The analysis by the government found there were 371,000 foreign-born claimants for out-of-work benefits, out of a total 5.5 million recipients. Of these, 258,000 were from outside the European Economic Area.

The stats will no doubt make many British citizens wary of migrants. This shouldn’t be so. Most immigrants come to the UK to work and make a massive contribution to Britain – especially London.

However I can’t help questioning why so many migrants, are allowed to claim benefits such as the jobseeker’s allowance. I say this as someone who has spent the last five years working abroad in the Middle East, Caribbean and Asia.

I chose to go abroad partly out of a desire to travel and see some of the world, but also because job opportunities in my field (the media) were (and are) few and far between in Britain. There are many positives to working overseas but there are negative too: namely as a Brit, I had limited rights. It is not something I thought about when the party was in full swing but, when the good times stopped rolling (around 2009) I learnt the hard way that I had to fend for myself.

I was living and working in the Cayman Islands at the time and when my company was forced to face up to reality of the recession and make cutbacks, was given – along with my housemate and a whole host of foreign friends in the same boat – two weeks to find another job or get off the island. Meanwhile former colleagues living and working in Dubai faced deportation. As for China? Without a working visa – which is only valid if you have a job – you’re on your own.

Don’t get me wrong: I am by no means anti immigration as I hope my interview with Holocaust survivor, Hermann Hirschberger (www.cd-traveller.com/2010/01/20/lest_we_forget/) helps make clear. However if Brits have limited benefit rights abroad, surely it’s only right and fair that the same rule applies to immigrants to the UK?

A highlight of the Thai participation at WTM is the Amazing Thailand Bus: a traditional London double-decker, emblazoned with the Thai tourism campaign colours. It was used to transport all the Thai delegates to the ExCel Exhibition Centre on Monday. Tanes Petsuwan, TAT director (Europe) who was present to greet the Amazing Thailand Bus when it arrived at WTM, was looking forward to the grand opening of the Thailand pavilion, despite worries about his father’s house being flooded at home.
This year’s pavilion featured exotic Thai fruit carving demonstrations and a tasting area. One of the main events was when HRH Princess of Thailand, Ubolratana Rajakanya, presented the Tourism Authority of Thailand with the Green UK Travel Awards.
Mrs Juthaporn Rerngronasa, the TAT’s Deputy Governor for International Marketing, (Europe, Africa, Middle East and the Americas) said: “This is now the start of the traditional Thai tourism high season period, during which visitor arrivals play an important role for job creation and income generation.

HRH Princess of Thailand, Ubolratana Rajakanya

It should be clear by now that the flooding situation will soon be over, and people will need to resume their normal lives. That’s when the support of all our worldwide travel industry friends and partners will be very important.”
Mrs Juthaporn noted that the flooding mainly affected the central provinces along the rivers including some outer parts of Bangkok, residential suburbs and industrial zones. The central part of Bangkok where tourists normally go has not been flooded other than a few locations along the Chao Phraya River during high tides. Suvarnabhumi Airport remains well protected and open. Transportation from the airport into central Bangkok is also running as normal and visitors catching connecting flights to other destinations are able to do so without any problems. Flood waters in Ayutthaya and some other central provinces are starting to subside, and tourist attractions in Ayutthaya will be operational by month’s end.

Speaking at WTM, Mrs Juthaporn said: “Thai tourism has proven to be very resilient in the past, recovering quickly when faced with difficult times. Thailand and the UK have also always enjoyed a close friendship and strong bonds. Once the flooding situation is over, TAT also hopes that more and more travellers from the UK and Ireland will visit Thailand.” She said that the Royal Thai government along with the private sector, NGOs and people from all walks of life will work closely together to recover and regain international confidence. “Big cleaning days and site restoration in major affected tourist attractions, as well as comprehensive CSR and volunteerism programmes will be launched. Both Thai and foreign tourists will be invited to participate in the restoration.
We anticipate that life will be very much back to normal within a few weeks’ time to help us proceed with the auspicious occasion of the 84th birthday of His Majesty the King. On December 5, visitors will be amazed by millions of candle lights from the Thai people both in Thailand and overseas to celebrate the birthday of our beloved King.”

She added: “The TAT is committed to ensure that the UK remains one of our top source markets from Europe. Thailand welcomed almost 635,000 UK visitors during January – September 2011 with a growth of seven per cent over last year.”
British visitors are now coming to Thailand all year around rather than mostly in the winter months, as was the case in the past. They also have a high percentage of repeat visitors. On the aviation front, there are currently 35 direct scheduled flights per week between Bangkok and London being operated by four airlines – THAI Airways International, British Airways, Qantas and Eva Airways. Other airlines also bring visitors to Thailand through other points of the UK and intermediary hubs like Dubai, Singapore and Hong Kong. In January 2012, Emirates will start flying from Dublin. If you are travelling to Thailand in the near future, the key message is to be prepared. DO refer to the FAQS HERE.

