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CONTENTS / DECEMBER 2013 

30 

Visiting 

the V&A’s 

Jameel Prize 3 

exhibition 

40 

Enjoying a 

day out on 

San Francisco’s 

Valencia Street 

48 

Berlin DJ Alex 

Barck shares 

his favourite 

tracks 

57 

We explore a 

geek’s paradise 

in Tokyo 

64 

Eating, 

Stockholmstyle 

72 

We trace the 

rise of DIFF 

and the Emirati 

film industry 

83 

Noah Davis 

explains why 

he’s ditched 

hotels for a 

new form of 

travel pit stop 

15 

OPEN SKIES / DECEMBER 2013

contents / DeceMber 2013 

140 

The Crash 

Front (25) 

Calendar 27 

The Grid 36 

The Question 38 

The Street 40 

Skypod 48 

The Room 50 

Consume 53 

BLD 64 

Mapped 67 

Local Knowledge 72 

Place 80 

Column 83 

Main (89) brieFing (153) 

TV Is Dead. Long Live TV 90 

Our Woman In 98 

Everybody Loves Brutalism 104 

Why Do We Still Work? 114 

Take A Hike In LA 125 

The Crash 140 

News 154 

Comfort 166 

Visas & Stats 168 

Route Map 170 

Fleet 176 

Last Look 178 

16 

Open skies / December 2013

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EDITOR’S LETTER 

Gareth Rees, Editor 

“THE REASON 

THAT MY TASTE 

IN HOME DÉCOR 

IS RELEVANT TO 

THIS ISSUE IS 

THAT BOB DYLAN 

IS OFTEN HAILED 

AS ‘THE VOICE OF 

HIS GENERATION’, 

WHICH IS AN 

EPITHET ALSO 

BESTOWED UPON 

THE YOUNG 

MAN ON OUR 

COVER, JAMAL 

EDWARDS” 

facebook.com/ 

openskiesmagazine 

twitter.com/ 

openskiesmag 

My wife and I have a copy 

of a Richard Avedon 

photograph of Bob 

Dylan on our living 

room wall. I’m a fan. 

The reason that my taste in home décor 

is relevant to this issue is that Bob 

Dylan is often hailed as ‘the voice of his 

generation’, which is an epithet also 

bestowed upon the young man on our 

cover, Jamal Edwards. 

Bob and Jamal couldn’t be more 

different. The notoriously difficult to 

interview 72-year-old folk singer from 

Minnesota, who cemented his status 

as a musical icon in the 1960s, and the 

23-year-old social media entrepreneur 

and shameless self promoter from Acton 

in West London who likes to hang out 

with Richard Branson, have little in 

common. But they both deny that they 

are the voice of anything, other than 

themselves. Bob said in 1964, “I’m not 

part of no movement,” and Jamal isn’t 

either. There is no easily definable 

demographic that can be labelled ‘the 

youth’. Everybody is his or her own 

person (Jamal and Bob certainly are). 

But there’s no denying that young 

people like Jamal’s You Tube channel, 

SB.TV, which has 200 million views and 

has made him millions, or that British 

politicians are falling over themselves to 

be associated with this former ‘troubled 

youth’ from a social housing estate who 

made good using, not a new style of folk 

music, like Dylan, but an internet TV 

channel that started out as a platform 

to promote UK rap artists. As you will 

discover, Jamal agrees with Dylan about 

one other thing: The Times They Are 

a-Changin’ – especially for traditional 

television. 

Another young man with an 

astounding story to tell is 20-year-old 

US triathlon star Lukas Verzbicas, 

who has gone full circle from Olympic 

medal hopeful, via a horrific crash 

that left him in a hospital bed unable 

to walk, to the verge of making the 

triathlon team for the 2016 Olympic 

Games in Rio. American sports 

journalist Matt McCue spoke to Lukas, 

ON THE COVER / Photographer 

Geoff Brokate has completed several 

successful assignments for Open Skies. 

This month he put down his camera for 

an hour to interview 23-year-old multimillionaire 

social media entrepreneur 

Jamal Edwards, but he also shot the 

image of Jamal that appears on our cover. 

Our art director, Olga, has, once again, 

worked her magic, producing a cover that 

I think manages to convey the intriguing 

personality of the street smart and tech 

savvy young subject who says he was 

“born in a digital space”. 

his family and his coaches, and has 

done a superb job of relaying the 

details of Lukas’ dramatic accident and 

inspirational fight back, which I’m sure 

you will enjoy reading as much as I did. 

Returning to Bob Dylan for a 

moment. Bob once said, “A man is a 

success if he gets up in the morning 

and gets to bed at night, and in between 

he does what he wants to do.” Jamal 

Edwards and Lukas Verzbicas fit into 

that category. But in his latest feature 

for Open Skies, regular contributor 

Paddy Smith struggles to understand 

why many people don’t, instead 

remaining committed to the nine to 

five grind. Why Do We Still Work? I’ll 

leave that one to Paddy to answer. But 

I work because I love my job, as do all 

the members of the Open Skies team. 

I hope that comes across in this issue. 

As Bob Dylan said, “The radio makes 

hideous sounds” (not the stations on 

ice, obviously), so it’s best to read a 

magazine. Why not start with this one? 

