Hugh Taylor's Blog

Posted by Hugh Taylor

When the postman delivered Dorling Kindersley’s new guide to World Travel yesterday morning I knew it was a mistake to open the package. Mistake number two was deciding to have another coffee and leaf through a few of the pages. Several hours later I was still reading when I should have been in my office writing.

It's a splendid production full of the vibrant colourful images that separate DK guides from all the rest. It’s also jam packed with practical information concerning visas and passports, security, health issues, insurance, money, mobile phones, getting around, internet travel and travel photography.

The meat of the book, which the publishers describe as ‘the ultimate holiday planner’, is the features on the ‘world’s most spectacular places’.

There are 130 of them, each featuring one of six holiday themes from Festivals and Culture, Natural World and Activity Breaks to Family Getaways, Luxury and Romance and Unforgettable Journeys.

The book is arranged in a month by month format so you can search for the perfect destination to fit with your holiday dates or find the best time to visit your chosen destination.

The Middle East is well represented with features on Petra in Jordan, one of the new Seven Wonders of the World, the city of Samarkand in Uzbekistan, Istanbul and the Lycian Coast in Turkey and Cruising on the River Nile and visiting the Red Sea in Egypt.

It was written by a team of travel experts of whom a significant number are suite101 Feature Writers including Evelyn Kanter, Mari Nicholson, Rebecca Ford and me.

My contribution is not on the Middle East but my home territory, the West of Scotland. I’m well pleased with it and I’m sure the good people at VisitScotland will be too.

Posted by Hugh Taylor

The summer weather in south west Scotland has been nothing short of abominable. So to say I'm looking forward to going to Egypt soon would be an understatement. Even though it's work it will be tremendous knowing that for a few weeks at least I will not see any rain.

I'm flying into Cairo then planning on taking a rail journey to Aswan and flying on to Abu Simbel to photograph the temples there. Then I'll spend a few days round Aswan, checking out the attractions, the souks, sailing on the Nile and visiting the dam before taking the train to Luxor. There I'll be shooting stock photographs of the many antiquities before taking the train back to Cairo for a few days exploring the old city, visiting the Pyramids and the Museum.

The only thing I have in place at the moment is my flight to Cairo from Glasgow. Everything else has to be arranged. Check my blog regularly and I'll let you know how I'm getting on and how you can use the same sources to book yourself an individually tailored tour of Egypt without having to fork out a fortune to an agency.

In the meantime take a look at my feature on Egypt - Travel Facts and Trivia

Posted by Hugh Taylor

Someone asked me to recommend the best guidebook to Jordan. I’d like to say that it’s my own Globetrotter Guide to Jordan but I can’t. It hasn’t been published yet and besides I don’t think there is such a thing as The best guide book.

When choosing a guide there are a number of factors to consider.

How long will you be there?

Have you been before?

Do you want a lot of detail and background information?

Or do you just want directed to the main attractions?

If I’m going somewhere on holiday my choice is determined by length of stay and whether I plan to see a lot or just laze around on the beach.

My first choice will usually be the AA/AAA Spiral Guides and I don’t just say that because my wife and I are authors of the Spiral Guide to Scotland. I like them because they have detailed itineraries and tours which mean I have very little thinking or planning to do.

Of the others AA/AAA Essential Guides are good for short breaks, Lonely Planet and Rough Guides have a lot of useful snippets and some very good in depth background information. Dorling Kindersley Guides are superbly illustrated, Insight Guides well researched and comprehensive but a wee bit on the heavy side. Globetrotter Guides have less detail but enough to do the job and the fit in your pocket. Bradt Guides are arguably the best books available for the countries they cover.

A lot also depends on the writer. How well do they know their destination and how much research have they done. Unfortunately many guides are now being writen by authors who have never been to the destination. This is hardly surprising when you see the fees that some publishers are currently asking writers to work for. But it means there’s a good chance the guide is rubbish.

Anyway the upshot of this is that I shall be reviewing a broad selection of guide books and telling you what I think of them. If I think they are garbage I will tell you so and I’ll also tell you why.

Currently in my In tray are the Bradt Guides to Palestine, Iraq, Turkmenistan, Syria, Oman, Iran and Armenia and the Insight Guide to Jordan. I’ve got the excellent Walking in Jordan by Di Taylor and Tony Hill and Jordan Jubilee by Ruth.