To make matters worse, a Qantas flight from Sydney to London was forced to make an emergency landing in Dubai on Friday, after an engine shut down, angering passengers including Stephen Fry.

Fry, who was returning to London after touring Australia with his television programme QI, tweeted to his 3.3 million followers:”Bugger. Forced to land in Dubai. And engine has decided not to play.”

Fry’s misfortune occurred exactly one year since a Qantas flight from London to Sydney, was forced to land at Singapore after an engine exploded, causing the airline to ground its fleet at a cost of £30 million.

What do you make of it all? Would you risk booking your next flight with Qantas? Or do believe that the Australian airline has had its day?

While Dubai excels in many areas, it doesn’t do well ecologically. Worryingly the UAE has one of the largest ecological footprints (signifying a lifestyle that wastes resources) in the world, second only to the USA. On the fashion front in particular, Dubaians have been slow in extreme when it comes to embracing clothes that they can feel good about – as well as look good in.

Part of the reluctance can be attributed to cost; prices for ethical clothing (encompassing organic cotton, fair trade clothes and garments made from recycled material) can be steep, meaning that they can’t easily be factored into a weekly retail recce in the same way that garments from Stradivarius and Swedish stalwart H&M can. Yet while it’s understandable that the emirate’s expats love a bargain, you have to wonder why high street fashion fixes are so, well, cheap. And the conclusions you’ll come too (cotton picked by a child in the third world before being sewn together in a sweatshop) combine to make the boot sale prices a whole lot less attractive…

Ethical clothes have also suffered from a severe image problem in the past. Think of the dreadlocked eco warrior Swampy and you’ll get what we mean. Let’s face it; the hippy look was never going to take off in bling- bedecked Dubai.

Fortunately fashion forward, environmentally aware Dubaians are finally finding that they have more appealing – dare we say it, stylish even – options. And while some remain limited to those with fat wallets (and thin frames), not all of them need cost an arm and limb. Dubai might be way behind the likes of London and New York, but there are places where locals, expats and tourists alike can pick up something pretty and know that their actions didn’t harm the environment – or exploit workers in the developing world.

The budget conscious should give vintage a chance and check out Dubai’s charity shop scene. Buying second hand clothes is so much kinder to the environment; you’ll save on all the energy used in producing and shipping a new garment. Cruise over to Karama (ideally in a hybrid car) and seek out the Dubai Charity shop (04 337 8246) and Al Noor Thrift shop (04 297 9989). Others worth a rummage around include Rashid Paediatric Therapy Centre (04 294 5998) and the granddaddy of Dubai’s charity shops – Holy Trinity (04 337 8192).

Straddling the middle ground is Gap’s flagship store over in Deira City Centre. The first Gap store in Dubai, stocks the ‘Product Red’ range and pleasing all profits from products that fall under the red banner are donated to a fund fighting Aids, malaria and TB in Africa. Alongside Gap, there’s Marks & Spencer who launched its own Fair Trade line a few years back. Meanwhile Timberland sells eco-friendly footwear made with vegetable tanned leather and recycled rubber soles and has introduced a reforestation project whereby they plant one tree for each pair of boots sold.

S*uce

At the upper end of the feel good shopping spectrum is S*uce over at the Village mall. This achingly hip boutique has long been a favourite of the CD Traveller team when in Dubai, but now we have an excuse (as if we needed one) to flex the plastic. The trendy Jumeirah store stocks eco themed t-shirts designed by DVF, Missoni, Mossy and co to raise funds for Al Gore’s The Climate Project.

Children aren’t entirely neglected at ½ Pint; the brain-child of Dubai based fashion designer Mariam El-Accad. The clothes range (which caters for children from six months to seven years) isn’t organic as yet, but Mariam does her bit for the environment through her packaging and presentation. The brightly coloured clothes – guaranteed to lift little ones spirits – are displayed on wooden hangers rather than plastic ones and come in cotton pouches which can be used by the consumer to store shoes etc in. Elsewhere bags and business cards are made from recycled paper and designed to look like gift bags. Says Mariam: ‘I encourage customers to re-use them to give gifts in, so that the packaging is at least used again preventing more from being purchased.’ Furthermore all the clothes have been made in Mariam’s Satwa workshop, helping to reduce the UAE’s ecological footprint.

Of course your going to have to make room in your wardrobe for your new eco chic purchases, so why not invite family and friends around for a wardrobe swap – the so called ‘switch and bitch’ trend has swept New York. The premise is disarmingly simple; everyone brings a few unwanted items they want to trade be they Mango or Marc Jacobs. With a bit of luck one person’s junk will be another’s fashion booty and everyone will leave happy – hopefully with an outfit for free. At the end of the party, send the unclaimed clothing to a charity shop. CD Traveller is an ardent supporter of these so-called ‘switch and bitch’ parties. Easy on the environment and your wallet, what’s not to love?

