Elvis Bar at Glasgow Prestwick Airport, Scotland

The King was popular across the world, and it doesn’t take much for cheeseburger-munching aficionados to set up something on an Elvis theme.
But the Elvis Bar at Glasgow Prestwick is odd purely because of its location. Memphis or Las Vegas would make sense, but the departure lounge of a minor Scottish airport?
But no, there it is, decked out in King paraphernalia and driving the poor bar staff crazy by playing a non-stop Best Of. One thing’s for certain, the poor souls staffing the bar won’t have Suspicious Minds as their karaoke song of choice.
Bemused passengers sit there, waiting for their flight and wondering what the hell is going on. That is unless they take the time to read the small notice which explains that Prestwick Airport was the only place in the UK that Presley set foot in. Nothing tenuous about that, huh?
Still, it’s better than the ubiquitous Wetherspoons outlets found in most UK airports, so it can be saluted for that alone.

Getting there:

Nearest international airport: Um, no, we don’t really need this bit, do we?

More information: History of Glasgow Prestwick Airport

The abras of Dubai Creek, United Arab Emirates

The cheapest form of travel in Dubai is also the most fun. The abras – miniature wooden ferries on the Dubai Creek – are a holiday experience in themselves.

A trading hub
Dubai Creek is positively chaotic. The city grew up as a trading hub – surprisingly little of Dubai’s modern-day prosperity is due to oil revenue - and it was this waterway where the merchant ships came in. This is not the case today – huge port facilities have been built to take the big ships – but you wouldn’t know it at first glance.

Dhow Wharfage
The Dhow Wharfage, on the Deira side of the Creek near the Souks, is where the defiantly old-school shipping happens. Lined up the water’s edge is box after box of goodies, be they spices or production-line vacuum cleaners.
All are waiting to be loaded onto the dhows, then taken elsewhere in the Gulf. Quite how they’ll get there is another matter – these big wooden boats look one extra dose of rot away from an ignominious end on the seabed.

The abra ride – one dirham per person
Weaving around the dhows, crunching into the jetties and shunting each other unceremoniously are the abras.
There are seemingly hundreds of these miniature ferries darting across the Creek at any one time, and how there’s not a serious accident every ten minutes is difficult to fathom.
Each one departs when it has enough passengers, taking a dodgem approach until it gets to open water.
The driver collects the one dirham (approx AU$0.30) fare then smashes into the wharf on the other side a few minutes later.

Getting off the ferry
Passengers have to leap off while the abra is vaguely close to the decking, hoping it’s not going to bounce away again before they get the chance. You don’t get that sort of thrill ride in a taxi, that’s for sure.

Getting to Dubai Creek, United Arab Emirates

Nearest international airport: Dubai.

Using public transport: It all depends where you’re staying. If in Deira or Bur Dubai, it’s easily walkable, but buses or taxis are needed from other locations. A taxi is the only viable option from the airport.

The Plymouth- Banjul Challenge – from England to the Gambia

Not got the money for the Paris to Dakar Rally? Well why not try the low budget alternative race between Plymouth in England and Banjul in the Gambia?

An alternative to the Paris to Dakar Rally
A novel take on the more established (and infinitely better-funded) Paris to Dakar Rally, the Plymouth - Banjul is about willpower overcoming rusty engineering. And the fact that it doesn’t even go to Dakar is irrelevant, despite also calling itself the Plymouth to Dakar rally in order to get attention.

Banger run through the Sahara Desert
The idea is that the route has to be covered, completely unsupported by back-up crews and the like, in a vehicle that costs under £100. Essentially is a great banger run over two continents, risking all manner of trauma in the harsh, isolated conditions of the Sahara Desert.
Just to make things a little more interesting, the organisers have no specialised arrangements with the governments of the countries that are raced through (unlike the Paris – Dakar).

Travelling as a tourist, not a sportsman
Everyone travels as a tourist, having to detail with little problems like Senegal not letting in cars older than five years old (unless customs officers escort them all the way to the Gambian border) and a Gambian ban on right-hand drive vehicles.
The challenge is almost as much about keeping sane with bribe-hungry officials as keeping sand out of the engine.

More details: Plymouth to Banjul Rally

The World’s Scariest Beach – Sint Maarten, Caribbean

Extreme bronzing on Sint Maarten
Maho Beach on the Caribbean island of Sint Maartin has to be the least relaxing stretch of sand in the world. In fact, it manages to turn sunbaking into something of an adrenalin sport.
Most people who attempt to catch some rays on the beach place their towels on the far left or far right hand side. Don’t be tempted to opt for the spare spot in the middle though – that’s where the planes fly over.

