cockroaches fly, lizards sing, and Christmas dinner
is served beneath the sweltering glare of the equatorial sun.
The French-owned island, a mere crumb falling from the geo-
graphical malt loaf that is Africa, serves nonetheless as a real
cauldron of cultures – a métissage of European, Indian, Chinese
and insular traditions.

Summer 2010 when in ROAM.co.uk 75

working world feature - FRANCE

“The beaches in the south are more or less unspoiled, since tourists tend to go
elsewhere. A couple of times we literally had the beach to ourselves.”
Speaking of cauldrons, the industrial-sized
pan of homemade rougail de saucisses – a na-
tive dish consisting of spicy sausage and wild
rice which has been simmering on the stove
since my arrival - is just about done.
A self-confessed food fanatic, cuisine was al-
ways going to be a key criterion for Ben when
it came to choosing a suitable year abroad
destination. As he soon found out, the arche-
typal Gallic gastronomy is given something of
a multicultural makeover by the Réunionese,
with coffee and croissants giving way to rum
and rougail (although, as he noticed in the
novel concoction of cheese and ham samosas,
the two are often quite experimentally blend-
ed together).
“The funniest thing about being out there,”
he tells me, pouring himself a
much- needed glass of wa-
ter, “is the fact that they
speak not just French,
b u t also Creole. When
they talk, it sounds al-
most as if they are sing-
CLOCKWISE FROM ABOVE: The swimming pool in
the back garden of Ben’s student digs;
La margouillat à la Réunion - or ‘Réunion house gecko’
- which, Ben says, ‘sing’ through the night;
Ben halfway up the Piton des Neiges - or ‘Snow Peak’.
At over 3,069 metres, the shield volcano is the highest
point in the Indian Ocean
ing.”
Getting to grips with what he calls a ‘bi-
zarre and full-on’ language was admittedly
one of the biggest challenges Ben faced dur-
ing his stay on the volcanic island, yet, with
little prompt, he erupts into his own melodic
rendition. After being subsequently shown a
random Creole video-blog on YouTube, I’m
forced to concede that his impression is pret-
ty much spot-on.
Ben’s first taste of Creole was at the Ecole
Henri Morange primary school where he
spent the year as a teaching assistant. He
quickly found that the ‘laziness’ of the lan-
guage permeates very much into the work
ethic of a people he claims ‘are in no rush’.
“I was lucky anyway because I only did 12
hours a week,” he says between mouthfuls of
his beloved rougail. “It’s such a relaxed life-
style. The island pretty much shuts up shop
at 5pm.”
An extended winter break essentially left
Ben with six weeks to play with; he managed
to shoehorn several sight-seeing sojourns
around the south of the island into his hectic
schedule of, as he eloquently puts it, ‘getting
smashed’.
“We basically got the whole of January off,
so we managed to get a fair bit of travelling
done.
“The beaches in the south are more or less
unspoiled since the tourists tend to go to
Mauritius, which is only an hour away by
plane. A couple of times we literally had the
beach to ourselves,” he says.
Visits to towns like Saint-Pierre, Grands
Bois and the unfortunately-named Tampon
during the winter break gave Ben an appe-
tite for adventure, and he managed to save
enough money to spend the last month of his
year abroad exploring other nearby islands.
“We spent a week in Mauritius. Getting
around was unbelievably pricey, so we decid-
ed to tour the island on a scooter,” he says.
“We also went to Rodrigues, which was by
far the most chilled-out place I’ve ever been
to.”
Asked what the biggest highlight of life
on the island was, he ranks having his own
swimming pool – obviously – quite highly.
“We used to have a lot of parties down
by the pool and we knew a band who used
to come over and play this really cool music
called Maloya” - tones of which hum fittingly