Al Maha

However ethical consumerism isn’t limited solely to fashion. The glitzy emirate has an eco friendly holiday retreat on the doorstep in Al Maha, www.al-maha.com (checking in for a long week-end here, will grant you more kudos than taking a carbon flight to the Maldives), and on the food front, there’s the institution that is the Organic Food café (www.organicfoodsandcafe.com). Not only is all food organic, but the store has a conscious food miles policy and refuses to import goods from say the States. Instead produce is bought from India and Egypt – in other words closer to home.  Nils, the owner, also uses ‘biodegradable trays for meat and veg as opposed to plastic ones’ (helping to reduce the estimated 40kg of plastic consumption per capita per year across the Gulf) and rewards conscientious customers. For instance, the company sells cotton bags and customers who reuse them during future shopping sprees, see Dhs2 shaved off bills of more than Dhs100.

A caffeine fiend? Next time you’re in a coffee bar, ask for your latte to be served in a mug rather than a Styrofoam cup. The mug can be easily washed and used again by another customer, whereas the polystyrene packaging will most likely end up in a landfill site.

Meanwhile beauty queens can stock up on Shiffa – a lavish, all natural, organic skin care and body line range – at spas such as Amara (http://dubai.park.hyatt.com/hyatt/pure/spas/) and Madinat Jumeirah (http://www.jumeirah.com/hotels-and-resorts/destinations/dubai/madinat-jumeirah/) and Harvey Nichols and Saks Fifth Avenue at the Mall of the Emirates (www.malloftheemirates.com).

Elsewhere those looking for authentic Dubai gifts to give to friends and family back home, should try the Trucial Coast line (available at the Organic store) which sells goods such as unbleached cotton t-shirts depicting the UAE coastline, that come in cute drawstring bags.

Yes Dubai’s rampant consumerism – if channelled correctly – could actually be part of the solution to environmental concerns rather than the problem, for arguably one of the easiest ways that we can build a better world is through our purchases and choices as consumers. With a little thought we can shop ourselves, as well as the planet, to a brighter future. Green is evidently en vogue – and fingers crossed, this is one trend that’s here to stay.

For more information on how to shop ethically visit www.ethicalconsumer.org or www.responsibleshopper.org

Sun, sand and camel rides

Bored of lying on a beach all day? Camel riding – which offers a unique opportunity to spend your holiday in Dubai doing something different from lazing by your hotel pool, frying yourself in the sun or schlepping around the shopping centres – is where it’s at. Every tour operator under the sun (we went with Orient Tours;www.orient-tours.ae) includes a camel ride as part of their half day desert safari tour and thankfully, given that my riding experience was restricted to rocking-horses from my childhood days, no experience is necessary. As our guide – the amiable Yarif – was quick to emphasise, camel riding is open to all regardless of ability.

The sun was doing its incredible Middle East thing as we pulled into the Bedouin camp where we would be spending the evening. A tableau of camels stood bathed in the yellow light, shifting daintily from hoof to hoof. When the handlers arrived, the camels folded down on gangly knees to let us up onto their saddles. But be warned when a camel comes up – if you aren’t ready – the sensation is akin to riding a catapult or in this case a camelpult. The camel lurches forward, its rump coming up first, which means you want to be leaning back or else you get your first flying lesson. Then the front comes up, meaning you need to switch to a forward lean so as to avoid getting your second flying lesson backwards. Like dancing, once you get the hang of it, you move with your partner in a smooth motion. CD Traveller was immediately smitten with our cud-chewing animal (expect to see camels constantly chewing – even when they haven’t eaten, they still find something to chew). Of course, not everyone is camel crazy… Several people reported not liking their camels, who made loud snorting sounds and shifted their weight erratically. But their complaints were swept aside by the local Bedouin and our four-footed, one-humped convoy took off along a vague trail through the desert. Our oddly shaped shadows spread along the sand, racing over the contours of the desert while the striated hills and valleys grew a deeper orange as the sun sank on the horizon. The sand itself seemed surprisingly soft and as fine as makeup powder, making it look like even if I fell off my camel it would be an easy landing.

We didn’t know where we were going, but I was content to allow my camel to pad hypnotically over the cinnamon covered sand while I drank in the views of the sparse, desert environment. Ship of the desert, ship of the desert, the wave of motion caught me into its rhythm as I made like Lawrence of Arabia. However all too soon, you’ll return to your origin where the camel-ships will do their sinking thing again, allowing you to disembark. Once upright, there’s the opportunity to take some snaps of the big brown-eyed creatures for the holiday albums. Meanwhile curious types can ask any questions they might have about the camel – the main source of survival of nomadic people in a hostile desert environment over centuries – and its nature.