20 


WWW.RADO.COM 

RADO HYPERCHROME 

AUTOMATIC CHRONOGRAPH 

MONOBLOC CASE 

ENGINEERED IN HIGH-TECH CERAMIC 

Andy Murray

CONTRIBUTORS 

SOME OF THE PEOPLE WHO HELPED 

CREATE THIS MAGAZINE 

MATT 

MCCUE 

Matt has 

contributed 

to ESPN The 

Magazine, The 

Wall Street Journal 

and GQ.com. He 

is the author of 

An Honorable 

Run, a coming 

of age story of 

the coaches who 

changed his 

life through the 

sport of running. 

In this issue, he 

charts American 

triathlete Lukas 

Verzbicas’ 

miraculous 

return following a 

horrific crash. 

“I get to know my 

subjects in up 

close and personal 

ways, but with 

Lukas Verzbicas 

that happened 

literally,” says 

McCue. “The first 

thing he sent me 

were copies of his 

X-rays from right 

after the crash.” 

MARINA 

CHETNER 

Australian native 

Marina has worked 

in Sydney, Toronto, 

New York and Los 

Angeles, where 

she is currently 

based. Her work 

has appeared in 

The Huffington 

Post, Find Bliss Los 

Angeles, LA Yoga 

and The Writer. 

Marina hit the trails 

for our feature on 

hiking in LA. 

“The Los Angeles 

experience includes 

being outdoors and 

in the wilderness. 

Many people don’t 

realise that LA is 

an excellent hiking 

destination,” she 

says. “About a 

year ago, a local 

photographer 

recommended I 

hike Topanga State 

Park’s Los Leones 

trail. It was as if I 

was seeing the city 

for the first time.” 

CHRISTOPHER 

BEANLAND 

CB writes for 

The Independent, 

The Guardian, 

Telegraph, Gulf 

News and South 

China Morning 

Post, as well Condé 

Nast Traveller 

and National 

Geographic 

Traveller. His 

writing touches on 

a range of subjects, 

but buildings 

and cities are 

his passion. In 

this issue, he 

explores the 

English country’s 

newfound love 

of concrete. 

“Having lived 

in Birmingham, 

my interest in 

concrete buildings 

and what the 

architects and 

planners of 1960s 

Britain thought 

the future would 

look like have long 

fascinated, even 

obsessed, me,” 

he says. 

SERENA 

BELCASTRO 

An avid observer 

of contemporary 

fashion, Serena 

takes photographs 

in an attempt to 

highlight what she 

feels constitutes 

style. Her aim is 

to capture and 

translate the 

sounds, smells, 

streets, shows and 

clubs synonymous 

with a world in 

flux. She currently 

works in Milan 

and Rome and has 

produced streetstyle 

features in 

Dazed Digital, Daily 

METAL and ASOS. 

She hit the streets 

of Milan to find a 

subject for our Last 

Look page. 

“My Last Look 

page was shot in 

Milan’s Navigli 

district, a place 

where you can 

easily spot 

interesting people 

like my subject, 

Elena,” she says. 

PAUL 

STERRY 

A freelance 

illustrator based 

in the UK, Paul 

illustrated our 

feature on hiking 

in LA. He has 

created work for 

clients in the UK, 

US and Dubai, 

including Open 

Skies, What’s 

On Dubai and 

Gulf Business. 

He is able to 

turn his hand to 

various styles, 

and has produced 

illustrations 

for magazines, 

websites, 

children’s books 

and corporate 

clients. 

“Producing the 

illustrations 

for Open Skies’ 

feature on hiking 

in LA was such an 

enjoyable project 

that I have added 

LA to the list of 

places I want to 

visit... eventually,” 

he says. 

22 


© 2013 SWAROVSKI AG 

24/7 enjoy shopping at SWAROVSKI.COM

Fun And Games 

Discovering a well-hidden Tokyo store known 

only to hardcore geeks and gamers 

(57) 

front 

SAN FRANCISCO: Taking a stroll down Valencia Street 40 

SINgApORe: An independent bookstore owner doing things his own way 54 

DubAI: Dubai International Film Festival and the state of Emirati film 72

December 

CALENDAR 

December 1 to January 1, 2014 

Prague, Czech Republic 

Prague Christmas Market 

Prague’s Christmas Market comprises a variety of stalls situated 

around the city’s Old Square and Wenceslas Square. Popular during 

the festive season, you can pick up local gingerbread or a hot 

drink to warm you up while browsing the Czech toys, candles and 

jewellery on offer. 

December 1 to 15, 

Moscow, Russia 

contemporary 

Dance Festival 

Moscow is holding its 13th Contemporary 

Dance Festival during the first two weeks 

in December. For this year’s festival there 

is a unique focus on Dutch contemporary 

dance, in celebration of Russia- 

Netherlands Bilateral Year. The event will 

see the winner of the Best Choreographer 

award at the 2013 Russian Golden 

Mask Award, Guy Weizman, headline 

the festival along with award-winning 

choreographer Ann Van den Broek and 

2009 winner of the prestigious VSCD 

Mimeprize, Nicole Beutler. 

TSekh.Ru 

December 3 to January 26, 

2014 

Shanghai, China 

phantom oF the opera 

The longest running Broadway show in 

history, Phantom Of The Opera, will be 

performed in Shanghai Culture Square 

this December. Twenty-eight years after 

Andrew Lloyd Weber’s musical was first 

performed, it will be showcased in the 

Chinese city for the first time in 10 years 

as part of a 60 show Asia-wide tour. 