76 when in ROAM.co.uk Summer 2010


enough from his iMac in the background.
It’s clear from the outset that Ben, original-
ly from Portishead, Somerset, bears all the
hallmarks of what can only be described as a
complete immersion in the Réunionese way of
life - his return to the drizzle and concrete of
Sheffield acting as a sort of ‘culture shock in
reverse’. A map of the island adorns his wall,
and he points out the tiny town of Cambuston
in the northern Saint-André commune where
he spent the year.
Following a 6,000 mile flight to the French
overseas département, he very much contin-
ued to fly solo, well outside the range of the
comfort zone offered by fellow English stu-
dents who were staying on the remote island.
Linguistically-speaking, the decision unques-
tionably paid off.
“I stayed with two French guys, both teach-
ers, in an old-school colonial villa, which was
broken down into smaller flats.
The good thing about staying with proper
‘living’ people was that they showed me
around and helped me with paperwork, and
we used to cook together,” he says, his mind
clearly meandering from his current student
digs back to somewhat more idyllic quarters.
His advice, however, couldn’t be any more
emphatic: “I would definitely recommend liv-
ing with natives to anyone on a year abroad.
They’re so helpful, and, in terms of language,
you can definitely feel yourself improving
within weeks.”
Aside from his housemates, Ben shared an
equally warm rapport with his pupils, with
the kids practically worshipping the ground
he walked on (or, rather, cycled over, until
his bike got pinched). Drawings of Monsieur
Harvey now hang proudly from the walls of
the adopted Réunionnais.
For Ben, classroom life served almost as a
microcosm of the wider state of affairs on the
island – the pupils representing a window
onto a culture of naiveté and a general lack
of education.
“The people in the centre of the island are
quite cut off from the outside world,” he tells
me. “I remember one time I was cycling home
and saw sacrificial offerings scattered all over
the road. One person even asked me if the
sky was the same colour in the West, which
just goes to show the differences in cultures,
really.”
By a similar token, only a handful of his pu-
pils had ever seen snow, and even then they
had to climb over 10,000 feet of the Indian
Ocean’s highest peak – the aptly-named Pi-
ton des Neiges (or ‘Snow Peak’) – to do so.
£1 = €1.17
getting there
London Heathrow to Saint
Denis Airport return £796 with
AirFrance.
Taxes and VAT included.
Check skyscanner.net for real
time prices.
EU - No visa required
feature - FRANCE
Compared to his previous jobs, however – ised clubs and bars on the west side of the is-
working world
which ranged from landscape gardening to land and in the capital of Saint-Denis.
working for the RAC – teaching won hands Were there any significant downsides to
down. staying in Réunion over a more conventional
“There was only ever one fight in my class- location in mainland France? Like any year
room, and it was a bit of an effort to break abroad experience, life on the paradise island
it up. Looking back, it was pretty funny re- was not without some trouble:
ally,” he says, a cheeky smile playing across “The average cost of living was 33 per cent more
his lips. expensive in Réunion than in France,” he informs
Instances of civil disobedience on the whole me,hislaptop’sbatteryrunningdownandhisglass
were, in fact, few and far between, and you’re ofredwinerunningdry.“Igot€1,200amonthfrom
probably more likely to fall victim to the is- teaching, with additional Erasmus grants on top
land’s notorious cyclonic season – which lasts of that, but rent and bills would easily account for
for six months out of the year – than of actual over half of my income.”
crime per se. Just as Réunion is hours in front of the rest of
“We only got broken into once,” he says, tell- metropolitan France (due to the time difference,
ing the story of how a visiting friend’s iPod the island actually became the first region in the
world where the euro became legal tender), Ben
had to ensure he always stayed one step ahead of
“People in the centre are the game when it came to handling his finances.
Then again, it probably came as second nature to
quite cut off from the out- the fourth-year Economics student.
side world. One person The cost of food, he says, wasn’t exactly cheap ei-
ther–hardlysurprising,then,thatviolentprotests
even asked me if the sky broke out in the months prior to his arrival as the
islanders vented their fury at rising prices.
was the same colour in As the Maloya fades to silence and
the West.” the rouge supply dwin-
dles, I ask him about his
plans to return to his
was stolen as she fell asleep listening to it. year abroad utopia.
“Then again, we didn’t lock our doors that “Well, it all depends
much.” on funds,” he tells me
One act of petty crime which proved par- resignedly, returning
ticularly problematic was the theft of his to reality. “But in the
bike. Cycling was Ben’s main means of get- mean time, I’m go-
ting from A to B as he sought to steer clear ing to meet up with
of ‘horrendous’ traffic jams and a severely another assistant
jaundiced public transport system, of which from Henri Mor-
the suitably-entitled ‘Yellow Buses’ were the ange in France
forlorn markers. over Easter,” he
Ever the pragmatist, however, he is quick says, his face
to point out that it was only stolen during the lighting up
autumn of his stay. once more as
“It was only a couple of weeks before I had his laptop
to leave, so it wasn’t such a big deal. That screen loses
was one of the very few negatives, and the lustre.
positives far outweighed them, anyway.” All puns
Such sweet memories of Réunion are per- intended,
haps unsurprising given that sugar has tradi- it prom-
tionally been the cornerstone of its economy; ises to be
only in recent years have tourism and finan- a memora-
cial aid from Paris replaced it as the primary ble reun-
source of national revenue. ion…
Another import from the Parisians is the
quintessentially French ro-
mance model, with no small
number of ‘sleazy men’ on the
prowl in the heavily Western-
How do I say…
Hello, how are you? - Bonjour, ça va?
re
be the tials Thank you. - Merci.
s e n
- the es er £3 Bye bye! - Au revoir/Ciao!
b e
Pint of 2.80 Nice to meet you. - Ravi/e de faire votre/ta
f wine £ connaissance.
Glass o chips £1.70
of How much is this? - C’est combien?
Portion mangoes 50p
Poun d o f
0p I am a student from Britain. - Je suis à la fac
L it r e of milk 8 £5.50 en Angleterre.
s
cigarette I’m sorry, I don’t speak French. – Pardon,
Pack of fare 40p
Bus mais je ne parle pas bien français.
Summer 2010 when in ROAM.co.uk 77
 Around the wo
working world

Ever fancied a job abroad but didn’t know how to go about it? Worry not.
always in the loop. This time, we caught up with Lucas, Kay and Robbie - three

Getting hired in Australia

Lucas Mostyn, 25, from Reading:
two years travelling and working all around
the world, including Australia. His first job was
working as a surfing instructor in Byron Bay,
New South Wales, Australia.

I
woke up in a bar in Byron Bay.
It was midday and the heat hit
.75 me like a wave. Lifting my head
£1 = AUS $1 off the table, I was struck with a
HERE number of sensations. I had a dull
GETTING T risbane ache at the back of my head and
throw to B
London Hea Airport return my temples were throbbing.
l
Internationa ates Airlines. The bar overlooked the sea and
w it h E m ir every time a wave came ashore, I
£791 included. felt a stinging pain running through
Taxes and VAT me. They say the sound of water
is relaxing. That wasn’t true for
a Working
Visa - to get 2 months go me. What did turn out true was
for 1
Holiday Visa reau.com
the Australians’ reputation for their
to visabu huge drinking capacities. And if
you don’t drink with them, they just
be the
- the ess re don’t trust you. I found that out the
e
Pint of be ntials
hard way.
Glass of e r £2.94 Two months ago, I interrupted my
wine £2.8 degree in Outdoor Leadership and
Portion o 6 Education at Central Lancashire
f
Pound of chips £2.60 University to work abroad for two
app
Litre of m les £1.50 years.
Pack of c ilk £1.1 And there I was: waking up in a
igarettes 4 bar by myself, disoriented and with
Bus fare £2
(1 mile) 9 .37 nothing left but a hangover. Even
“Your bar is on fire” - Luke
5p my shirt was missing.
(right) and his boss Vicky after I looked down, and a shiver
she set the bar alight. went through me. I had a number
scrawled in black marker across
my chest. What had happened last
night?
The barman, whose respect I
must have earned after the tenth
shot of Sambuca the previous
night, let me use his phone. I
pressed the receiver to my ear and
waited.
A woman answered the phone.
“Are you calling about the job?”
she asked in her broad Australian
accent. It was at that moment that
the thick fog clouding the memo-
ries of last night’s events began to
clear.
I remembered a girl, who said
she knew of a job, and could help.
“I am expecting you in two hours,”
the woman continued. “You’re late,
so get your ass on the bus!’”
The bus took me 330 miles down
the coast of New South Wales.
Ten hours later I arrived at a little
town called Seal Rocks, near Bu-
lahdelah and headed towards the
wooden huts of my new employer:
Seal Rocks Camping Reserve.
I started off as a bar tender, but
when a surfing instructor called in
sick, my boss, Vicky, who was 55,
told me to take the class. Up until
then, I had never surfed before.
I somehow managed to convince
the students that I was a genuine
instructor. Soon, though, I started
teaching seriously.
When I wasn’t teaching, I lent a
hand behind the bar. One night,
Vicky spilled lighter fluid on the bar
top. “That’s pretty unsafe,” she said
casually, striking a match. “I’ve got
to get rid of that.”
Then, before I knew it, the whole
bar was on fire. People gathered
around it and ordered shots and
poked their hands through the
flames to pick them up.
I stayed at Seal Rocks for three
months but I came back five times
between travelling to other coun-
tries during the following year. If my
work visa hadn’t run out, I would
still be in Australia right now.