As experiences go, riding a camel out in the true heart of Arabia should top any itinerary list – be sure to make it a must do when in the Middle East.

Quirky camel facts

The world population of camels is currently estimated at some 20 million. Somalia is believed to have the world’s largest herd, with almost as many camels as humans.

World production of camel milk for human consumption is officially put at 1.3 million tonnes – 500 times less than cow’s milk.

Camels are called ‘ships of the desert’ because they can carry heavy loads – as much as 1000 pounds.

Camels can go for days with little or no water or food.

There are two species of Camel: Camelus (the single humped variety) and Bactrian (the double humped variety).

What’s hot

Virgin Atlantic cabin crew
Virgin Atlantic’s flight attendants have been voted the most attractive in a new survey of travellers. No doubt the airline’s red hot advertising campaign – featuring a bevy of beauties – helped cinch the deal but the fact of the matter is that Sir Richard Branson has always believed that the image of his crew is everything. Or as Virgin’s cabin crew recruitment pages states: “You’ll be the face of the airline. As such your grooming should always be immaculate – even after a long, tiring flight.”
Singapore Airlines took second place – despite only receiving 18 percent of the vote – while Arabic airline Etihad’s cabin crew came in third.

Barratt’s of Tn Rhyl
The small, family-run Barratt’s of Tn Rhyl in north Wales is a hotel that’s easy to love. Even so few would think about checking in for a year but that’s exactly what Australian couple, Chris and Sally Allison, have done! After a particularly warm welcome from owners David and Elvira Barratt, the Aussie duo decided to base themselves at Barratt’s for a year while they explore Europe. The two couples have become ‘like family’ – the antipodeans have even been invited to the wedding of the Barratts’ daughter next year!

Tallinn
This is the year that Estonia’s capital will be catapulted onto the world stage – thanks to its new title as European Capital of Culture. Every year since 1985, one (or more) European cities are awarded the title of European Capital of Culture – providing they promise to highlight the diversity and richness of European culture. As such Tallin, who shares the title with the Finnish city of Turku, will  be hosting multiple art and science exhibits as well as music festivals and events throughout the city during 2011.

Nha Trang
Vietnam’s seaside resort where travellers relax by day and party by night has been voted as one of the world’s top 10 beaches by expedia.com.au. The travel website raved about Nha Trang’s signature beach with its “golden sands and spectacular views of the surrounding mountains” and recommended the lively coastal town as the “gateway to a cluster of quieter islands which offer outstanding snorkelling and scuba diving trips”. Planning a trip to Nha Trang? Aim to watch the sunset while sipping a cocktail in Altitude – Nha Trang’s newest and highest bar (84 58 388 0000). For the more fab things to see and do, check out our travel article: http://www.cd-traveller.com/2011/02/21/beach-bliss-in-vietnam/

Kate Middleton country
Royal wedding fever is sweeping the UK – so much so that excursion company Mortons has started offering coach tours of what it describes as Kate Middleton country. Sights included in the 10 pound tour include St Andrew’s and Marlborough College (the schools she attended as a child and teenager), the church she was christened in and a look at the houses she was raised in. Adam Morton, owner of Mortons, believes the Berkshire tours will prove a hit with overseas tourists.

Affordable Abu Dhabi
Despite the release of Sex and The City 2 – a film starring Sarah Jessica Parker that was set in Abu Dhabi- prices of hotel rooms in Abu Dhabi fell in 2010. The average room cost £168 as opposed to £223 in 2009. The UAE’s capital wasn’t the only emirate to experience a fall in 2010: Dubai’s room rates fell by five percent while elsewhere in the Gulf, Doha’s prices dropped by 10 percent.

Not
Egypt
The Foreign Office is continuing to advise against ‘all but essential travel’ to Egypt’s main cities –including Cairo, Alexandria, Luxor and Suez – following President Hosni Mubarak’s resignation on Friday. Right now, the Red Sea area remains unaffected but there are fears that the unrest could spread. Any CD Traveller readers planning a trip to Egypt, are advised to call the Foreign Office on 020 7008 1500 from the UK or 02 2791 6000 from Egypt.

Visit Britain
With the royal wedding just around the corner and the Queen’s diamond jubilee, the London Olympics and the Paralympics in the diary for 2012, you’d think that Visit Britain – the UK’s national tourism agency – would be adding to its staff, but you’d be wrong. Visit Britain is to cut is staff by up to 30 percent and close offices in 13 countries including the visitors centre in London’s Regent Street. Visit Britain bosses believe that they can deliver their message via smartphones and the internet.