December 3, Glasgow, Scotland, uk 

Basement Jaxx 

The electronic dance duo’s 

first tour in two years, which 

coincides with the release 

of their new single Back 

2 The Wild, will include 

appearances across the 

UK, starting with a gig in 

Newcastle on December 

and ending with a show at 

London’s Brixton Academy 

on December 7. The Glasgow 

gig at the city’s 02 Arena will 

be the pair’s third of the tour. 

BASeMeNTjAxx.CoM 

27 


DECEMBER 

CALENDAR 

December 5, 

Doha, Qatar 

BEETHOVEN CONCERT 

A free Beethoven concert will be held at 

the Museum Of Islamic Arts in Doha this 

month. The performance will include the 

Beethoven classic Three Movements: 

Septet in E Flat Major, Op. 20, and will 

be performed by the Qatar Philharmonic 

Orchestra. The show is part of a monthly 

initiative that will see the orchestra 

perform a range of classical music, 

including Schubert Octet, Weber and 

Verdi, on the first Thursday of every 

month until June 5, 2014. 

MIA.ORG.QA 

December 5 to January 27, 2014 , London, UK 

Bradford Washburn 

Exhibition 

Twentieth-century American explorer and photographer Henry 

Bradford Washburn documented the landscapes he explored from the 

Grand Canyon to the Matterhorn. This new exhibition at the Michael 

Hoppen Gallery will showcase a large collection of Washburn’s work 

alongside diaries and notebooks, providing a unique insight in to his 

career. Fellow 20th century photographer Ansel Adams described 

Washburn as a “roving genius of mind and mountains.” 

MICHAELHOPPENGALLERY.COM 

December 10, 2014, Barcelona, Spain 

Converses a la pedrera: 

Tom Wolfe 

As part of its literary series 

this winter, the Catalonia 

Foundation will be holding 

a public conversation with 

American journalist and 

author Tom Wolfe. Wolfe, 

whose journalistic work is 

associated with the New 

Journalism movement of 

the 1960s, has written a 

number of popular books, 

including The Electric 

Kool-Aid Acid Test (1968) and The Bonfire Of The Vanities (1987). 

The talk, which is to be held at the Auditorium at La Pedrera, will 

explore Wolfe’s thoughts on contemporary social and political 

ideas along with discussing his literary career. 

LAPEDRERA.COM 

Skypod 

December 6 to 9 

Istanbul, Turkey 

TRIBUTE TO 

SOTIGUI KOUYATE 

Istanbul Museum of Modern Art is 

showing a collection of films dedicated 

to the memory of the prolific Malian 

actor and director Sotigui Kouyate this 

month. Films that will be shown include 

The Courage of Others, Genesis and 

London River. All films will be screened 

with Turkish subtitles. 

ISTANBULMODERN.ORG 

Alex Barck page 48 

28 


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Calendar 

December 11, 2013 to April 21, 2014, London, UK 

Jameel Prize 3 

Shortlist Exhibition 

Victoria And Albert Museum senior 

curator, Middle East, Tim Stanley, 

has curated an exhibition featuring 

the work of the ten candidates 

shortlisted for Jameel Prize 3 

What is Jameel Prize 3? 

Jameel Prize 3 is the third edition 

of a biennial competition we 

inaugurated in 2009. The second 

was in 2011. The concept behind 

the prize is simple. It is for artists 

and designers whose current work 

is inspired by Islamic tradition. The 

artists and designers can be from 

anywhere in the world, but their 

work has to be based on an idea that 

comes from Islamic civilisation. 

Why did the V&A create the 

Jameel Prize? 

The V&A has one of the world’s 

greatest collections of art and 

design from the Middle East in 

the Islamic period, and in 2006 

we opened a new gallery devoted 

to this subject. The gallery 

development was funded by 

Mohammed Abdul Latif Jameel, 

and is called the Jameel Gallery of 

Islamic Art. The V&A’s collection 

was created from 1852 onwards, 

because the founders of the 

Museum, which opened to the 

public in that year, were convinced 

that the Islamic tradition in art and 

design could play a positive role 

in the reform of British industrial 

design. There was a perceived crisis 

in British design from the 1830s 

onwards because we had no proper 

design education system (unlike 

the French), and the V&A was set 

up as one way of improving British 

design. It had precisely this effect, 

so that later in the century, Britain 

was considered a leading design 

country. Mohammed Jameel was 

healthy progress / calligrapher Nasser 

Al Salem’s exhibition work, Guide Us Upon 

The Straight Path 

inspired by this story to show how 

Islamic craft, art and design are still 

inspiring artists and designers in 

the contemporary world. 

This is the third Jameel Prize. 

How has its profile grown since 

the first prize was awarded? 

The growth in the profile of the 

prize is shown by the number of 

people taking part. In 2009, there 

were 69 submissions from 23 

countries. In 2013, there were 185 

submissions from 34 countries. 

How would winning this prize 

benefit the winning artist’s 

career? 

The first winner, in 2009, was 

Afruz Amighi, who is at an early 

stage in her career. It gave her a 

great boost, bringing her wider 

attention. The second winner, in 

2011, was Rachid Koraichi, who 

is an established artist working 

in Paris, and the prize gave him 

recognition, showing his status 

beyond the Francophone world of 

Paris and the Maghreb. I think the 

exposure has been a positive thing 

for both of them. 

What qualities do the works of 

the shortlisted artists posses 

that tie them together? 