78 when in ROAM.co.uk Summer 2010

rld in 80 trades
Every issue we profile three jobs in three different countries so that you are
students who worked in Australia, Germany and Guatemala respectively.
Getting fired in
Kay Weston, 21, from Birmingham:
worked at a youth magazine in Dresden for
seven months, as part as her university year
abroad. Her boss was rude and abusive, and
finally fired her.
B
osses can be a pain
sometimes. But if you
think yours is bad, wait
until you hear my story.
A Journalism and German stu-
dent, I worked at a magazine* dur-
ing my year abroad in Dresden.
My editor seemed to take an in-
stant dislike to me, telling me that
I came across as rude and cold
because I didn’t make enough eye
contact.
I was offended, but thought that I
was being too sensitive.
Ten days into my time at the
magazine, the editor sent me to a
press conference at an ice hockey
rink. The stadium was enormous. I
couldn’t find the conference room,
and missed the event.
Back at the office he shouted at
me, telling me that I had no per-
sonality and was dead behind the
eyes. I felt like a little girl being
told off while all the other children
pointed and laughed.
I found it increasingly difficult to
work with him. I know editors can
be critical, but his insults were de-
moralising and often personal.
My boss took the piss out of me
in company emails, criticised my
German, and began to text and
call me in the early hours of the
morning with instructions for the
following day.
His requests became more un-
reasonable. One time, I was asked
to collect a pen that he had left
in an office across Dresden, and
made to stick thousands of stick-
working world
Germany
ers onto magazine covers for 11 £1 £=1€=1.1
€15.17
hours without a break, all the time
gettin
fielding calls demanding that I work London g there
Hea
Airport r throw to Dresde
faster.
I kept an online blog about my etur n
experiences, in which I discussed Lufthans n £155 with
the success of other Dresden Taxes a Airlines.
magazines and suggested that the Check s and VAT includ
magazine could benefit from using kyscann ed.
er
similar techniques. time pric .net for real
Four months before my place-
es.
ment was due to end, I was fired. re EU - No
The reason? My blog. The editor be the als visa req
uired
e e s s e nti
said that it was libellous, and that I - th 3
eer £2.1
had spread lies to ruin his reputa- Pint of b ine £2.60
tion. fw
Although he threatened to take Glass o chips £2.60
n o f
me to court, I didn’t lodge a com- Portio f apples 60p
Poun d o
plaint, as I was unfamiliar with
ilk £1.33
German law, and I knew that I was Litre of mrettes £4.50
ciga
Pack of fare 65p
innocent.
The experience left me £2,000 in B su
debt. I had to return the second in-
stalment of my Erasmus grant and
pay the remaining rent for my flat
in Germany.
Soon after I returned to the UK,
the editor emailed me request-
ing articles I had worked on at the How do I say…
magazine. I told him that I didn’t
owe him anything. Hello, how are you? - Hallo, wie geht’s?
I later discovered that he was Thank you. - Danke schön.
fired because of his conduct and Bye bye! - Tschüss! / Tschau!
the new editor of the magazine Nice to meet you - Schön, Dich/Sie
has since asked me to return - it
seems my German wasn’t that bad
kennengelernt zu haben.
after all. How much is this? - Wieviel kostet das?
I am a student from Britain. - Ich bin ein/e
*The name of the magazine has Student/in aus Grossbritannien.
been omitted for legal reasons. I’m sorry, I don’t speak German. – Es tut mir
Leid, aber ich spreche kein Deutsch.
Summer 2010 when in ROAM.co.uk 79
80 when in ROAM.co.uk Summer 2010

Teaching in
Robbie Cowbury, 21, from, London:
travelled around Central America for six months,
spending the first two in Guatemala City, teaching
English to underprivileged secondary school
students.
P
alms sweating, I arrived for
my first day at school. “Oh,
God. This is it,” I thought.
I had spent weeks gearing
up for this, but somehow it had never
quite seemed real. Only now, facing
the door of Classroom 4 at El Liceo
Britanico Guatemalteco, did I realise
what I had let myself in for.
I had tried to brush up on my Span-
ish, and researched Guatemalan cul-
ture, but no one had prepared me for
the barrage of anxieties my panicked
mind was creating:
“Who do I talk to?” “How do I earn
the pupils’ respect?” “What if they
make fun of me in Spanish slang that
I can’t understand?”
El Liceo Britanico Guatemalteco
was set up ten years ago by British
charity StudyGuatemala, chaired by
Phil Melling, my Spanish teacher in
London. Thanks to him I didn’t have
to pay huge sums of money to inter-
mediary volunteering organisations
and got straight onto the project, pro-
viding disadvantaged children with a
free education.
The headmaster, Eduardo Estrada
Espel, told me I would be teaching
pupils between 16 and 18-years-old.
This was a daunting prospect, but
when he asked me to coach their foot-
ball team, my worries eased. At least
we might bond over a mutual love of
footie.
My students teased me about my
accent and poor Spanish vocabulary.
They led hard lives and were highly
unmotivated - learning English wasn’t
their priority.
One pupil, Nosara Urcuyo, 17, told
me that most of them believed that,
school or no school, they’d end up liv-
ing in the slum for the rest of their lives.
“It’s where we belong,” she said.
Although chatting to the students
wasn’t difficult, my A-level Spanish
was far from perfect. Guatemalan
Spanish sounds nothing like Castilian
Spanish.
The Latino verb for ‘to take’, for in-
stance, is ‘tomar’. The verb I learnt
at school was ‘coger’, which in Latin
America means ‘to fuck’. Thanks to
Guatemala
working world
this discrepancy, not only did I cause
many awkward situations, I was also
the butt of countless jokes.
What frustrated me even more than £1 = 1
gett 2.5 GTQ
being made fun of was the Guatema- ing t
lan attitude to time. Londo here
Guate n Hea
After coaching the football team for a £602 mala City A throw to
while, my students told me they’d love with irp
to play tournaments against other Taxes Continent ort return
and VAT al Airlin
schools’ teams. Amazed at the level
No vis includ es.
of enthusiasm, I was determined to do ed.
everything in my power to make some up to a is require
matches happen. for a f 90 days. O d for stays
u n
Four weeks of arguing with the Li- throug rther 90 da e extensio of
ceo’s stubborn headmaster paid off: h the ys is p n
Immig o
the American school had sent their ration ssible
team over for a friendly match. Ev- Office
be there .
erything was in place. The sun was
shining, but it wasn’t too hot. All we - the essentials
would have to wait for was the ref- Pint of beer £1.10
eree’s whistle. I went to look for my Glass of wine 90p
team and tell them to hurry up when I
realised only four of my students were
Portion of chips 26p
there. I had to cancel the match. The Pound of apples £1
guest team was furious, and I looked Litre of milk 70p
like a fool. Pack of cigarettes 90p
This lack of respect for time pushed Bus fare (1 mile) 4p
my English rigidity to the limit, and Robbie (second from left
made every day a challenge: home- on back row) with fellow
teachers at the Liceo
work was left undone, and the stu-
dents treated English classes like a
social event.
Once they realised I would soon be
leaving, they started trying harder,
learning their vocab and even using
those nasty grammatical rules.
On my last day, the group gave me
farewell letters. “You teached me
to be better,” Amelia Soto wrote. “I
will remember you 4ever.” Yes, they
were sometimes lazy, but I felt deeply
touched and proud.
My advice for anyone who’d like to
do what I did? Don’t expect teaching
to be wonderful, or easy, or instantly
How do I say…
rewarding. It’s tricky and difficult to Hello, how are you? - Hola, ¿qué tal?
work and live in a foreign country. But Thank you. - Gracias.
once you stop comparing everything Bye bye! - Adios/chao!
to the way we do things at home,
you’ll be able to immerse yourself in
Nice to meet you. - Encantado/a.
the culture, make new friends, and How much is this? - ¿Cuanto cuesta esto?
have a great time. And once you’ve I am a student from Britain. - Soy un/a
reached that stage, your language will estudiante de Inglaterra.
improve faster than you ever thought
possible.
I’m sorry, I don’t speak Spanish. – Perdón,
pero no hablo español.
Summer 2010 when in ROAM.co.uk 81
82 when in ROAM.co.uk Summer 2010