Gap years
The gap year has long been a rite of passage. Indeed this writer enjoyed 12 months of travelling (and working) to the furthest corners of the globe before embarking on university life. However in light of the recent government decision to allow universities to charge up to £9,000 per year from 2012, this year’s school leavers may have to ‘mind the gap’ if they want to avoid the fee hike..

Obtaining a permit for the Inca Trail
Planning on tackling the Inca Trail this year? Don’t be so sure… Changes to the permit system means tour operators will be allocated permits at random and cannot currently confirm permits for the high season months of June, July and August until later this month.

But if vegetarians aren’t ignored, they are often treated with indifference. And while it’s one thing to rule vegetarians out completely, it’s another to recognize their existence and then offer an unappealing, uninspiring token veggie dish that smacks of no effort. It’s a situation that long term Dubai resident, Arti Halligan – whose husband Steve turned vegetarian a few years back – is all too familiar with. “If you go to a nice restaurant, there is usually one dish swimming in cheese or a boiled vegetables options neither of which are very exciting,”’ says Arti. Chefs just don’t look after their non-carnivore diners enough and much of the time vegetarians are forced to get stuck into the bread bowl while their friends salivate over the ‘best steaks in the world’. While carnivores coo over their expertly prepared and beautifully presented entrees, vegetarians are left to pick at an overcooked plate of pasta arrabiatta and the likelihood is that they will leave feeling still hungry. All in all, it’s hardly a dining experience to write home about and vegetarians could be forgiven for thinking that they could have eaten better at home, something Arti acknowledges: “Ever since Steve became vegetarian we tend to eat out less and less as the choices are usually so limited. If we find a place, we usually tend to stick to it. I love More café (04 283 0224) for their pumpkin and feta salad”. Yet as delicious as More’s offering is, even for those passionate about pumpkin, it’s not one that you would want daily.

It has been argued that high profile celebrity chefs such as Gordon Ramsay – the irascible chef almost as famous for his four letter outbursts in the kitchen as for his food – haven’t helped matters. Not content with forcibly ejecting restaurant critics or celebrities from his restaurant, Ramsay’s relationship with our herbivorous brothers and sisters is a notoriously volatile one. The flamboyant former football star has been the bete noir of the vegetarian community since 2005 when he fed meat to a vegetarian in the second series of Ramsay’s Kitchen Nightmares. He then sparked further outrage when he confessed in an interview to having fed a dish to a vegetarian party that contained chicken stock. Ramsay’s much touted Dubai gourmet venture, Verre (04 227 1111) happens to be one of the worst offenders with vegetarians made to feel they should kneel in gratitude and supplication if Verre can rustle up a non meat dish. Glasshouse (04 227 1111), the restaurant adjacent to Ramsay’s Verre, is a good bet; although the menu is not entirely vegetarian, the meat count is low with lots of imaginative, vegetable based options. Yet for the most part, Glasshouse is in the minority. For while a fast food chain like Burger King manages to offer its customers a surprisingly decent spicy bean burger, most high-end establishments simply don’t seem to know how to prepare an up scale meat-free meal.

Mid range eateries tend to be more accommodating. The Noodle House (04 294 0885) for example, will cook any of their dishes as vegetarian while ex pat favourite, Fibber Magees (04 332 2400) boasts a huge and varied vegetarian menu. But be warned sometimes seemingly innocuous offerings like THE One’s (04 345 6687) celebrated slow roasted tomato soup have actually been cooked in a meat stock and for the most part, non meat eaters would do well to look to other cuisines – notably Indian where you can feast on vegetable curry. But once again, these ethnic venues tend to be at the cheaper end of the scale and unlicensed; reinforcing the lack of fine dining opportunities for vegetarians in Dubai.

It’s a situation that needs to be addressed. The demand is there; Dubai has more vegetarians than people think – they have just been forced to hide in their homes eating dishes by Amy’s Kitchen; a Canadian company whose wholesome organic vegetarian convenience foods from pizza and pot pies to stir fries and soups are stocked in Spinneys (04 355 5251) and the Organic Food shop (04 398 9410).

Essentially then, it is possible to survive as a vegetarian in Dubai, but to thrive? Well that’s an entirely different story. In a city renowned for its happening restaurant scene, veggies are left feeling shortchanged. Still there are signs that Dubai’s growing population of non-meat eaters are biting back and in response some restaurants such as Tang (04 339 3333) at Le Meridien Mina Seyahi have begun experimenting with vegetarian haute cuisine. Often these options won’t appear on the menu, but on request, the chefs will happily conjour up some of the most delicious dishes (sans meat) imaginable, which help dispel the stereotype that veggie dining is Spartan, dull and healthy (many contain butter and cheese). Vegans wouldn’t approve, but even the staunchest of carnivores would do well to give them a try. Who knows, maybe just maybe, a ‘green gourmet’ boom is beginning…

