"Dust Bowl" Drought

The Dust Bowl, or the Dirty Thirties, was a period of severe dust storms causing major ecological and agricultural damage to American and Canadian prairie lands in the 1930s, particularly in 1934 and 1936. Filmmaker Ken Burns talks to BBC about the "dust bowl" drought

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-20301451

New Routemaster London Bus

The Routemaster bus which was built between 1956 and 1968 has remained one of the identifiable symbols of London. So much so that klik2travel identified it as one of the key points of interest in London and produced a film about the iconic vehicle. Since we produced that short film there has been an exciting announcement about the new Routemaster bus which began their service on the 38 route between Hackney and Victoria Station today. The 62-seater buses incorporate the most innovative and cutting-edge hybrid technology and will be the most environmentally-friendly bus of its kind.

The Buses will have a driver and conductor and is twice as efficient as a standard diesel bus and the most eco-friendly of its kind. Read more about the 8 new buses.

For more on the history of the buses go to the wikipedia page on Routemasters.

The double-decker uses green technology to be 40% more efficient, it has two staircases and an open platform enabling people to "hop-on hop-off".

Warwickshire-based sports car maker Aston Martin, along with architects Foster and Partners, won the £25,000 prize jointly with Wiltshire bus maker Capoco Design.

The contract to build the new bus for London was awarded to Wrightbus in January 2010.

Photo Charlotte Gilhooly

London Olympics 2012

Anyone travelling to the Olympics in London? Load up the 14 free, short (1-2 minute), MP4 films to your mobile phone or computer and be able to get an informative and visual speaking film on the most interesting places to visit while you are in London. klik2travel have condensed the essential information into a film which shows you what to expect and speaks about the main points of interest.

Useful travel resources

1. Wikitravel.com
Arguably next only to Google, Wikipedia has turn into an over the internet supply for information. They have compiled more than 10,000 unbiased destination guides and content articles submitted by travelers. In genuine ‘Wiki’ fashion, the page offers dozens of hyperlinks on something and everything associated to journey and every particular destination. every year they have a Wikitravel Get collectively in a very totally different holiday spot. anybody can warning as a great deal as go, as nicely as the objective would be to collect data to enhance Wikipedia&’s manual for that particular location.oh, and to possess fun while executing so.
2. Onebag.com
Do you envy that traveler strutting onto the plane with that one tiny carry-on bag? Onebag.com may have the ability to offer some help. With hints regarding how to go anywhere, for an indefinite quantity of time with one individual carry-on bag, there merely has being an art and/or science involved. So even should you can&’t get along to some hold on, no much less than you will make the most belonging to the one you have.
3. Travelsense.org
Travelsense.org is a one-stop website for packing tips, advice, and news. content articles range from ;Traveling with Children—Pets—Handicapped—Teens; to ;How to stay away from journey Scams.; It’s uncomplicated to navigate, loaded with information, and never in any way revenue motivated, so you obtain all belonging to the assistance you require devoid of feeling like you’re becoming marketed on the few days in Disney.

My first: a Metro journey in the desert



 Credits: Photo_SG

  Going to Dubai is like going to Disneyland. Every time I arrive at Dubai International Airport I have the feeling of an immense excitement - something extraordinary is going to happen to me when visiting this place. Most of the time I am not mistaken.

No other city gives me such an adrenaline rush as Dubai. Not only this is the largest amusement park for grown ups and children alike, but it is build in the most inhospitable terrain such as desert. But this is not a mirage. I had to pinch myself many times to realize that this island of high sky scrapers, surrounded only by sand and sea, was indeed for real.

Ok, there are many aspects of the place which makes it probably the most artificial place on Earth. I cannot deny that. But if you are about to visit the most artificial human-made wonder of our World, this is the place to go.

 

Credits: NASA's Marshall Space Craft Center

 Dubai boosts many records: the highest building, indoor ski resort inside one of the biggest shopping mall, artificial man-made islands visible from the space, over 70km of artificial coastline added by Dubai's waterfront. Just to name the few.

For many years I’ve heard of Metro being build in Dubai. This made me wonder how odd this concept was. Metro in the desert? How bizarre. I must try it out when it’s ready - I thought many times!

So last March when I had a chance to visit Dubai again, this was an experience not to be missed. I’ve done my Google map navigation how to get from office building to my hotel using Metro system and off I went.