There are a couple of things 

that tie the works together. One 

of them, paradoxically, is their 

diversity. They all show such a 

different and original response 

to such varied aspects of Islamic 

tradition, which is itself a very 

rich and diverse culture. This is 

the other main thing that holds 

them together, of course – they 

are all reacting in some way to 

Islamic tradition. Showing work as 

diverse as haute couture fashion, 

installations on the floor made 

of spices and a concrete carpet 

emphasises how rich Islamic 

tradition is, and how rich the 

contemporary reaction to it is. 

When will the winner be 

announced? 

At the prize giving ceremony on 

December 10, 2013. 

vam.ac.uk 

30 


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December 

CALENDAR 


Durban, South Africa 

InternatIonal 

FeDeratIon oF beach 

Volleyball open 

the International Federation of 

Beach Volleyball (FIVB) will hold the 

final open championship of 2013 

at Durban’s New Beach this month. 

the event will feature teams from 

all around the globe, with 64 teams 

taking place in total. South Africa will 

be represented at the event with one 

male and one female team. 

FIVB.org 

December 11 to April 6, 2014 New York, USA 

Ink Art 

The full title of this exhibition at New York’s Metropolitan Museum 

Of Art is Ink Art: Past as Present in Contemporary China, and it will 

feature work by 35 Chinese contemporary artists, working both in 

China and internationally. 

metmUSeUm.org 

December 12 to 13, gothenburg, Sweden 

Lucia In The 

Vasa Church 

The concerts held in the Vasa Church during December are 

a much-loved local tradition in Gothenburg and have been 

performed annually since 1935. The Härlanda Chamber Choir is 

a central feature of the concerts, and the money from ticket sales 

goes towards helping the Gothenburg Rescue Mission’s work for 

the homeless. 

mapped 

December 13 to 14, Singapore 

Zoukout 

Afrojack, Ferry Corsten, example and DJ Wire will 

headline this year’s Zoukout dance festival. the annual 

festival, held on Singapore’s Siloso Beach, is due to 

attract 30,000 music fans. 

ZoUkoUt.Com 

Christchurch page 67 

32 


DECEMBER 

CALENDAR 

December 31, New York, USA 

New Year’s Eve 

In Times Square 

Broadcast across the world, the December 31 Times Square celebration 

has come to symbolise New Year’s Eve for many New Yorkers and 

visitors to the city. To ensure a good spot, wrap up warm and head 

down to the square in the early afternoon. Various entertainers are set 

to perform before the infamous New Year’s Eve Ball descends over the 

crowds at 11:59. 

December 21 to December 27, 

Delhi, India 

DELHI INTERNATIONAL 

FILM FESTIVAL 

Delhi joined the world’s other major 

capitals in 2012 with the launch Delhi 

International Film Festival (DIFF), 

held at the city’s Siri Fort Auditorium 

and NDMC Convention Centre. This 

year’s DIFF promises seven days filled 

with more than 100 films, including 

world cinema, student films, short 

films, documentaries, animated films 

and a special Indian showcase. The 

second DIFF will be held at the NDMC 

Convention Centre at Connaught 

Place, New Delhi. 

DELHIINTERNATIONALFILMFESTIVAL.COM 


Melbourne, Australia 

DE LA SOUL 

Grammy Award-winning hip hop trio 

De La Soul, best-known for their 1989 

debut album, 3 Feet High and Rising, 

featuring the hit single Me Myself 

and I, will perform a one-off show at 

The Esplanade Hotel in Melbourne, 

Australia this month. 

WEAREDELASOUL.COM 


San Francisco, USA 

Streets of 

San Francisco 

NYE 2014 

The fifth Streets of San Francisco 

NYE, held at the Fort Mason Festival 

Pavilion in the city’s Bay Area, will be 

headlined dance DJ Moby, supported 

by DJs A-Trak, Craze and Sam Isaac. 

The festival also promises views of 

San Francisco Bay, fireworks and 

midnight champagne toast. 

STREESOFSFNYE.EVENTBRITE.COM 

Home sweet home page 83 

Column 

35 


THE GRID 



Dubai International 

Film Festival 

Dubai, UAE 

This year marks the 10th 

anniversary of Dubai 

International Film Festival (DIFF), 

which continues to provide a 

showcase for Arab filmmakers, as 

well as screening a number of new 

international movies. The event 

will take place across a series of 

venues, including the Madinat 

Arena, Souk Madinat and Mall of 

the Emirates. 

dubaifilmfest.com 

December 13 

Creamfields 

Abu Dhabi, UAE 

British rave group The Prodigy 

and DJ Calvin Harris will headline 

this year’s Creamfield’s festival 

at Abu Dhabi’s du Arena. Local 

UAE acts Above & Beyond, 

Hollaphonic and maDJam will 

also perform. 

thinkflash.ae 

Mubadala Tennis 

Championships 

Abu Dhabi, UAE 

Some of the World’s top tennis 

players, including Rafael Nadal 

(pictured), Novak Djokovic, David 

Ferrer and Andy Murray will 

compete at this year’s Mubadala 

Tennis Championships at the Abu 

Dhabi International Tennis Complex. 

mubadalawtc.com 

, 

December 10 

Dubai, UAE 

Toko Dubai 

Ni Lenette is head chef 

at Toko, a new Japanese 

restaurant in Dubai’s Vida 

Downtown hotel, which 

opens this month 

What can diners expect from 

Toko Dubai? 