Juliana International Airport
The beach is a very narrow strip. This is followed by a very narrow road. And that is followed by a great big runway. Yup, what makes Maho Beach so ‘interesting’ is that every few minutes, a plane lands at Juliana International Airport. It’s one of the biggest and busiest hubs in the Caribbean, and the planes fly so low over the beach that any minor misjudgement could see the landing gear dragging through the sand.

Jet blast warning signs
Maho is probably the only beach in the world with such a dire warning sign. Forget sharks and strong currents - the notices have a simple, stark message. “Jet blast of departing and arriving aircraft can cause severe physical harm resulting in extreme bodily harm and/or death.” Nice.
As the locals say, a pebble caught by that jet blast may as well be a bullet.

Sunset Beach Bar
It’s undeniably cool, though, especially when the huge Air France jumbo comes into land. Luckily you don’t have to be on the beach itself. Right next to it is the Sunset Beach Bar, which is something of an institution. It has top burgers, cheap-ish drinks and a party vibe.
More importantly, though, it makes an excellent viewing platform. The sunsets here are awesome, but watching the planes come in is even better. They look like they’re coming straight at you – especially at night when you can only see the lights – before diverting away at the very last second.
And that requires a stiff drink or eight...

Walk around the Monaco Grand Prix Circuit

In the tiny principality of Monaco, it is possible to emulate the likes of Michael Schumacher, Ayrton Senna and Lewis Hamilton by walking around the famous Formula One Grand Prix circuit.

Tricky navigation is something of enduring theme in Monaco, as can be seen from a stroll round the famous Grand Prix circuit.
When the Formula One circus isn’t in town, the racetrack reverts back to being ordinary streets. Brazilian driver Nelson Piquet once compared the Monaco GP to “riding a bicycle around your living room,” and it’s easy to see his point.
The streets used have helpful red and white markings on the kerbs, so it’s easy to plot your own course around, making screechy engine noises in your head. Dear lord, there’s little room for error on foot, let alone screaming round at full pelt in a Ferrari.
And as for the poor bus driver trying to get round the hairpin by the Fairmont Hotel... his nerves must as frayed as the crotch on a pair of fifteen year old jeans.

Train journey from Bucharest, Romania to Chisinau, Moldova

For the rail journey fan of a more masochistic bent, the Prietenia train from Bucharest in Romania to Chisinau in Moldova is a real treat.
For the rest of us, it’s a hideous trial of endurance on a slightly dirty train where the windows don’t open and the air conditioning doesn’t work. For approximately twelve-and-a-half hours.
Nearly half of that time is spent travelling the 100km-or-so from Iasi near the Romania-Moldova border to the Moldovan capital, Chisinau.
This is partly due to passport checks and customs officers overturning the train in the hunt for drugs and illegal immigrants, but it’s largely due to having to change the entire undercarriage of the train.
Popular myth has it that the old Soviet Union adopted a broad gauge system under Stalin in order to slow down any potential invasion from the west. This isn’t true – the Russians decided to go with the wider gap between the rails well before the Soviet Union existed.
Nonetheless, there is a slight problem when entering one of the former Soviet Socialist Republics (including Latvia, Lithuania, Estonia, Belarus and the Ukraine) from the rest of Europe. Sometimes this is solved by getting off the train and getting on a new one, but going into Moldova, it’s the train that gets switched over.
So, in the middle of the night, while passengers are trying to sleep in their dirty sweatbox, all manner of clanking and lifting and shunting goes on outside. It’s a bit like a rubbish rollercoaster, only far more disturbing.

Getting on the Prietenia train

Nearest international airports: For Bucharest, it’s either Otopeni or Baneasa airport – the budget airlines tend to use Bucharest Baneasa, which is a filthy little hellhole. Visitors landing in Moldova will land at Chisinau’s airport, which is a short distance from the city centre.
By public transport: The train leaves from Bucharest’s Gara du Nord and arrives at Chisinau’s relatively modern (by Moldovan standards) station.