But as soon as I’ve stepped out of the office building I was faced with the serpentines of winding roads, expressways and new buildings sprouting everywhere. I was lost after just first few steps. I had to go back and ask for help a security guard, but my question about directions to the nearest underground station met a confused grim on his face. I new something was wrong. I’ve repeated the question again but with no luck. Then by a stroke of genius I’ve asked: a Metro? Ah, that made all the difference and I was shown a general direction where to go. Over the patch of sand towards an island of brand new skyscrapers and 20 minute walk later, I’ve approached an entrance with Metro sign on it. And then it came a revelation, of course this was not an underground, the Metro system was 10 meters above ground level, spanning the whole city from one end to another. How silly of me! Few years earlier I have witnessed the construction of ramps all over the city thinking this was another express road, not realising it was a new Metro system in the making.
 
Ok, so I was on the way to have my first Metro ride in the desert. Got the tickets. Never mind that my final destination turned out to be a short walk away from the station, and in the end I had to come back to the place of my original departure. But I was determined to have the experience no matter what.


Credits: citronate

 The train has arrived, the doors have opened as expected and I’ve stepped into the car. At the very moment I was shouted at by the platform assistant to get out immediately. What on earth have I done wrong? Was I on most wanted list again? Back on the platform, I’ve looked at the side of the car I was just trying to board only to notice “ladies only” sign. Uhrgrrr… am I going to be arrested? Luckily I was politely explained to get to the next car which was for everybody else I guess. Which I did, but to my surprise there was no inside partition between the cars. And like I was about 2 meters away from the nearest woman in ladies only section, I was also about the same distance from her in the adjacent compartment. I am still puzzled what was the point. But then again, what’s the point of catching a Metro in the middle of a desert and not going anywhere!

That was my first Metro journey in the desert that I will never forget!



Credits: jamesup



Marrakech by Mike Wood

My family and I live in the South East of England and the genesis of this tale lies in the fact that my best friend in England is Moroccan. For many years Mohammed and I talked about a trip to his home country which we finally got round to doing in 2003 visiting his birthplace of Casablanca, where I was lucky enough to experience the warm hospitality of his family, as well as touring a number of other towns including the charming port of Essaouira and, most significantly for me Marrakech. Walking inside the ancient City walls of the old town of Marrakech is like stepping inside the pages of the bible. For centuries the Red City has sat at an intersection between cultures, a trading post and meeting place for intrepid Europeans, ethnic arabs from the East and the Camel Caravans that crossed the desserts to the South from sub saharan Africa. Today its narrow streets, too tight to accommodate cars, are teeming with life from

street vendors, food stalls, donkeys and carts, locals of all ages and tourists from the corners of the globe. At the heart of Marrakech sits the incomparable Jema al Fnaa square filled with the sights sounds and smells of snake charmers, storytellers, acrobats, performing monkeys, henna artists, musicians, dancing boys, orange juice sellers, primitive dentists and all manner of other enterprises and entertainers. At dusk the north side of the square becomes the worlds largest and most welcoming open air barbecue. The best discovery of all from that first trip to Morocco was the hidden world of the Riad, the traditional form of courtyard home built inward facing around a central garden, in fact the literal meaning of riad in arabic is garden. Each Riad is a private space with no outward facing windows, its closed form providing shelter from the heat of the sun as well as privacy for traditional muslim families. It is difficult to believe the contrast between the calm of a Riad courtyard and the vibrant chaos of the streets outside.

My mind was made up, I had to have a Riad! My wife was willing to go along with the plan although at that stage she would really have preferred a Gite in France or a nice cottage in Derbyshire. There followed two years of frustration searching for the right Riad to renovate only to be thwarted by sellers who changed their minds, difficulties of understanding and translation, title deeds that could not be found, and a hundred and one other obstacles. Reassuringly the more we went back to Marrakech the more we became convinced that this was the one place in the world we had visited which we could see our family coming back to indefinitely. Marrakech is such a cosmopolitan City, it seems a new restaurant opens every week many to top international standard, the souks are endlessly fascinating, the seaside is a short day trip, and the Atlas mountains are your playground with walking trekking and even skiing in winter all around an hour away. Where else can you bathe in dependably warm sun on a private roof terrace within sight of snow topped mountains!