Posted by Hugh Taylor

If you are thinking about visiting Jordan then this is a good time of the year to do it. The winter rains are past and it is not too hot. Jordan is a very easy country to get to and entry requirements are simple and inexpensive. To help with your trip planning I’ve written an article detailing customs and health requirements, how to get there by air, sea and rail and how to get a visitors visa.

I am also planning a series of articles to help you get the most out of your visit including Getting Around, Where to Stay, Where to Eat and What to See so bookmark this page and check it regularly.

In the meantime here are a couple of suggestions for places to stay. One is probably the best small hotel in Jordan and the other one of the most luxurious.

The Mariam Hotel in Jordan is a family owned and operated hotel. Charl al Twal the proprietor is a member of one of the oldest families in Madaba and what he doesn’t know about the town is probably not worth knowing. For a small charge he will pick you up from Amman airport.

It has clean, well appointed rooms with ceiling fans, TV and free Wi Fi. There’s an excellent outdoor pool and beside it a bar and restaurant. And it is remarkably priced.

Not far away on the shores of the Dead Sea the Kempinski Ishtar competes with its neighbour The Mövenpick for the title ‘The Lowest Hotel on Earth’. It would take a surveyor to decide as there can only be an inch or two in it.

This was designed in tribute to one of one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World theHanging Gardens of Babylon The second phase of the building development is now complete and officially opens next month. There are 201 new rooms and suites each with a patio or balcony with superb views over the Dead Sea. Just the place to sit at the end of the day enjoying a cool drink as the sun disappears over the horizon and the lights of Jericho appear on the West Bank.

Unlike the Mariam it is not a budget option but incredibly good value for money. It’s a favourite of Queen Rania Al Abdullah and Beatrix Potter actress Renee Zellwegger.

Posted by Hugh Taylor

The two for one Turkey offer produces a saving per couple of £220.

The offer is for departures between May 1-20, July 2-15, August 20-September 2, and September 24-October 7, with departures from Gatwick, Manchester, Birmingham, Bristol and Stansted.

Prices start at just £389 per person and include flights, in-flight meal, transfers, accommodation and local representative.

There is a choice of four hotels, the Ottoman Residence in Akyaka, the White Hotel in Oludeniz, the Samaria Deluxe Apartments in Kalkan, and the Nur Beach Hotel in Kas, plus two combinations of hotels and Gulet cruises.

The North Cyprus flight-only departures start on March 24 and there are a range of dates on offer until October 31st, with prices starting at £319, and departures from Heathrow, Gatwick, Birmingham, and Stansted.

Full details of all the money saving offers are on Anatolian Sky Holidays website.

Posted by Hugh Taylor

For a mere 300 shekels (US$70) you can walk into Ada Barak's health and beauty spa in Northern Israel and have a few snakes slither across your body.

Snake Massage may not be about to replace Dead Sea salts as a popular treatment in the Middle East but clients swear that having half a dozen serpents slithering across their bare flesh is the best way to relieve those tired and aching muscles.

The snakes that Barak uses in her treatment are a mixture of corn snakes, milk snakes and California and Florida King snakes. According to Barak if people can get over their revulsion of serpents they usually find the sensation very soothing.

Personally I am terrified of snakes but I can see her point. I once thought of them as oily greasy things but after being persuaded to handle a live python I realize that they are dry and silky smooth.

But I’m still terrified of the things and harmless or not there is now way I am every going to get my kit off, lie down on a couch and let someone cover me with snakes.

Posted by Hugh Taylor

In Africa Travel you will find a series of four articles describing a trip I made along the River Nile in Egypt.

Egypt -Nile Cruising covers the section from Luxor to the temples of Esna and Edfu.

Egypt Nile Cruising Aswan starts with the temples of Horus and Sobek at Kom Ombo then covers Aswan, the labyrinth of narrow souks in the bazaar the Aswan Dam, andLake Nasser the world’s largest artificial lake

In Egypt Nile Cruising Luxor the site of ancient Thebes, one time capital of the Pharaohs I visit the Temple of Karnak with its avenue of Ram’s headed sphinxes, great court and great Hypostyle Hall and of course the Temple of Luxor.