Kyoto inspired izakaya. We’re 

bringing a unique Japanese grill, 

different to your usual robata, and 

using Japanese yakimono (grilling) 

techniques and marinades, as well 

as focusing on a diverse range of 

seasonal seafood from Australia, 

Japan and even local fish from 

Dubai. Seasonality will be a very 

strong focus. We have worked with 

Sasaki-san, our head sushi chef 

from Japan, to create a six-seater 

edomae sushi counter, where you 

can experience a very authentic 

but newly interpreted sushi that is 

usually only available in Japan. 

You trained under Nobu head 

chef Nakumura. How has that 

affected your style of cooking? 

Nakamura-san was a very special 

chef. He was a true omakase (“I’ll 

leave it to you”) chef, who performed 

omakase in the moment, in the here 

and now, with what was in season, 

and was able to create a very special 

bond with the customer that I have 

never ever seen from any chef ever 

since. Omakase has been with me 

ever since my work with Nakamurasan, 

but I also made sure to expose 

myself to the real Kyoto tradition 

and many Japanese cooking styles in 

Japan, as well as working in different 

Michelin restaurants, mainly in 

London, Spain and Japan, to get as 

broad a perspective as possible. 

You write a blog, 

thehomelesschefs.com. Why? 

I wanted to connect with other 

people that may be feeling alone 

out there trying to do something 

different. I also wanted to share my 

experiences with younger chefs. 

There is no handbook to teach a 

young chef how to cope. 

toko.com.au/dubai 

36 


THE QUESTION 

WHY IS THAT 

BABY CRYING? 

Is there a wailing baby 

in the seat in front of 

you? If there is, don’t 

be quick to anger; 

take a moment to ask 

yourself why the tot is 

bawling. Researchers 

from the University Of 

Valencia, the University 

Of Murcia and the 

National University Of 

Distance Education, 

who conducted a study 

of 20 babies aged 

between three and 18 

months, concluded 

that babies cry because 

they are either angry, 

afraid or in pain. And, if you 

pay close attention, you can 

tell which emotion the nipper 

is feeling. The cry of an angry 

baby will become increasingly 

more intense, while its eyes will 

be half closed and its mouth 

half open; a baby in pain will 

launch straight into its loudest 

shriek, with its eyes closed 

and a frown on its face; while 

a scared baby will keep its eyes 

open with an inquiring look 

and explode into an episode 

of caterwauling after its fear 

reaches tipping point. It seems 

scientists love this question. 

A team of French and German 

scientists led by Dr Kathleen 

Wermke of the University of 

Wurzburg in Germany recently 

released the results of a study 

that showed that babies cry in 

their mother’s accent, her voice 

having penetrated the wall of 

her womb during the last three 

months of pregnancy. Trying to 

guess the babies complaint and 

its nationality should distract 

you from the hullabaloo. 

TWITTER Q&A 

Dubai’s @ 

GreyNoiseDXB gallery 

explains itself in 140 

characters or less 

@OpenSkiesMag: We would like to 

conduct a Twitter interview with you for 

our December issue. 

@GreyNoiseDXB: With pleasure. 

@OpenSkiesMag: Marvellous. To 

start with, what is Grey Noise? 

@GreyNoiseDXB: Grey Noise is a 

contemporary art gallery representing 

artists who respond and refer to 

conceptual art and its aesthetics. 

@OpenSkiesMag: Which artists do 

you represent? 

@GreyNoiseDXB: We work with 

artists from South Asia, Middle East and 

Europe. Our aim is to foster art that is 

non-region specific. 

@OpenSkiesMag: You are based in 

@Alserkal Avenue, close to lots of other 

galleries. How is the art scene in Dubai 

progressing? 

@GreyNoiseDXB: Super positive! We 

are proud to represent Dubai globally, 

and the standard of exhibitions speaks 

quality and is contextually apt. 

@OpenSkiesMag: What can we 

expect to see if we visit Grey Noise in 

December? 

@GreyNoiseDXB: Berlin-based Italian 

artist Ingrid Hora, her site-specific work 

on paper and three-dimensional objects. 

@OpenSkiesMag: You have just 

returned from the @FriezeLondon art 

fair. How did that go? 

@GreyNoiseDXB: 

@FriezeLondon was fruitful and great 

exposure for our artists and a proud 

moment to represent 

@AlserkalAvenue and Dubai. 

@OpenSkiesMag: What have you 

got planned for 2014 in the run-up to @ 

artdubai in March? 

@GreyNoiseDXB: We are showing a 

solo of Lahore-based painter/sculptor 

Fahd Burki, and launching his monograph 

published by @SkiraEditore 

@OpenSkiesMag: When will that 

exhibition open? 

@GreyNoiseDXB: The art week 

begins second week of March, we 

are planning to open the show on the 

weekend between 14 and 16 of March. 

@OpenSkiesMag: Thanks. 

38 


the street 

Valencia Street, 

San Francisco 

Words by Brittany Shoot and images by Christine Zona 

Twenty years ago, 

Valencia Street was 

a stretch of rundown 

auto repair 

shops, seedy bars 

and taquerias selling burritos the 

size of your forearm. The barbell 

burritos remain, as do the guitartoting 

mariachi musicians who 

roam the historic Latino Mission 

district. And the seedy bars have 

since earned reputations as hipster 

dives by keeping Pabst on tap and 

pool tables in the back. 