Destination unknown?
Whether you’re laid-back or a neat freak, take our quiz to find out the best
country for your working style.
1. What sector would
you prefer to work in?
a. Technology
b. Conservation
c. Hospitality
d. Science
e. Arts
2. You wake up late and
will be late for work. What
do you do?
a. Call everyone involved in
your route to work, to check that
everything is running on time.
b. Turn up as soon as you can
c. Call your boss to tell him/her
that you will be ten minutes late,
then run as fast as you can.
d. As long as it’s my first ‘late’,
then it’s OK. I’d call my boss to
warn them, but I’d still rush like
crazy.
e. It’s okay, my boss will prob-
ably be late too.
3. What’s the first thing
you do when you get to
work?
a. Straight to the roof, for our
morning exercise class.
b. Catch up with my mates.
c. Have a cigarette and a
coffee to bump up my caffeine
reserves.
d. Rigorously clean my com-
puter keyboard and telephone
handset with disinfectant.
e. Start counting down the hours
until my next break.
4. It’s lunchtime, where
will you head to eat?
a. Lunch? I’ve got targets to
reach. I might eat when I get
home.
b. To the bar – liquid lunch!
c. I’ll have two hours to eat, so
I’ll go to a stylish bistro for a
salad and a glass of red.
d. I’ve brought a packed lunch
to eat at my desk.
e. I’ll go home, for a quick snack
and a snooze.
5. Whilst away on a
business trip abroad. A
volcano erupts, spread-
ing ash into the airspace.
You can’t fly home, even
though you have an im-
portant meeting the fol-
lowing morning. What do
you do?
a. No ash will stop you. You will
take any kind of transportation
that will ensure your presence at
the meeting.
b. Decide you’ll go travelling in
the country you’re stuck in…at
least until the ash clears.
c. Start making angry phone
calls to the airline companies
- complaining gets you every-
where.
d. Mutter under your breath that
the airlines should be prepared
for this – if it was your responsi-
bility you would NOT be caught
short.
e. Morning meetings? They
must have you confused with
someone else.
quiz
working world
6. You’re really busy at
work, but your boss asks
you to do something out-
side of your usual role.
What do you say?
a. Say, “Absolutely, sir!” You’ll
do whatever it takes to advance
your career.
b. Say, “Let me get back to you
on that…” You’re never busy,
but it depends if what s/he’s
asking seems too much like
hard work!
c. Say, “That’s not in my job de-
scription – I’m going on strike,”
before going to speak to your
Union representative.
d. Say, “No problem, sir. I’ll just
rearrange my schedule,” but
worry that your efficiency will
suffer.
e. Say, “I think that guy over
there is interested” before pre-
tending to busy yourself with a
phone call.
7. It’s the end of your
working day, what time
do you leave?
a. I’ve just got a few more things
to finish…I’d better call home to
say I’ll be late.
b. As soon as the surf’s up.
c. It’s flexible: some days I leave
at 3, others I work until 6.
d. I must leave work no later
than 6:02pm, because din-
ner will be on the table at 6:30
sharp.
e. About 10pm, before head-
ing out to a club with my col-
leagues.
Summer 2010 when in ROAM.co.uk 83
 quiz

Destination known:
working world

If you replied... Mostly Ds: Germany.

Mostly Cs: France. For you, time
Mostly As: Japan. You believe that striking is is money, and
Your organised approach an important part of work. If keeping to your
and love of you don’t tell them they’re routine is of the
timetables wrong, how will they know? utmost importance.
means that Your job isn’t everything – Your efficiency makes
you’ll fit you work to live, not live to you a valuable asset
right in work. in any German
here. workplace.

Mostly Es:
Spain.
Mostly Bs: Australia. You don’t
You’re laid back and find waking
have an easy- up in the
going attitude. mornings easy,
Your passion and so a job
for the outdoors in Spain would
makes you the be perfect for
perfect candidate your nocturnal
for the Aussie tendencies.
world of work.