Survival tips for vegetarians in Dubai
For hassle free dining in Dubai, commit a few of the following phrases to memory…

Ana nabatee – I am vegetarian [male]
Ana nabateeya – I am vegetarian [female]
Mish akool lahma walla ferekh khalis – I don’t eat meat or chicken at all
Ana nbattee. Ana laa akul lohhoom – I am vegetarian. I don’t eat any meat

HOT
Beijing’s Capital Airport
Beijing’s Capital Airport has officially overtaken London’s Heathrow to become the world’s second-busiest international air-hub, in a further sign of China rapid economic growth and expanding civil aviation capacity. Atlanta’s Hartsfield International in Georgia, USA, remains the world’s busiest airport with 88m passengers in 2009.

Schlepping to Santiago
Chile’s capital, Santiago, has been voted the number one place to visit in 2011 by The New York Times no less, only a year after an 8.8 magnitude earthquake wreaked havoc in the country. The Times praised Santiago for its new “modern museums, smartly designed hotels and sophisticated restaurants” declaring that in recent years the city has become “decidedly more vibrant.”

St Regis Lhasa Resort
With the opening of the St Regis Lhasa, the Tibetan capital has finally got its first international luxury resort. Expect to find all the opulence you’ve come to expect from St Regis – stylish décor, plasma TVs, high speed Wi-Fi, a world class spa and butler service – but with added Tibetan twists, including a mediation garden, a tea room serving vintage brews and locally sourced produce in the hotel’s restaurants. Perhaps the best bit, though, is the location: just 3km from Polata Palace and within walking distance of some interesting shopping areas, the resort is nevertheless set away from the main bustle. Until March 31, you can enjoy an opening offer of three nights for the price of two. Visit www.stregis.com/lhasa for more.

The Middle East
Middle East stopover destinations such as Dubai and Abu Dhabi have bounced back from the global financial crisis helped in part by the recently opened Ferrari World theme park.  Located in Abu Dhabi, it features the world’s fastest rollercoaster at 149mph. Mubarak al Muhairi, director general of tourism, said: “The Ferrari park is a major leap forward in our leisure proposition as it has enormous appeal regionally and internationally.”

Ice as nice
Tis the season for Ice festivals…For a China classic, try the Harbin Ice Lantern Festival – best visited at night, when the ice sculptures are lit in electric blue, bubblegum pink and a whole cornucopia of other kitsch colours. But hurry – the festival ends on February 5. However the mother of winter festivals has to be Japan’s Sapporo Snow Festival. Teams from around the world amass in Sapporo to craft snow sculptures – some the size of multi storey buildings. Don’t miss the theme park, complete with huge snow slides and mazes.

Cruise control
The popularity of cruising looks set to boom according to a recent survey conducted by the Cruise Line International Association of its members and travel agents.
The industry’s enthusiasm is driven by the launch late last month of a new Disney ship in Florida late. Called Disney Dream, the new ship is equipped with the first rollercoaster at sea and is scheduled to sail three-, four- and five-night cruises to the Bahamas, from Port Canaveral.

Snowboarding
It’s official: snowboarding is safer than skiing. A report for the National Ski Areas Association in the US by Rochester Institute of Technology reveals that while snowboarders are more likely to get injured, they are also around 30 per cent less likely to be killed than skiers. The report comes as tour operators predicted that 2011 could be a bumper year after the heavy snowfall since November prompted European and North American resorts to open early.

Chinese New Year
Can’t afford a flight to China? Panic not. You can welcome in the Year of the Rabbit and take part in Chinese New Year across the country. Riotous celebrations like lion and dragon dance teams will entertain the masses while firework displays look set to fill the sky with colour (and loud bangs).

NOT

London Museums
The future for London’s museums looks wobbly: the Department for Culture, Media and Sport announced plans to end funding for the Horniman, Geffrye and Design Museums, along with five other ‘non national’ museums, by 2015.
The Design Museum is largely self funded, but the Geffrye in Bethnal Green will have to find three quarters of its income and the Horniman in Forest Hill will lose 85 percent of its income. “We are not panicking,” said a spokesperson for the Horniman, “We have been assured we will not be left to sink, but obviously this is an uncertain time.”

Disabled travel
Bournemouth University tourism expert Dimitrios Buhalis claims that the tourism industry is not doing enough to meet the needs of disabled travellers. Buhalis, deputy director of the university’s International Centre of Tourism and Hospitality Research called on the industry to “take a more proactive approach to ensure that infrastructure and services are more accessible.’ CD Traveller’s verdict? Give that globally there are more than 650million people with disabilities, it’s time the travel industry took notice.

What is… molecular gastronomy?
Molecular gastronomy is a school of cooking that uses scientific methods to create unexpected tastes and textures.