But tech-sector prosperity in 

the Bay Area has trickled down to 

every sector, bolstering retail, 

restaurants and everything in 

between. These days, the stretch 

of Valencia Street that begins at 

16th Street and extends on past 

24th Street continues to evolve as 

a vibrant corridor of quirky 

boutiques, epicurean delights and 

alleys filled with colourful graffiti. 

Mexican bakeries and shops 

selling lucha libre wrestling masks 

are tucked between rehabbed 

storefronts and renovated cafés. 

Strolling down the wide 

boulevard, the convergence of 

Valencia old and new is 

quintessential San Francisco, the 

once and always boom town that 

never forgets its heritage. 

Paxton 

Gate & 

Paxton Gate 

Curiosities 

for Kids 

There’s something for 

science students of all 

ages in this eclectic, adultfriendly 

children’s shop. 

Toys and games range from 

standard to strange: wooden 

Tegu blocks, silk dress-up 

capes and plush trophy 

mounts. Shopkeepers 

dress as fanciful storybook 

characters. A block farther 

down, the original Paxton 

Gate is a 22-year old oddity 

emporium most notable 

for its taxidermy animals, 

assortment of fossils and a 

fully for-sale outdoor garden 

overflowing with exotic 

succulents and air plants. 

Unless bat skeletons and 

carnivorous plants freak you 

out, plan to linger. 

Paxton Gate 

824 Valencia Street 

Tel: +1 415 824 1872 

paxtongate.com 

Paxton Gate Curiosities 

for Kids 


Tel: +1 415 525 9990 

40 


Craftsman And Wolves 

Since spring 2012, the Craftsman And Wolves bakery has been 

specialising in creative pastries such as ginger scallion scones and 

savoury filled muffins dubbed ‘The Rebel Within’. The drink menu 

packs a punch with a selection of tisane and oolong teas, dark roast 

drip coffee and Abita Turbodog ale. On the shelves, you can purchase 

homemade condiments to take home, including honey cultivated 

in the café’s rooftop beehives. Afternoon tea, an array of beverages 

and treats for two for US$40, is served weekdays from 1pm to 5pm. 

Reservations are recommended and can be made 24 hours in advance. 

746 Valencia Street, Tel: +1 415 913 7713 

craftsman-wolves.com 

41 


Pacific Controls wins the Middle East’s 

most prestigious “Mohammed Bin Rashid 

Al Maktoum Business Award 2013” 

Dubai, UAE: H.H. Sheikh Maktoum Bin Mohammed Bin Rashid Al 

Maktoum, Deputy Ruler of Dubai, presented the annual Mohammed 

Bin Rashid Al Maktoum Business Award to 16 winners from a crosssection 

of business establishments for their exceptional performance 

in fostering growth and innovation and a culture of corporate social 

responsibility and excellence in the country. 

Organised under the patronage of H.H. Sheikh Mohammed Bin 

Rashid Al Maktoum, UAE Vice-President and Prime Minister and 

Ruler of Dubai, the 7th cycle of the high profile award, initiated and 

organised by Dubai Chamber of Commerce and Industry under its 

strategy of celebrating business excellence, was held at the Madinat 

Jumeirah in Dubai. The prestigious event was attended by over 1,200 

guests including heads of Government departments, dignitaries, 

board members of Dubai Chamber, representatives of business 

councils, groups and trade centers, a large number of businessmen 

and members of the media. 

The 16 winning organisations, whose representatives received the 

Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum Business Award 2013 for their 

top scores were: Dubai Carbon Centre of Excellence PJSC, Abu 

Dhabi Islamic Bank, DP World, Barakat Quality Plus LLC, Drydocks 

World, Al Mansoori Specialized Engineering (MSE), National Fire 

Fighting Manufacturing, Unilever Gulf, Intercoil International Co LLC, 

Procter & Gamble, Palm Utilities LLC, EPPCO Aviation, Pacific Control 

Systems LLC, Huawei Tech (UAE) FZ-LLC, Valtrans Transportation 

Systems and Services LLC and Eros Group. 

www.pacificcontrols.net

the street 

Range 

This Michelin-starred restaurant 

is something of a modern Mission 

institution, a popular spot where 

the vibe is casual but the cuisine 

is anything but. Range features an 

aperitif hour and locally sourced 

menu that changes daily. The 

space is small, and demand is 

great enough that reservations 

are recommended. Cocktails like 

the ‘Black Hat’ pay homage to 

the city’s hacker culture and tech 

sector and the menu features 

dishes such as mendocino sea 

urchin and seared California 

yellowtail. Save room for a 

semifreddo of concord and kyoho 

grapes and pecan shortbread. 

842 Valencia Street, 

Tel: +1 415 282 8283 

rangesf.com 

Dandelion 

Chocolate 

A recent addition to the 

neighbourhood, this 

bean-to-bar small batch 

chocolate factory and 

storefront is the only 

one of its kind in a city 

besieged by contemporary 

confectioners. In the 

open kitchen, chocoholics 

in training can observe 

chocolatiers roasting, 

sorting, grinding and 

tempering small batches 

of beans by hand. In the 

shop, lengthy descriptions 

explain the signature 

elements of each batch 

and offer tips on chocolate 

tasting. Small saucers of 

samples are bookended 

by whole cocoa pods. 

While a few small tables 

offer a quiet place to enjoy 

a luscious snack or 

read a magazine. 


Tel: +1 415 349 0942 

dandelionchocolate.com 

43 


the street 

Therapy 

Twenty years ago, Therapy 

was a family-owned antique 

store struggling to stay afloat. 

