Rich in history and home to some of the world’s most impressive architecture, Uzbekistan’s untapped tourist scene is a trove of hidden wonders January 26, 2018 Gold-leafed mosque interiors, silk carpets, smooth vodka, ninth century mausoleums and some of the best-looking people on earth — Uzbekistan is a hidden gem. And that’s not just a metaphor; it really is tucked away. The home of many of the world’s most impressive architectural, scientific and cultural artefacts has the rare distinction of being [...]
Legal Q&A: I intend to extend the lease of my flat and read the price payable for an extension is 15 times the current ground rent? Is this correct? January 26, 2018 There is a popular myth that the price for a lease term extension is simply a multiple of the passing ground rent under the terms of the lease. Unfortunately, the price payable for a lease term extension is not as straightforward. Pursuant to the Leasehold Reform, Housing and Urban Land Act 1993 (the Act) [...]
Rich in history and home to some of the world’s most impressive architecture, Uzbekistan’s untapped tourist scene is a trove of hidden wonders January 26, 2018 Gold-leafed mosque interiors, silk carpets, smooth vodka, ninth century mausoleums and some of the best-looking people on earth — Uzbekistan is a hidden gem. And that's not just a metaphor; it really is tucked away. The home of many of the world’s most impressive architectural, scientific and cultural artefacts has the rare distinction of being [...]
12 Strong review: The true story of America’s 9/11 counter-attack is boiled down to a bland horseback war drama January 25, 2018 In the weeks following 9/11, the US sent a covert team into Afghanistan to liberate (and bomb the absolute bejesus out of) a handful of Taliban-occupied towns. The squad joined forces with a local Afghan warlord, and together they traversed the mountainous region on horseback, calling in airstrikes, gunning down Taliban troops and kickstarting [...]
More and more pets are taking to the skies to join us abroad, but what happens to our four-legged friends when they fly? January 25, 2018 Air travel, it’s easy to forget, is arcane magic. We strap ourselves into big metal tubes to be voluntarily catapulted thousands of feet into the sky, a place where there’s free sour cream and onion flavoured pretzels and tiny bottles of vodka, and where we’re furious when the wifi doesn’t work. It is only the [...]
Nestled deep within the Ecuadorian cloud forest, Mashpi Lodge is a hotel at one with the nature surrounding it January 24, 2018 Shortly after the turn of the century the former mayor of Quito, Roque Sevilla, bought up a vast chunk of the Ecuadorian cloud forest from a local logging company, and turned the land into one of the largest privately owned conservation areas in the country. Somewhere in the centre of it all, on the site [...]
The incredible story of how a Breitling Emergency watch saved a pilot after he crashed into treacherous waters January 24, 2018 Precisely 15 years ago, Quentin Smith and Steve Brooks had just spent three arduous months getting to the tip of South America in an attempt to fly by helicopter from the North to the South Pole. The previous six weeks had been spent in Chile, patiently seeking the relevant commissions to fly the Drake Passage [...]
The world’s thinnest mechanical watch January 24, 2018 | City Talk Piaget has created a new concept for its Altiplano range. The Altiplano Ultimate Concept is the thinnest mechanical watch the world has ever seen. Making its design debut at last week’s SIHH the watch measures up to a minuscule 2mm, or just under 0.08 inches. To bring this far fetched concept to reality, Piaget has [...]
Long Weekend in Speyside, Scotland: Here’s where to stay and what to do if you’re heading up to the Highlands for a Burns Night mini-break January 19, 2018 Melissa York samples the scotch on St Andrew’s Day in the Highlands The Craigellachie, Speyside, Scotland The weekend: You’ve missed Saint Andrew’s Day and Hogmanay, but there’s one more Scottish winter festival to go. Burns Night is coming up on Thursday, and what better way to honour Rabbie than by heading up to the Highlands [...]
Need a digital detox? Restival is a radical new mindfulness festival that may change your life January 19, 2018 Most travellers arriving in Flagstaff, Arizona, come to explore the Grand Canyon, but not me. My destination was the high plains of the Painted Desert, a dry and barren landscape on the edge of the Navajo Nation Reservation. I would leave a different person. I’d come for Restival, a mind, body and spirit festival taking [...]