In the final article Egypt Nile Cruising Thebes the tour concludes with a visit to the Theban Necropolis on the west bank of the Nile, the secret tombs, including that of Tutenkhamhun, in the Valley of the Kings and the Valley of the Queens and the mortuary temple of Hatshepsut, the only female pharaoh

In East Asia Travel I’ve included the story of my last visit to what I regard as the World’s finest hotel, Raffles Hotel Singapore, then I moved on to UK Ireland Travel to talk about Environmentally Friendly camping holidays in the UK. Staying with UK Ireland Travel I’ve written about an amazing new exhibition which the Barbican Art Gallery in London is staging to celebrate its 25th birthday. It’s a major retrospective of the works of Finnish Architect Alvar Aalto seen through the eyes of Japanese Architect Shigeru Ban. Meanwhile up in Scotland the national tourist body, VisitScotland, have launched a brand new Robert Burns Website about the life and times of Scotland’s National Poet.

Finally for all of you who have emailed me asking how to become a travel writer I’ve written about a major competition being run by Bradt travel guides where the winner will get sent on a travel writing course, be commissioned to write for the Independent on Sunday and get a free holiday. Also in that article is information about ‘Ask Bradt’ at the Destinations Travel Show at Earls Court, London. You can get free tickets to the show from Bradt travel guides and go along to talk to some of their top authors.

Posted by Hugh Taylor

It’s a particularly horrible morning here in the south west of Scotland. Skies are dark, there’s a gale blowing and it’s snowing. I open my mail to discover a PR contact has sent me details of a new tour company offering what looks like an absolutely magical tour of ancient Egypt in the company of an author whose work I have always admired.

Robert Bauval is a pioneer in the understanding of the star religion of the pyramid builders of Egypt, and world famous author ofThe Orion Mystery He’s going to be on the tour and available to answer questions. The temptation is just too much to bear.

Ancient Sands Exclusive Tours is run by Bauval’s daughter Candice and is offering private and exclusive access to many of Egypt’s’ famous landmarks, temples and museums in the company of her father. Something other tour operators just can’t offer. I’m in the process of planning this years trip to Egypt so I’m already hooked. I read on.

Ancient Sands a UK based company has a 14-day tour to the heart of ancient Egypt planed for May 4 - 17, 2007 and if these dates are not good my contact tells me that others will soon be announced.

The trip will combine archaeology, legend and myth with luxury accommodation on land and sea and the best in traditional cuisine. A seven night Nile cruise is including on Sonesta International Nile Cruises, opulent vessel the five star MS St George. That will be stopping at the ancient sites of Luxor, the Valley of the Kings and Temple of Ramses III.

Furthermore, she tells me, Ancient Sands has negotiated 'private and exclusive' tours to the Giza Pyramids, the Sphinx, Temples of Horus at Edfu and Isis on Philae Island, and the Cairo Antiquities Museum.

I’ll also have lots of free time to take in the local area and if I want I can add in a few extras like a side trip to Abu Simbel, a hot air balloon ride over Luxor and ancient Thebes, and a sound and light show at the Giza Plateau.

Unfortunately these days are no good to me but I shall phone my contact and find out when the next tour is.

With the weather here about to deteriorate if Ancient Sands had a tour leaving tomorrow I would be powerless to resist.

Posted by Hugh Taylor

I had an email yesterday from someone who had read my blog on tourism in Syria and had then gone on to read my review of the excellent Bradt Guide to Syria.

“How can you promote tourism to a terrorist country” she wrote “let alone recommend that any sane person should go there on holiday.” She went on at length getting more extreme but none of is suitable for repeating here.

She made me very angry. My first reaction was to write an offensive reply but after I had calmed down I just replied referring her to my earlier article on Middle East Tourism and Terrorism.

I am getting heartily sick of the World’s media demonising people in the Middle Eastand of people like the woman who emailed me blindly accepting the rubbish she reads.

I suppose she thinks that I should be telling people to go to nice safe places like New Zealand or Australia where just the odd tourist happens to get raped and murdered now and again. Or even here to Scotland where last year a woman walking through a pleasant Highland wood was stabbed to death by a local nutter. None of these countries are considered dangerous nor should they be. An odd isolated incident does not mean that every tourist thereafter is under threat. Australia, New Zealand and Scotland are very, very safe countries to visit.

But let me tell you this. Syria is even safer.

You have more chance of getting run over by a demented crazy frog riding a Harley Davidson motorcycle than you have of coming to grief in Syria.