Now offering an eclectic 

collection of goods in eight 

locations around the Bay 

Area, Therapy’s original 

Valencia Street store fills two 

neighbouring boutiques with 

furniture and housewares on 

one side, and contemporary 

men’s and women’s fashions 

and gifts next door. The 

clothing emporium stocks 

brands including Ben Sherman 

and Original Penguin and a 

wide array of jewellery crafted 

by local artisans. Visit the 

furniture outlet for rustic 

industrial tables, mid-century 

modern chairs, vintage light 

bulb signs and aluminium 

and birch plywood replicas of 

iconic Sutro Tower, a massive 

TV tower atop Twin Peaks that 

can sometimes be spied from 

Valencia when the fog recedes. 

541 to 545 Valencia Street 

Tel: +1 415 865 0981 (clothing), 

+1 415 865 9758 (furniture) 

shopattherapy.com 

The Chapel 

This Tudor-style former 

mortuary turned concert 

venue, restaurant and 

bar spans half the block 

between 18th Street and 19th 

Street. Through multiple 

entrances along its coal-black 

exterior, you can enter the 

performance space, bar or 

restaurant and outdoor patio. 

In the year the club has been 

open, performers, including 

comedian Dave Chappelle 

and singer-songwriters Steve 

Earle and Bill Callahan, 

have graced the stage under 

the vaulted ceiling. The 

Vestry Restaurant features 

a French-Mediterranean 

fusion menu, and The Chapel 

Bar, open nightly from 5pm, 

serves a selection of tapas 

and morbidly named craft 

cocktails such as ‘Nail in the 

Coffin’ and ‘Altar Ego’. 


Tel: +1 551 5157 

thechapelsf.com 

44 


the street 

826 Valencia 

Behind San Francisco’s premier 

pirate paraphernalia shop is 

826 Valencia, a welcoming 

non-profit writing lab for 

kids age six and up. Educator 

Nínive Calegari and Dave 

Eggers, best-selling author and 

founder of the McSweeney’s 

publishing house, founded 

the centre in 2002 and named 

it for its location. In the past 

decade, 826 Valencia has 

expanded nationwide with 

chapters in New York, Los 

Angeles and Boston. In SF 

alone, the organisation serves 

upwards of 6,000 students 

every year. The Pirate Supply 

Store is open every day from 12 

to 6pm; the volunteer-staffed 

writing workshop is open on 

Thursdays. 


Tel: +1 415 642 5905 

826valencia.org 

Dog Eared Books 

Opened in 1992, Dog Eared Books has 

since spawned two sister stores in the 

Bay Area. The flagship store remains 

known for its large windows that allow 

the sun to light the wide aisles, charming 

window displays that showcase local 

history and a wide selection of new and 

used books and periodicals spanning the 

spectrum from photocopied anarchist 

zines to literary journals and glossy 

fashion rags. Don’t miss the bargain 

bins out front, filled with back issues 

of McSweeney’s culture quarterly The 

Believer. Inside, the remainder table is 

often stacked high with titles by awardwinning 

Bay Area writers including 

Rebecca Solnit, poet and author Michelle 

Tea and Daniel Handler, author of the 

popular Lemony Snicket children’s books. 

900 Valencia Street at 20th Street 

Tel: +1 415 282 1901 

dogearedbooks.com 

46 


A festive extravaganza 

in the depths of the desert. 

Rediscover the magic of the festive season and join the 

celebrations at the unique oasis of Bab Al Shams Desert Resort 

& Spa. Escape to the rolling sand dunes for a decadent December 

packed with festive fun for all the family. 

Whether you choose to celebrate at Masala, Al Hadheerah, Al Forsan or Al Sarab 

you are guaranteed great entertainment in stunning surroundings. 

Celebrate desert style this December at Bab Al Shams Desert Resort & Spa. 

For more information or to make reservations, 

please call +971 4 809 6100 or email BAS.Info@meydanhotels.com 

www.meydanhotels.com/babalshams

skypod 

ALEXAndEr 

BArCK 

Genre: nu-jazz 

AGe: 42 

City: Berlin 

Alex Barck is a founding member of Berlin-based 

DJ collective Jazzanova, A&R for Jazzanova’s 

Sonar Kollektiv label, one half of DJ duo Prommer 

& Barck and a radio host on Berlin’s Radio 1 and WDT 

Funkhaus Europa. After a year living on the island of 

La Reunion in the Indian Ocean, he is back in Berlin. 

Here he shares his favourite tracks 

01. 02. 03. 04. 

Love International 

Airport Of Love 

Quintus Project 

Night Flight 

Kevin Harrison 

Fly 

Steve Miller Band 

Fly Like An Eagle 

A big tune on the Italo 

scene, but it’s actually 

from France. It still 

sounds so fresh. Funny, 

cheeky and with a very 

nice bass line – very 

Giorgio Moroder. 

I found this in a flea 

market. I think it’s 

rare, as I haven’t seen 

a copy since. Walter 

Quintus was an engineer 

for Kraftwerk, and he 

made this record with 

a fantastic jazz pianist 

named Joachim Kühn. 

Another 1980s tune, 

released on a UK label, 

Glass Records. I often 

play this when I DJ – it’s 

a funky, boogie track, a 

little bit rocky but very 

good to dance to. 