If you’re a native speaker

of English we could have
just the job for you!
Frisky Larr & Friends is one of
Germany’s leading translation
companies and constantly
searching for proof-readers.
Email your CV to
Friday Agbonlahor
when in ROAM.co.uk
84 Summer 2010
journalpub@aol.com
Summer 2010 when in ROAM.co.uk 85
86 when in ROAM.co.uk Summer 2010

An Urban Girl Converted
Do you have the will to leave behind your Facebook, iPod and clubbing and
go on a spiritual retreat? Our writer Leah Whitfield proves that a short
trip to Scotland can help discover what really matters in life.
‘J
ust close your eyes and
think of neither the past
nor the present, just be
in this very moment
right now. Calm your mind.”
I shut my eyes, and tried to do
as I was told. The smell of incense
wafted over me, I could hear the
quiet chanting from the monks
next door. But my mind was
dancing, thoughts raced through
my brain, and I became frustrat-
ed. I shouldn’t be thinking about
my car tax, or whether I had left
my GHD hair straighteners on. I
was rubbish at this.
It was my first ever meditation
lesson. I was sitting in a mag-
nificent temple, surrounded by
paintings, offerings and statues
of Buddha.
Ewan was trying to teach me
about the lifestyle of a monk,
which included numerous hours
of silent meditation - the path
to enlightenment - and all I had
managed to achieve was a seri-
ous case of pins and needles. I
didn’t think I would be shaving
my head any time soon.
I had come to Samye Ling, a
Buddhist monastery in Scotland,
Feature - scotland
unexplored kingdom
firstly, to escape the infinite pres- A material girl enters
sures that came with the final
year of university, and, secondly,
the mystical world
When I first arrived at Samye
because the thought of spend-
Ling, I was taken aback. There
ing my Easter holidays at home
I was - a city girl in UGG boots,
with my batty grandparents was
shorts and my favourite Gucci
more than I could handle. I was
sunglasses – standing in front
completely unprepared - my Bud-
of a vast temple in the middle of
dhist knowledge stretched as far
nowhere. I looked ridiculous, and
as my rare appearances in A-lev-
soon became very aware of two
el Religious Studies. But I told
robed men silently observing me.
myself this was a quest, a voyage
I stumbled over to them, drag-
of spiritual discovery, and by the
ging my pink suitcase across the
end of my week in the monastery
gravel path and asked where to
I was on my way.
check in. They smiled at
Summer 2010 when in ROAM.co.uk 87
 FEATURE - SCOTLAND
me, and told me that the recep-
unexplored kingdom
tion was the building opposite.
My room was small and
simple: a single bed, which I had
to make up myself. Hardly the
Hilton lifestyle. Golden letters,
which I presumed were Tibetan,
were inscribed above the door.
I later found out they spelt out
a protection prayer for all who
walked beneath them.
The monastery wasn’t big -
there were maybe 30 monks and
nuns living there at the time.
The residents varied from Bud-
dhists to those who just wished
to live a calm and serene life in a
small community.
“There I was - a
city girl in UGG
boots, shorts and
my favorite Gucci
sunglasses – lite and ask if he had any time
standing in front
of a vast temple
in the middle of
nowhere.”
So there I was: over the Scot-
tish border, with no signal on
my phone, showers that were
cold, and food that looked like
something my rabbit would
eat. And I couldn’t have been
happier.
The temple
The heart of the mon-
astery was the temple,
a magnificent build-
ing boldly coloured
in gold, red, blue
and green. Smiling
dragons peeked at
me over the edges of
the gutters as I en-
tered. Inside I felt as
though I had walked
into a different world.
The temple demanded
respect as you immedi-
ately knew you were some-
where very spiritual. There
were tall colourful paintings
of smiling Buddhas, spinning
gold prayer wheels, each with
mantras inscribed upon them.
Mats were laid down ready for
the day’s meditation groups.
Two large gongs glistened as
rays of light spilled through the
ornate window. The ceiling, the
pillars - everything had been
lovingly painted in complicated
88 when in ROAM.co.uk Summer 2010
patterns. A golden Buddha, eas-
ily four metres high, sat cross-
legged, deep in meditation, at the
front of the temple. The warm
temple air carried the sweet
smell of flowers, which had been
left as an offering to Buddha,
mixed with the musky smell of
sandalwood incense slowly burn-
ing in the corner.
I couldn’t believe how beautiful
and joyous the temple was. Com-
ing from a Christian family I was
used to cold, bare churches. This
was the opposite, and between
the two I knew which one I pre-
ferred.
Turning Zen
It was at lunch on my first day
that I met Gendun. He was a
loud, outgoing and cheeky Scot-
tish monk. I was told that if I
wanted a tour or information, he
was my guy. I approached him in
the dining room, ready to be po-
to show me around. I was caught
off-guard as he held his hand up
to stop me mid-introduction. He
smiled at me and took my hand,
examined both sides, looked me
straight in the eye and said: “If
you had a choice between look- ABOVE: Leah in front of a statue in the Tara Healing Garden in Samye Ling.
ing after your family or looking
after yourself, which my answer. tion said that it granted wishes
would you choose?” He smiled, patted my hand when a piece of cloth was tied
I looked at him, with his and said: “How can you on its branches. I looked at the
confused. look after your family, when you hundreds of prayer cloths, some
Was he try- yourself are not alright?” grey and tattered, others new
ing to find This was a man who, within a and colourful.
out if I minute of meeting me, had made
me question and change my self-
image. “Coming from a
Gendun took me on one of his
famous tours. He showed me the Christian fam-
stupa - an impressive building
with a white and gold steeple, ily I was used to
which housed numerous sa-
cred and religious relics.
cold bare church-
He told me that it was also es. This was the
home to three sets of robes
from the first Buddha. We opposite, and
walked together around the
Peace Gardens. I was thank-
between the two I
ful for the unusually beautiful knew which one I
weather. Not as much as Gend-
un though, as he told me that preferred.”
having a shaved head made
it almost impossible
to be warm in winter. One read: “My darling Joe, I
I smiled and said I miss you with all my heart. You
should call him Gen- were taken too early from me. I
dhi, the next Gandhi. wanted to walk down that aisle
The idea, however, was and spend the rest of my life with
quickly shot down. you. I pray you are happy up
There were lakes, stat- there away from the violence and
ues, rivers, flowers, peacocks and the suffering. Not a day goes by
was a an unusual-looking tree covered when I don’t think of you. Yours
good person, a in bright pieces of cloth which always, Kate.”
compassionate person? fluttered in the wind. It was a Everything in the monastery
“My family,” I replied, unsure of Cloutie Tree. An ancient tradi- had a reason behind it. You could