Peak District Cave Boat - Speedwell Cavern in Castleton, England

Castleton, a pretty little village in the heart of Europe’s most visited National Park, isn’t exactly short on caves. The whole landscape of this part of the Peak District is dotted with underground caverns.
Of these, the Blue John and Treak Cliff Caverns are well worth a visit, as is the amusingly-named Devil’s Arse. But for sheer novelty factor, Speedwell Cavern wins hands down.
Entrance is via over 100 rather steep steps, so it’s not suited for visitors of limited mobility. Or, for that matter, anyone who suffers from claustrophobia.
What makes the Speedwell Cavern tour unique is that once down those steps, visitors leap aboard a small boat, which then ploughs its way through a flooded mining tunnel.
There’s not much room for manoeuvre in this tunnel. Tall people need to bend over a little, while any fingers dangling over the side of the boat are liable to get crushed against the sides of the walls.
The tunnel took four years to build, and the boat chugs through, the tour guide tells horrific tales of the life of a lead miner.
They would spend eight hours a day in these dark, dingy conditions, blowing up the rock and getting all manner of poisonous dust into their lungs.
The boat goes past the tiny holes that three or four miners would cram into to escape the blasts, and it’s easy to see why life expectancy didn’t even hit 30.
The cavern at the end of the boat ride is actually something of a disappointment, but this is one instance where it’s the journey that counts.

Getting to Speedwell Cavern in Castleton

Nearest international airport: Manchester International Airport
By public transport: Castleton is on the Hope Valley train line between Manchester and Sheffield. Buses also go reasonably regularly from both cities.

More information: Speedwell Cavern

Oresund Bridge between Sweden and Denmark

The Oresund Bridge is one of those things best viewed from the air. If flying over the coast of Southern Sweden, suddenly this incredible structure appears in the water, snaking all the way across the channel to Denmark.
The bridge, which was completed in 1999, is one of the most spectacular border crossings in the world. It’s one of the longest bridges on the planet – nearly 8km long - and it links the Swedish city of Malmo with the Danish capital, Copenhagen.
The toll to cross in a car is fairly hefty, but it’s worth it for the views. Coming from Copenhagen, you emerge from a tunnel onto an artificial island. The road then runs alongside the train track before climbing on top of it, and taking on the main span.
Should renting a car just to go over a bridge seem a little unnecessary, then it’s possible to go over on the train. There are still great views from the sides, but alas you can’t see what’s ahead of you and that’s half of the wow factor.

Getting there

Nearest international airport: Copenhagen
Using public transport: The train from Copenhagen central stops at Copenhagen Airport before crossing the Oresund Bridge and ending up in Malmo, Sweden.
More information: Oresund Bridge

Walk across Gibraltar Airport's runway

The British Territory of Gibraltar on the southern tip of Spain is absolutely tiny. And when you’ve got less than seven square kilometres to play with, you have to be a little creative when it comes to placing an airport.
A lot of the land for the runway has been reclaimed from the sea, but the interesting bit runs along the border with Spain.
Across the runway runs Winston Churchill Boulevard, the territory’s main road. When the planes aren’t landing, traffic streams across the runway but the barriers come down when an incoming flight is hovering above waiting to land. It’s a little like a level crossing, but with massive jet planes.
Pedestrians wanting to get across the Spanish border into La Linea De La Conceptión have to run the same gauntlet. The pavements also stretch across the runway.
And if anyone’s a little slow, they’ll know about it – loud warnings are blasted out from above if a plane is about to land and the barriers are going to close.
Unfortunately, the airport is due to undergo a major upgrade soon. This will see a dual carriageway being built under the airport terminal so that cars don’t have to cross the runway.
Pedestrians are in luck, though – they’ll still have to walk over when planes aren’t landing.

Nearest international airport: Go on, have a rough guess.

London Transport Museum in Covent Garden, England

For those masochists that just can’t get enough of the crammed commute into work, there is the opportunity to see even more Tube carriages at the newly revamped London Transport Museum.
The museum was re-opened in November 2007 after a major makeover. Perhaps they realised that a few old tube carriage decorations didn’t constitute much of a collection. And there was clearly a demand for a bizarre museum about England’s most unpleasant mode of transport, wasn’t there?
£21m was spent on beefing the museum up, and now flashy interactive stuff sits alongside the ancient trains.
London Underground geeks will be delighted to hear that there’s the chance to see the original Tube map and have a go on a train driving simulator.

Getting to the London Transport Museum

Nearest international airport: A close run thing between London Heathrow and London City, though it’s just as inconvenient getting to Covent Garden from them as it is from London Gatwick, London Luton and London Stansted. Never was a city blessed with so many airports in so many ill-thought out positions.
Using public transport: The museum is at 39 Wellington Street. The nearest tube station is Covent Garden although Leicester Square, Temple, Holborn, Charing Cross and Embankment are also within a kilometre’s walk.

More information: London Transport Museum