What kind of methods are we talking about?
Methods include cooking food at low temperature or in a vacuum while equipment used includes liquid nitrogen tanks, syringes and metal canisters.

Any followers?
Any? Try many. Several of the world’s best chefs have embraced molecular gastronomy. Ferran Adria (codfish foam) of the celebrated (but now sadly defunct) El Bulli restaurant, near Barcelona, who has been described by the French gastronomic god Joel Robuchon as the ‘best cook on the planet’ is one disciple. Another is Heston Blumenthal (snail porridge), the chef/proprietor of Michelin starred British restaurant, The Fat Duck.

How long has molecular gastronomy been around?
The French scientist, Herve This, and Hungarian physicist, Nicholas Kurti, coined the term back in 1969. Both had investigated the application of scientific methods to food. However the idea of using techniques developed in chemistry to study food was not a new one; it has a history dating back to the 18^th century.

Enough of the science bit, what kind of food can I expect?
The combination of odd ingredients; salmon poached with liquor ice, bacon and egg ice cream or sardine-on-toast sorbet anyone? Molecular gastronomy is cooking at its most adventurous, dismissing the tried and true for the untried and yet to be proven.

Can’t say I’m convinced…
Cast aside any preconceptions you might have. Essentially the whole aim of molecular gastronomy is to create flavours and textures that will temporarily transport our taste buds to a happier world

Okay so where can I eat it?
Try the following on for size:

The Fat Duck (Bray, England)
Expect a menu of grain-mustard ice cream, white chocolate with caviar or palate cleansers cooked in ‘liquid nitrogen’ from the master of molecular gastronomy, Heston Blumenthal.

Tang, Le Meridien Mina Seyhai (Dubai, United Arab Emirates)
Tang was the first restaurant to bring molecular gastronomy to Dubai. Contemporary French dishes are combined with the finest flavours of the Orient to tantalize and tease the taste buds. Even the menu at this innovative eatery is edible!

Aria (Beijing, China)
It’s all change at Aria. Australian chef Matthew McCool arrived at the veteran restaurant late last year with his creative culinary matches and novel presentations. Signature dishes include a tender veal steak served with a smoked foie gras cream and a unique melted chocolate cake: waiting staff use a heated spoon to pour hot chocolate over the cold chocolate crust, which melts to reveal a white chocolate centre for in the words of McCool “the dining experience should be a show. A good restaurant should incorporate entertainment with dining.”

Fifty Three (Singapore)
Chef Michael Han trained at iconic restaurant The Fat Duck prior to opening Fifty Three in 2008. The menu at Han’s stylish Singaporean venue changes every six weeks but, regardless of season, every meal starts with the signature burlap sack of homemade bread — muffin-shaped potato flour buns and/or black buns made out of charcoal power — kept warm by heated stones.

Alinea (Chicago)
Last year Grant Achatz’s Alinea was voted the best restaurant in Chicago EVER. Not everyone agrees but one thing is certain: Alinea isn’t a restaurant that can easily be replicated: Achatz uses burning dry oak leaves to suffuse pheasant and roasted shallot with smoky flavours and perfumes a goat-milk ricotta cheesecake with lavender air to help keep Chicago firmly on the culinary map.

Can I cook it at home?
We’re not ruling it out but the dishes created by this new science based school of cooking, aren’t the sort of thing that you can knock up very easily in five minutes flat. The CD Traveller team obtained the recipe for one of Chef Stephane’s (see interview below) signature dishes; surveying the long list of ingredients, we weren’t overly encouraged.

Interview: Chef Stephane Buchholzer

French born two star Michelin trained chef Stephane Buchholzer, head chef at Tang, is the only chef in the Middle East to perform molecular gastronomy.

Who are you?
Head chef at Tang. Born in Alsace-Lorraine, I started my apprenticeship at the culinary school in the South of France before moving to England to perfect my language skills. Then I toured France and trained with some of the greatest chefs in the best restaurants of the country before being invited to the United States. At 24, I was the youngest chef in New York City to introduce a brand new concept; my menu at L’Actuel featured a blend of French tapas and a raw bar, served up in lounge atmosphere.

I returned to work in Europe before moving to Le Meridien Mina Seyahi in Dubai to introduce my restaurant concept. Fine dining here is something that is still very new so it’s a good time to come and bring something strong that can grow and enable you to become the next Gordon Ramsay in Dubai. At Tang, I have refined my style to build the ultimate gastronomic experience. My food is a contemporary art fusion of worldly ingredients with a strong classic knowledge that I redefine by using my own techniques.