You don’t believe be? Well check what Diana Darke wrote in her introduction to the Bradt Syria Guide. And bear in mind she’s been travelling there for thirty years and has bought a house in the Old City of Damascus

“No foreigner has ever been kidnapped, raped or assaulted here, not even a Dane.”

Which given the furore in the Muslim world last year after a Danish newspaper published derogatory cartoons of the Prophet Muhammad is truly remarkable.

Posted by Hugh Taylor

These visitors contributed some US$2.3 billion to the Syrian economy and according to Syria’s Minister of Tourism, Saadallah Agha al-Qalaa the numbers are set to increase as Syria embarks on a major tourist marketing project. "The Ministry aspires to attract 7 million tourists in 2010 through launching external promotion and marketing campaigns during 2007,"

The Minister was speaking at a meeting with Dr. Meredith Burgmann President of the Legislative Council of New South Wales who was leading an Australian delegation.

They were discussing the possibility of developing tourist links between Syria and Australia. The delegation were apparently impressed by the wealth of cultural and historic sites to be found in Syria as well as its natural history and resources.

Bradt Guides produce an excellent guidebook to Syria. Written by Diana Darke a graduate in Arabic from Oxford University who owns an 18th century courtyard house in the Old City of Damascus.

Posted by Hugh Taylor

According to Gulf News the link was launched by the UAE’s Minister of Interior Lieutenant General Shaikh Saif Bin Zayed Al Nahyan. Initially only nationals of the UAE, Oman and other GCC nationals will be able to use the system. It is expected that the it will be extended to include expatriots resident in the two countries and tourists when the second phase is implemented. The procedure speeds up the processing of travel papers and is expected to reduce delays at the border crossing.

Posted by Hugh Taylor

Never mind I had the celebration of my mother’s 80th birthday to look forward too but was having trouble deciding on a suitable present.

She has no room left for ornaments and in any case I wanted to get her something she wouldn’t have to dust.

When I was little we used to go to Turnberry Hotel on Saturday afternoons. She and my aunt would enjoy afternoon tea while Dad took my brother and I to the swimming pool. Afterwards we would look out of the windows at the superb view over the championship Golf course and the Firth of Clyde to Ailsa Craig, the Island of Arran and the Mull of Kintyre. We might even be allowed one of the splendid cream cakes and a glass of lemonade.

So I decided I would take her back to Turnberry or the Westin Turnberry Resort as it is now. I didn’t tell her where we were going just that it was a surprise and that she needed to pack an overnight bag.

As a travel writer I get to stay in a lot of five star hotels. It takes a lot to impress me but the Westin Turnberry managed. Yes it’s a great hotel to look at. A long white building with red roof tiles perched on top of a small hill. And it has every luxury you could ask for in a hotel of its kind. Spa, pool, championship golf course, outdoor and adventure centre and of course gourmet dining. It has without a doubt the finest view of any hotel in the world. OK I’m biased. I grew up on this part of the Scottish coast and think it has no equal but what impressed me most about the Westin Turnberry was the standard of service. Put simply it was World Class.

It has nothing to do with the Middle East so I can’t really tell you much more about it here. But I have arranged to write guest articles for my colleagues who write Luxury Travel and UKIreland Travel for Suite 101. When I’ve done that you can link to them from this blog.

And my mother? Well she had a grand time and told me later that it was one of the best birthday presents she had ever had. Furthermore she would not need to dust it.

Posted by Hugh Taylor

According to the Dubai Department of Tourism and Commerce Marketing, eight new hotels were opened in Dubai during 2006 and the number of guests increased by 3.3% to 6.3 million.

Dubai now has 415 hotels but needs many more if they are to fulfil their plans to increase the number of visitors to 15 million a year by 2010. According to a report in Gulf News that would require between 80,000 to 100,000 hotel rooms.

Posted by Hugh Taylor

Some 28.8 million passengers used Dubai International Airport in 2006. This is a 16.17% increase on the previous year. The busiest months were December when 2.73 million passengers were recorded, 2.5 million in July and 2.4 million in September.

Aircraft movements also showed an increase of 9.25% in 2007 and cargo handling was up 5.85% to 1.41 tonnes.

Plans for a $4.1 billion expansion to the airports facilities are still on schedule. According to Dubai’s Department of Civil Aviation the new Terminal 3 and Concourse 2 should open later in 2007. The rest of the work will take until 2010 to complete but will then enable Dubai International Airport to handle 60 million passengers a year.