only walk clockwise around the
gardens so as not to disturb the
energy. The shrine in the river
was there to balance the feng
shui of the Temple.
It was when I met Ewan that I
knew this was going to be a trip
I wouldn’t forget. He had been a
monk for a year, left to pay off
his student debts, and returned
ready to be re-ordained. I can’t
explain how I felt when I first
met him apart from being drawn
to the sense of calm I felt in his
presence. We spent time together
The Shrine Room of the temple - the four-feet-tall golden Buddha serves as inspiration to the worshippers
as often as we could: in
the Tibetan tearooms,
walking by the river,
and doing chores. Be-
ing Scottish, he took to
calling me Bonnie. He
taught me about the
Buddhist teachings and
answered my questions.
He was set to go on a
four-year retreat in Sep-
tember in order to spend
time alone meditating
and working towards
his spiritual goal.
I spent my mornings
meditating and doing
the washing up from
breakfast. All the food
was vegetarian or veg-
an and much of it was
home-grown, so there
was always gardening
to do. I would take a
walk before lunch and
then attend prayers.
The first time I sat in the tem-
ple, I wasn’t ready for what I was
about to hear. Ani Lhamo, the
head nun, was chanting a bizarre
language in an almost trance-
like state. I didn’t understand
what she was saying and got the
giggles half-way through, while
everyone else was deep in con-
centration. I spoke to Ani Lhamo
after the session, and she talked
me through the prayers. She
showed me the English transla-
tions, so that they finally made
sense.
“The monk smiled,
patted my hand
with his and said:
‘How can you look
after your family,
when you yourself
are not alright?’”
There was no night life in the
monastery. Alcohol and any other
harmful substances were strictly
banned. That left evenings to be
spent playing board games, sip-
ping green tea and talking to the
monks next to a roaring fire.
I expected the monks to be bor-
ing, but their individual personali-
ties shone through, and they all had
a great sense of humour. Ewan was
calm, but slightly insecure. Gendun
wasbroadScottish,arealentertainer
and a self -confessed ‘former ladies
man’.AndJames’sawfuljokescould
challenge those of my drunk uncle
on Christmas Day.
Back to the 9-to-5
Samye Ling was like a different
world. There was no mad rush
Summer 2010 when in ROAM.co.uk
FEATURE - SCOTLAND
or panic, everything was calm
unexplored kingdom
and peaceful. Those living there
were always happy, and there
was no mindless backstabbing,
complaining or negativity. I felt
accepted by them. They appreci-
ated me listening and trying to
understand their lives, and in re-
turn they were respectful about
mine, whilst gently offering tips
about how to live a happier one.
All they wanted was to help me.
My stay in the monastery did put
my life in perspective and made
me realise that I’ve been living a
whirlwind life of flitting from so-
cial scene to social scene, spend-
ing money on trivial things and
being thoughtless in general.
Leaving Samye Ling was one of
thestrangestandhardestthingsI’ve
ever had to do. My short stay there
had had such a massive impact on
me that the idea of returning to the
noise,angerandignoranceofsociety
made me consider not leaving at all.
The warm goodbye from the monks
wasmoving.Giftswereoffered-little
trinkets and reminders of my stay.
And in no time at all I was back on
the motorway, returning to my life
of nine-to-five lectures, nightclubs
andtriviality.AsIwalkedthroughmy
front door I found a box addressed to
meandfilledwithtinyorigamibirds.
A letter inside read: “Bonnie,
You’ve found your wings, you
just need to learn to fly.”
89
 FEATURE - WILD SWIMMING

Take a dive on the

unexplored kingdom

Fed up of the noise, foam floats and

screaming children at your local
swimming pool? Then why not give
our secret outdoor swimming spots
a try? Dive in to find out EMMA
CRYAN’s top five summer splashes.

A
s winter melts into spring, some of the UK’s most uncon-
ventional swimming pools are once again open for business.
Though it may seem like madness to immerse your pale,
winter skin into Britain’s icy natural pools, devotees of ‘wild
swimming’ claim that there is nothing more refreshing and invigorat-
ing.
Exploring Britain’s outdoor is becoming a popular activity nation-
wide – not just in the warmer South.
You don’t even need to take the full plunge to go wild swimming, as
there are plenty of clean, beautiful places to just enjoy paddling and
sitting in the sunshine (when we get it!).
Wild swimming has enjoyed much publicity in the last year, with
a TV series by Robson Green exploring top UK wild swimming des-
tinations, and a Radio 4 programme with Kate Rew, founder of the
Outdoor Swimming Society, on what draws people into swimming
the open sea and secluded lakes of Britain.
So, for those of you planning a ‘staycation’ this year, or for those
who fancy a jaunt with a difference, here are WheninROAM’s top
five wild UK summer swims. We’ve included two which are easily
accessed by rail or bus, and three more which are ‘off the beaten
track’ – so you’ll need to take the car and some sturdy walking boots!
Don’t forget to check out wheninroam.co.uk for your print-out direc-
tions and maps of each spot.
Pen-Doll Rocks, Builth Wells
By train or bus Nearest station:
Builth Road, 1km
Grid reference:
Pen-Doll Rocks is an impressive
series of pools and rapids leading
downstream to white, sandy bays. A
SO 032521 wildlife-watcher’s dream, the river is
Thomasson Foss, Goathland Postcode:
LD2 3RD (100m S)
home to all kinds of fauna, includ-
ing herons, kingfishers and otters.
Swimmers should note that this area
Nearest station: is dangerous in high water.
Grosmont, 4km
Grid reference:
NZ 826022
Postcode:
YO22 5LE (500m E)
Fans of Harry Potter may enjoy
the train ride even more than the
swim – the train station here was
used for Hogsmeade Station in
the Harry Potter films, and the sta-
tion shop was transformed into the
Prefects’ Room.
The Thomason Foss waterfall
drops into a deep plunge pool
(20m) in a woodland glade. People
often come to float lazily on the
sunlit pool under the canopy.
90 when in ROAM.co.uk Summer 2010
wild side!

unexplored kingdom
wild swimmin
g (vb.):

1. Swimming
in na
as rivers, lake tural waters such
2. Dipping or s and waterfalls.
hidden places, plunging in secret or
sometimes in
wilderness
a
3. Action of sw reas.
Tongue Pot, as jumping or
imming wildly
,
diving from a such
Eskdale Valley using swings
or slides, o
height,
the current of r riding
Nearest station: a river.
Ravenglass, 18km
Grid reference:
NY 227035
Postcode:
CA19 1TH (5km NE) Three Shires Head, Flash
A long, meandering series
of pools creates the legend- Nearest station:
ary Tongue Pot, high up in the Buxton, 10km
mountains.
The pool is quite deep in plac-
Grid reference:
es (about 5m), so the more ad- SK 010685
venturous among you can jump Postcode:
in from the surrounding rocky SK17 0SW (2km
outcrops. But if that isn’t really NW)
your thing, the smaller pools
above and the shallow, sunny At the place where
Kail Pot below ensure that there the three shires of
is something here for everyone Derbyshire, Stafford-
– if they can handle the trek! shire and Cheshire
meet, there lies a bub-
bling tub high atop Axe
Edge Moor - a plunge
pool below two medi-

Put on your boots!

