20th October 2009 | Cool bloggers, Travel
Top 101 Adventure Twitterers
Barely a week on the web and I’m at number 47 on Mindaugas Markus excellent new travel blog and online TV show Abroadening, but hey, it’s in no particular order so I’m chuffed to bits.
So check out the top 101 adventurers and while you’re there why not make their day and sign up to their tweets?
Here’s the 101 Most Awesome Adventure & Travel Twitterers You Should Be Following in full.
16th October 2009 | How to Drive a Tank..., Journalism
Over the coming weeks I’ll be adding material to this site, and the web channel over at National Geographic, that’ll add a little bit of flavour to some of the chapters in the book. Here are three videos to begin with from the How to Beat Security Systems Chapter.
The first is to show you how easy some fingerprint scanners are to crack. As you’ll usually find it explained somewhere in the documentation on your home computer, they’re not security measures. First check out the guys at Mythbusters as they show you how easy it is to crack open a ’secure’ locked doorway using nothing but a photocopier print out: Read the rest of this entry »
16th October 2009 | How to Drive a Tank...
This is a tongue in cheek look at How to Hire a Hitman in online markets and the real world. Just follow the link to read the chapter from the book How to Drive aTank… and Other Everyday Tips for the Modern Gentleman.
And as promised to all readers of How to Drive a Tank…, you can also download a copy of the infamous book Hitman | A Technical Manual for Independent Contractors by clicking here or on the image below.
Hitman | A Technical Manual for Independent Contractors
This book was removed from circulation when it was found at the home of someone alleged to have used the information in the book in a triple murder. Fact or fiction? Well, that’s up to you to decide.
15th October 2009 | Journalism, Travel
Because time off doesn’t have to be spent lying down.
Originally appeared in the Friday Magazine in Gulf News
Skiing to the Pole | Gallery
The true geographic pole of 90 degrees north is one of the most inaccessible places on the planet. It’s where temperatures of -20 to -30 degrees C are considered balmy. The only life you’re likely to see there are seals, bearded scientists, or possibly the polar bear that’s been silently stalking you for its supper.
Unlike the South Pole it’s not even on dry land. It lies beneath a shifting sheet of ice that stretches from the shores of Russia to the glacial plains of Canada and Greenland. But now thanks to the enterprising Russian agency VICAAR the North Pole is becoming more accessible. In addition to ice breaker tours in summer they also operate the floating ice camp Barneo during the month of April. A time of year when the daylight lasts all night and the ice is still solid enough to support you.
From there it’s just a short helicopter ride to the last degree of latitude before you hit the pole. So what used to cost a small fortune – a North Pole expedition – now costs about as much as a new sensible family car, still not cheap, but then who wants to be sensible anyway? Read the rest of this entry »
15th October 2009 | Journalism
Originally appeared in the Guardian, click here to read on the Guardian website.
Faraya Mzaar
Tucked away in Lebanon, there are snowfields where the crowds are small, and the attractions – both on and off-piste – are plentiful. Frank Coles reveals skiing’s big secret.
Lawrence of Arabia, that most illustrious of British business travellers, never skied and thanks to his adventurous legacy, Bedouin, belly dancers, camels, and vast empty deserts are what most visitors have come to expect from the Middle East. You could be forgiven for thinking that an indoor slope in humid Dubai is the only wintry option available, but as the area opens up to development and reform, mountains and slopes that were once the preserve of a few savvy locals are welcoming tourists with winter holidays that have little to do with sunshine or souks.
Flying into Beirut, Lebanon’s capital, it is a surprise to see not just a sunny Mediterranean shoreline but also a glistening white mountain range towering stoically over the thin strip of land that houses the capital. Historically, Lebanon is synonymous with snow; even its name derives from the ancient Semitic word for white, “laban”, and its frosted peaks are referred to in the earliest of texts from Gilgamesh to the Old Testament.
Unlike the Norwegians who have skied for thousands of years, the Lebanese initially showed little interest in the untapped potential of their slopes. That is until the early 20th century when a few enthusiastic mountain men and some French expatriates scaled the Lebanese mountains by donkey, skied down, and then kept going back for more. Read the rest of this entry »
15th October 2009 | Journalism
Bilderberg | Stresa, Italy
This is the piece that sparked a new direction in my life. I was working with AC Milan in Italy and heard the a real life conspiracy theory was going on just up the road in Stresa, so I headed out with my camera and notepad for three days to find out if there was any basis in reality for the theories on the web: secret world government, ruling cabal, or benign private business meeting?
Call it what you like, but it exists in a high security environment where the heads of business meet with the movers and shakers of the political world. The story ended up in the Sunday papers in Europe and the photos all over the web and in various US publications.
Here’s the original story.
I’ll add a gallery to this page at earliest opportunity.