Early in 2006 the search finally bore fruit and we took possession of a beautiful tall, proud old Riad in Baroudiyine, one of the oldest districts of the old town Medina near to the Marrakech museum and the historic Ben Youssef Mosque with its fabulous Maddrassa. Then having waited patiently for so long for our Riad a second one fell into our laps! My wife Lucie, who by this stage was as passionate about the project as me was idly sitting at her keyboard one day and for reasons best known to herself tapped the search term 'riad for sale' into google. Up came a delightful courtyard garden house, perfectly proportioned, only five minutes from our new Marrakech home and annoyingly quite a bit cheaper! So we had no choice really, we had to buy that one as well, a feat which was accomplished less than a week from meeting the charming German owner. So there we were, proud owners of two Marrakech Riads each with their own charm and both in need a more than a little TLC. Their subsequent renovation and conversion into successful boutique hotels Riad Papillon and Riad Cinnamon involved five years of highs, lows, escalating budgets and constant learning about a very particular and fascinating culture......... but that is another story.

Mike and Lucy are running 2 Riad hotels in Marrakech. You can contact them on www.marrakech-riad.co.uk to discuss and book your accommodation.

My Special Cities by Bjørn Lødøen

Every year popular cities are chosen as the most popular destinations in a region, a country or in the world. These cities are picked on the basis of special criteria such as the most visitors, best attractions,etc. My most popular cities in the world out of those I have visited are also based on such criteria, but always because of some special experiences while staying there. Special cities I have visited in the world are San Francisco, Cape Town and Singapore.

Hermanus and Walker Bay in Cape Town

I will never forget Cape Town. One of the most enjoyable cities in the world. Robbin Island, Table Mountain and the Waterfront all make it a fascinating city. But a visit to a small holiday destination a short ride from Cape Town set my heart and soul shivering. Hermanus is fast becoming one of the most loved holiday destination amongst South Africans as well as international visitors. Wedged between mountain and sea offering spectacular views over Walker Bay, Hermanus promises remarkable natural beauty in the heart of the beautiful Western Cape. During the past decade, Hermanus has grown into a vibrant seaside destination complemented by fine restaurants, numerous art galleries, boutiques and shops, as well as a multitude of outdoor and adventure activities for the nature enthusiasts. But why so special for me? On the edge of the sea cliffs there is a café located just near enough to watch what is going on in the wavy ocean.
You will experience seals and whales playing a fantastic movie right in front of your eyes. You will not believe it until you see. It is so near that you almost feel they are there for you. Hermanus is known as the heart of the whale route and offers the best land-based whale watching in the world; undeniably the towns’ most popular tourist attraction. The Southern Right Whales come to South Africa between May and December to mate and calf and are the most frequently seen in Walker Bay. It is a fantastic experience which I will never miss when going back to Cape Town.
Stellenbosch wine district, near Cape Town.

San Francisco is almost always being chosen as number one tourist spot in the USA. This counts for me too, but not only because of Alcatraz, the sight of the Golden Gate or its Cable Tram tour. It is mostly because of the special treat you get at Fisherman’s Wharf. As a person from the West Coast of Norway, the best seafood I get is stone Crab. Stone crabs is one of the real popular thing you can buy at Fisherman`s Wharf. I love them and it is the first thing I do when visiting “Bagdad of the Bay”, as San Francisco is often called. You buy them boiled, ready to eat. Bring them to your hotel room, buy bread and mayonnaise and a bottle of good white Napa Valley wine. This meal is perfect for me and after having stuffed myself with this delicious treat, I can go out and enjoy the life in this wonderful city. Why do I eat it in my hotel room ? Because I can do it my way, without taking notice of the way the restaurant want me to eat it. I can forget about the eating code and the other guests and just dig in. Therefore, visiting San Francisco; The Stone crabs make my day!

Singapore has always been a popular tourist spot. A modern vibrant city, mixed in with all of the old parts of the city; Little India, Chinatown and Orchard road. I love Singapore; The people, the food, the smell and the different cultures. On our first tour to the city, I think it must have been about 15 years ago, we went on a tour of the city and ended up outside the famous Raffles hotel. We could not miss the opportunity to visit one of the Lions City most famous attractions, dated all the way back to 1887. Having heard of all of the famous playwrights, novelists and actors, Noel Coward visited the hotel for the first time in 1931, we were really looking forward to enjoy the fantastic atmosphere. We headed into the Writers bar, a bar tributed to the writers who have stayed at the hotel or have written about. Of course we ordered a ‘Singapore sling’ but we were so surprised being kindly asked to leave. We did not know there is a dress code at the bar, no shorts, but appropriate long trousers. At first we felt embarressed but later on we understood that our shorts did not fit in. I have been back to Singapore later, also to the writers bar, but properly dressed! However, I will never forget the moment when we had to give up our Singapore Sling.

These three places have given me a special experience to be remember for ever. In that way they became My Special Cities.