eval bridges. Famous
as a no-man’s-land,
where no county sher-
iff could arrest wrong-
doers, the townsfolk of
Plodda Falls, Tomich nearby Flash exploited
their location by mak-
ing counterfeit ‘Flash’
Nearest station: money and going to
Beauly, 50km Three Shires Head to
exchange it for goods.
Grid reference:
NH 277238
Postcode:
IV4 7LY (3km SW)
How to be
Dive into the deep, black plunge pool which
lies at the bottom of Scotland’s second highest wild & safe
waterfall, high up a densely-forested canyon.
Not for the faint-hearted, the hike to the top
is a challenge, but once there you will be re-
- Wear footwear if you can;
warded with stunning views. The cool water - Never swim alone: go with friends;
will revive you, but make sure that you go - Keep an eye on weak swimmers;
slowly on the way down: stop for a pint and - Cover cuts and wounds with
a sarnie at the Tomich hotel and pub – you’ll waterproof plasters, and;
need the rest!
- Avoid contact with blue-green
algae, sometimes found on
lake edges in summer

Summer 2010 when in ROAM.co.uk 91

 If a hard man
where on earth
M
en who know
what they’re
doing in bed
are a dying
breed. But, according to
the results of a survey re-
leased last month, some
countries have more than
their fair share.
Where? Spain, Brazil and Italy,
to name only a few.
OnePoll asked 15,000 women
worldwide how satisfied they
were with their men’s perfor-
mance in bed. Spanish men won,
narrowly beating the Brazilian
runners-up. The Italian stallions
made it into third spot.
While Spanish women agreed
on strong passion as their men’s
hottest attribute, women in Bra-
zil gave stamina as the reason for
their lovers’ top notch sex skills.
And the Italians managed to im-
press with their presumably me-
lodic dirty talk.
So, ladies, if you’re travelling in
search of sexual satisfaction, you
now know where to go.
And thanks to the poll, you’ll
have a clear understanding of
which places to avoid, too. Ger-
man men have been voted the
world’s worst lovers, narrowly
beating English men to the du-
bious honour. English women
accused their blokes of being too
lazy, and German fellas are ap-
parently too smelly. Swedish lov-
ers were branded ‘too quick to
finish’, and were voted third.
Other countries who didn’t fare
well in the poll were Scotland
(too loud), Turkey (too sweaty)
and Wales (too selfish).
It was a close shave, but Rus-
sian men came tenth by a whis-
ker amid accusations that they
are too hairy for the average
woman.

Boy meets girl, m

O
nce upon a time, a traveller knight told himself. Kaylee had not, after all, de-
by the name of Hugh Brough- clared that she was looking for a princess and not
ton met a girl so beautiful that a prince.
the sun itself had to catch its However, she had never stated the opposite ei-
ther.
breath whenever it had the honour of
It was now late, or, rather, early. Hui had left, and
shining down on her.  Kaylee Prince, a Kaylee took Hugh by the hand and led him into the
fellow explorer, bestowed upon Hugh the garden.
impression that she was longing to find They picked up where they left off, continuing to
her prince. converse, and eventually agreed to take a carriage
Within the spellbinding surroundings of the Han- home together.
nover Inn, Hugh struck up a rather pleasant con- Kaylee held Hugh’s hand firmly during the ride
versation with Kaylee. She gazed into Hugh’s eyes home, the noble paladin still disarmed by fair
for hours on end, holding his hand, caressing his maiden’s beauty. Overcome by desire, Hugh could
knee, and whispering a few tender words. It was think only of escorting Kaylee up the stair, through
clear that Miss Prince had taken a shine to this Mr the opulent halls of the Hannover Youth Hostel,
Charming. and, finally, to his boudoir.
With temperatures rising and wine receding, Hardly had ten minutes passed before the carriage ar-
Hugh headed for the bar in a quest to replenish the rived at their abode, and Hugh’s longing to fulfil his
refreshment reserves. intentions grew by the second.
After retrieving two freshly-filled goblets of the Then,fromtheneighbouring c a r -
heady brew, he turned around to make headway riagesprangHui,kindlyoffer- ing her
back to his fine wife-to-be. He was greeted instead, companionship.
however, by an unexpected and unwanted scene. As another lost traveller had
Although Kaylee was dancing to the rapturous taken the liberty of oc-
music, she was not alone in being lost in rhythm. cupyingKaylee’ssleep-
The beautiful Kaylee now had the strapping Hui ing quarters, Hugh
(pronounced Hugh) Wang Manley for company. and Hui both offered
As if this predicament wasn’t trouble enough for their hospitality to
our bewildered hero, Hui also happened to be a the now-distressed
girl. damsel.
Hui was holding Kaylee close and smothering her HardlyhadKaylee
with kisses, yet Hugh dismissed the incident as a heard both friends’
sudden storm of female emotions. proposals when
“I am far from losing this battle,” the fearless she sprang up and

92 when in ROAM.co.uk Summer 2010

 sexion

is good to find,
do I start looking?
“These results are an eye-open-
er for thousands of men around
the world and female travellers
might judge potential new lovers
by looking at these results,’’ said WORLD
Mark Spencer, of OnePoll.com. WORLD’S worst LOVERS ’S BEST
1. Sp LOVE
1. Germany (too smelly)
2. Br ain (passio RS
2. England (too lazy) azil (g n a t e Want to keep
World’s worst lovers, 3. Sweden (too quick)
3. Ita
ly
reat s )
4. Fr (Italian d tamina) up with the
it is time to pull up 4. Holland (too dominating) a ir
5. Ire nce (crea ty talk) world’s best
your sleeves, and 5. America (too rough) la
6. So nd (selfle e)
tiv
u s lovers? Read
start working on those 6. Greece (too lovey-dovey) 7. Au th Africa s)
7. Wales (too selfish) s t r a ( a t h Jay Wiseman’s
bedroom skills. Dr Les 8. Ne lia (nic letic)
8. Scotland (too loud) 9. De w Zealand shape)
e Tricks...to
Parrott’s Crazy Good 9. Turkey (too sweaty) 10. C nmark (att (polite) Please a Man.
Sex might help. 10. Russia (too hairy) anad e
a (kin ntive) new from £9.89
new from £11.69 on amazon.co.uk ky) on amazon.co.uk