Eating in Dubai: What’s good about it?
The emphasis is switching from cheap ‘all you can eat and drink’ deals to eating a la carte and each year more and more good chefs are moving to Dubai. For me, on a personal level, the competition is not so strong. It’s not that the existing restaurants in Dubai are bad, but there aren’t many that do high quality. What we do at Tang is advanced and means that we are at the head of the market, which is a good thing.

What’s bad about it?
Conversely the lack of competition is also a bad thing. Competition and criticism makes you stronger.

Which are your favourite Dubai restaurants?
Manhattan Grill in the Grand Hyatt. They have a very good chef producing very good food. It’s a strictly classical steakhouse, but it’s well done. If you like well executed traditional good food, Verre is always a safe bet.

What single things would improve the Dubai restaurant scene?
More advanced talented chefs who try to achieve what we are trying to achieve at Tang or more known chefs. If Dubai could attract some big names that have worked in Europe and the US, it would give the market a boost and raise international awareness.

Keep an eye out too for the Nepal pavilion where vendors Amit and Amar sell an arsenal of irresistible goods. The duo who are prone to flirting with their customers, live, breathe and sleep their business…Amar told us that he sees selling Nepalese goods at Global Village partly as a way of showcasing his country’s heritage and handicrafts, but the bottom line is that he – like all the other vendors – is here to do business and professionally, Global Village is the best place to be. It’s also an exciting one, claims Amar, as you’re selling to such a varied crowd. Products such as thangka (Tibetan ritual paintings depicting Buddha’s life story) and attractive jewellery made of silver and semi  precious stones are just darling; it’s easy to become hysterical over them and their low prices. You can also pick up a singing bowl – made from an alloy of metals – which produces a continuous harmonic ringing when rubbed around the rim with a wooden pestle. Held near the navel, the singing bowl is said to resonate with the body and aid meditation.

Of course being in the Middle East, you really can’t leave without checking out the Arabian pavilions – Jordan, Syria, Morocco, Yemen, Qatar, Bahrain, Oman et al are all present and correct. Here you can pick up souvenir sized slices of Arabia such as sheesha pipes, juicy dates and Middle Eastern music to chill out to or practise belly dancing to back home. Other items worth snapping up include a dishdasha – the national dress of many Islamic countries (and a solution to the age old problem of what to wear at the next fancy dress party!) and oud. Westerners may prefer fragrances by Calvin Klein and co but Arabs still favour the headier scent of oud – which was used to mask the smell of perspiration in life before air conditioning – and is sold in jewel encrusted bottles. Arabian oud is considered an aphrodisiac so if you can’t rekindle a romance after applying some oud, it’s over…

Perambulating around the pavilions can take its toll on your legs – but a better alternative to going back to your hotel to put your feet up, is to take yourself to the Thailand pavilion (there’s no need to travel to Thailand to find your inner chi) where there are outlets available for relieving any aches. They tend to be no frills joints and a far cry from the sumptuous spas attached to Dubai’s five star hotels (at Dhs100 for an hour long massage, what do you expect?) – but the massages administered here are highly effective in kneading your body back to functionality.

Chances are you’re also bound to have worked up an appetite after trawling around the pavilions. Walking into the restaurant region is a bit like walking into an episode of Friends; everybody looks happy to be there. Thanks to the wonderfully cheap prices, you owe it to yourself to dismiss any notion of a post Christmas diet and travel your tastebuds. To wet the appetite, you could start off with  dim sum (delicious Chinese dumplings stuffed with meat), before moving onto a main of rice and dhal (the Subcontinent is united in its love for lentils and rice) or inihaw (grilled fish or meat from the meat mad Philippines). For a sugar hit, try wickedly rich sweets like gulab jamon (deep fried balls of dough soaked in rose flavoured syrup from India) or the tasty Thai dish of mango and sticky rice. Wash your global gastronomic feast down with a slosh of freshly squeezed juice or a strong cup of Turkish coffee.

Between refreshment breaks and bouts of buying, there’s a myriad of entertainment options to keep you inside Global Village’s gates well into the wee small hours… the village brings together music shows, cultural exhibitions and demonstrations and dancers; on our last visit the place was packed, the music was blaring and everyone was having a good time watching Sri Lankan dancers strut their stuff. Another evening, you might catch Chinese opera or whirling dervishes, while everyday there’s a dazzling fireworks display. Meanwhile ankle biters will be kept occupied, entertained and amused by the Fun Fair area – home to every kind of rollercoaster and ride under the sun plus games galore…

Yes, there’s little not to like about Global Village; the only downside is that whatever you take home, won’t be enough – this really is one of the best places in Dubai to splosh your dosh under the stars. But even if you’re not buying, this part fun fair, part world souk is a compelling place to visit representing as it does a great way to embrace different cultures and ways of life from around the world. If you haven’t done so already, do think about visiting…

Global Village runs until 28 February 2011^. For more information, visit www.globalvillage.ae.nes