eets girl What’s Chinese

hurriedtowardsHugh’sbed-chamber.Overwhelmedwith
surprise and lust, Hugh followed.
Kaylee grabbed his hand tightly and refused to re-
linquish. Not a word need be uttered. Kaylee scuttled
through the door and threw herself on Hugh’s divan.
Hugh, hardly able to contain his covetousness, fol-
lowed suit, but was met with mild refutation by Kay-
lee.
Rather than consummating their union, the two
merely shared a mattress, their bodies strongly re-
sembling two serving ladles next to each other.
Exhausted from the day’s excitement, Hugh resigned
himself to slumber, and was asleep within seconds.
It was at that moment that Kaylee reappeared, sud-
denly taken by an unfathomable sense of urgency.
With Hugh under a spell, however, she departed.
When Hugh awoke the next morning, his eyes were
immediately drawn to a note Kaylee had left by his
side.
“Please remind me of the exact location of your dwellings,
mydear,”itread.Theinkstillwet,itwouldappearasthough
the message had been delivered mere moments after Kay-
lee had left Hugh the previous night.
It was too late. Kaylee had already fled back to the
shores of her motherland.
“I have missed my chance forever!” thought Hugh,
feeling the urge to introduce his head to a nearby
brick wall. He could not believe that he had let pass
an opportunity to quench his thirst for a touch of
Kaylee’sstatuesquecurves,hershapelybosom,and
her deep-red lips.
He lived miserably ever after.
The End
for ‘sex’?
By Winnie Agbonlahor
The OnePoll survey to find the
world’s best and worst lovers
has left out an entire continent
and the biggest country in it –
China. But why?
Maybe getting people to open up was
tricky? “Chinese people usually consid-
er talking about sex bad taste,” writes
Jun Shan, a Shanghai columnist.
The state’s attitude towards sex has
been overly prudish for decades. Since
being established in 1949, the People’s
Republic of China has banned porn.
Anyone who produces, distributes, or
purchases lewd magazines, books, or
videos can be penalised. Usually the
punishment is just a fine and a warn-
ing, but in 2005 the creator of China’s
biggest porn site was sentenced to life
imprisonment.
Sociologist Li Yinhe, China’s leading
sex expert, said just a generation ago,
holding hands and kissing in public
was virtually unheard of.
China, however, is undergoing a
sexual revolution. “Sex liberation sty-
mied by law,” trumpeted a front-page
article in the official China Daily. The
newspaper ran an in-depth piece that
questioned whether China’s laws on
sexual behaviour are lagging behind
the times.The issue arose after Ma
Yaohai, a 53-year-old college profes-
sor, and 21 others went on trial in the
South-Eastern city of Nanjing accused
of ‘group licentiousness’. By having
an orgy, the 22 members of a swinger
club broke Chinese law and could now
face up to five years in jail.
However, Ma, the only defendant
pleading not guilty, has the public’s
backing. According to a survey, 70 per
cent of Chinese citizens believe he
should be acquitted.
Despite the government’s attempts to
stop an increase of sexual liberty, Chi-
na has shifted toward a more progres-
sive view on sex, partly due to rising
prosperity, Li says.
So, why did the poll exclude China?
With a population busting China’s ca-
pacity, making necessary a one-child
policy, there’s one aspect about the
Chinese culture that cannot be disput-
ed: they are having sex. Lots of it. So,
by questioning women from all around
the globe except for China, OnePoll is
retaining interesting information from
the public’s eye. This move also sheds
a light on the survey’s one-sidedness
and shows a lack of professionalism.
Come on, OnePoll - you can do better
than that!

Summer 2010 when in ROAM.co.uk 93

 30 travel facts you
won’t forget
1. It is impossible to get sun-
burnt on the beach of the Dead
course of his/her life.
18. 23. Kenya is home to ele-
10. The American Kent
The oceans are ordinar-
ily 3990 metres deep. phants so clever they can imitate

19.
Sea because it lies 400 metres be- Couch flew 310 km hanging from the sound of a passing lorry.

24. The Spanish word for

low sea level, and has a fog layer 105 helium balloons. In order to There are 11 different
that is so thick it won’t even let land, he continued popping bal- spoken languages in South Africa.

20.word
harmful UV-rays through. loon after balloon, until he was fly- ‘wives’ is the same as for ‘hand-

2. Papua New Guinea has

ing low enough to jump off. cuffs’: las

11.
The esposas.

25.
more than 700 different spoken While cats ‘Canada’
languages from 14 have nine lives in Brit- originally
different language ain, they only get seven meant ‘big If you import
groups. in Germany. village’. a plastic bag

3. More than 12. The only plac- 21.

to Zanzibar
City, Tan-
half of all women es in the world with no Greece’s zania, you
pack more than 50 speed limits on motor- national an- could face a
items of clothing for ways are Germany, the them has fine of up to
a two-week holiday. Isle of Man, and two 158 verses. £1,500.

4. Men are nature’s viagra: Jellyfish

federal states in India. Ordinarily, well-regulated: German traffic signs

13.
only the first

26. The mafia is the biggest

able to hold an erec- Taiwan and two are sung.

22.
tion for longer after they are stung Luxembourg are the only countries
by the Australian Irukandiy Jelly- with more mobile phones than citi- Nelson Mandela’s real commercial enterprise in Italy. Its
fish. zens. name is Rolihlahla Mandela, which annual profits lie at around €100
5. The average hiker spends 14. The full name of L.A., literally means “one who causes
trouble”.
trillion (£86.8), which is twice as
much as Fiat makes.

27.
about £2 per mile while hiking. i.e. Los Angeles, is El Pueblo de
6. Nuestra Senora la Reina de los
Amsterdam has a zone Angeles del Rio de Porciuncula.
A shark can detect blood
in water even if it is diluted on a
especially for open-air sex: in the
15. The first ever beer in a
1/100 millilitre ratio.

28.
so-called Vondel Park, you are al-
lowed to have sex day and night. can was launched in Richmond, The act of sexual inter-

7. Alaska has almost as many

Virginia in 1935. course takes chimpanzees a whole

16. The words ‘I love you’ in

seven to eight seconds.

29.
planes as cars.

8. Ten pounds of Italian olives … ./. . ..

morse code look as follows: ../… There are about 20 mil-
lion traffic signs in Germany, one
make about
17. N e w
every 30 yards.

30.
a litre of olive
oil. York has more Ital- The flag of the Domini-

9. ians than Rome, can Republic is the only one in the

The av- more Irishmen world that features an illustration
erage human than Dublin and of the bible.
walks about more black people
6,000 steps than any other city
every day, i.e. in the world.
walks around
flying high: Kent Couch’s aerial adventure
the world four
times in the goodfella: an Italian mafioso

94 when in ROAM.co.uk Summer 2010

next issue on sale from
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For daily updated travel news, tips and
pictures, go to:
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