A classic. I first played 

this out as a DJ 25 years 

ago, and I still play it out 

from time to time – it’s 

just one of those tracks 

that everyone knows. 

48 


05. 06. 07. 08. 

Laid Back 

Fly Away 

Luduvico Einaudi 

Fly 

Neve Naïve 

How I Learned To Fly 

Whomadewho 

Keep Me In My Plane 

On the b-side of this 

Danish band’s US hit 

White Horse is a song 

called Fly Away, and it’s 

one of my favourite songs 

to fly to – very mellow, 

beautiful, Balearic. 

I heard this track in 

a movie called The 

Untouchables and 

immediately had to find 

the soundtrack. He’s an 

Italian composer, and this 

is a nice experimental 

piano track – sort of 

modern Erik Satie. 

She is well known 

in Berlin as a very 

extroverted soul singer. 

We released this on our 

label Sonar Kollektiv back 

in April. A beautiful radio 

track, very uplifting. 

Where else would you 

want to be on a flight? 

I especially like the DJ 

Koze remix. 

facebook.com/alexander.barck 

49 


the Room 

TexT: giNa joHNSoN iMageS: THe ST RegiS New YoRk 

RooM 1215 

THe ST RegiS New 

YoRk, New YoRk 

The St Regis New York has just undergone a glamorous restoration. Reimagined 

guest rooms, suites and public spaces marry original design elements – 

Waterford chandeliers and antique mahogany bureaus: check – with some 

swanky new features such as the New York City-themed large format art work 

by photographers Janet Arsdale and Hampton Hall. 

Founded by John Jacob Astor IV – the wealthiest man to have gone down 

with the Titanic – more than 100 years ago, this Fifth Avenue icon is within 

stumbling distance of Central Park, the sleek boutiques of Madison Avenue 

and the elegant neighborhood bistros of the Upper East Side. 

Rock stars and royalty have roamed its hallowed halls for decades, paving 

the way for today’s bright young things. 

Brand connoisseurs Nacho Figueras and Jason Wu – darlings of the 

international polo set and catwalk, respectively – have helped up the ante 

among the young luxe crowd who are happy to share the limelight with the 

ghosts of society past in the King Cole Bar while sipping cool cocktails (this 

was the birthplace of the Bloody Mary), listening to live jazz and being served 

by a new brand of St Regis butler who has hung up his silver tray in favour of 

a smartphone. 

INTERNET SPEED: 100 MB 

PILLOWS: 4 

BEDSIZE: 180cm x 200cm 

CLUB SANDWICH 

DELIVERY TIME: 18 

minutes 

COMPLEMENTARY 

SNACKS: Fresh fruit, inroom 

tea or coffee served 

on arrival by the butler 

TOILETRY BRAND: 

Remede 

EXTRAS: Bose sound 

system with MP3 and 

iPod connections, HD 

television, pressing of up 

to two items of clothing 

per guest on arrival. 

TV channels: 91 

VIEW: 3/5 

RATE: From US$1,695 

50 


UFS.pdf 1 11/19/13 2:44 PM 

THREE NEW HOTEL OPENINGS 

QBIC LONDON CITY 

London, UK 

The second property from Dutch design hotel group 

Qbic Hotels, Qbic London City, located in London’s 

Shoreditch neighbourhood, has 171 double rooms and 

offers free WiFi. Its rates start from £59 per night. 

london.qbichotels.com 

ADELPHI HOTEL 


The Adelphi Hotel in 


recently reopened after a 

redesign by local practice 

Hachem, which took its inspiration from dessert. The 

property has 34 rooms and, although it won’t open 

until mid-2014, boasts a cantilevered swimming pool, 

extending two metres beyond the side of the building 

and suspended nine storeys above the street. 

adelphi.com.au 

SOFITEL DUBAI THE 

PALM RESORT & SPA 

Dubai, UAE 

This 361-room five-star 

property on The Palm in 

Dubai has seven restaurants, 

offering cuisines ranging 

from French to Chinese, 

Italian and seafood, and five 

bars. The property also has a spa and 124 suites with a 

private lounge and 24-hour butler service. 

sofitel.com 

C 

M 

Y 

CM 

MY 

CY 

CMY 

K

www.mallofistanbul.com.tr

consume 

albums 

FIlms 

YOU WERE RIGHT 

Brendan Benson 

Indie 

The sixth solo album 

from the American singer-songwriter, 

who also 

performs with The Raconteurs 

alongside Jack 

White, will be released on 

Benson’s own Readymade 

Records. 

LIVE FROM KCRW 

Nick Cave & 

The Bad Seeds 

alt rock 

This radio session, recorded 

for California’s KCRW 

in April 2013, is the Australian 

band’s fourth live 

album and features classic 

tracks, as well as tracks 

from their latest album, 

Push The Sky Away. 

BRITNEY JEAN 

Britney Spears 

Pop 

Britney’s eighth album 

is her first since 2011’s 

Femme Fatale, which 

was a number one record 

in the US. 

INSIDE LLEWYN DAVIS 

Joel and Ethan Coen 

Comedy-drama 

Winner of the Grand Prix at this year’s Cannes Film Festival, the Coen 

brothers’ latest follows a young folk singer, Llewyn Davis (Oscar Isaac), 

finding his way on the 1960s Greenwich Village scene. It also stars Carey 

Mulligan, John Goodman and Justin Timberlake. 

THE HOBBIT: THE 

DESOLATION OF SMAUG 

Peter Jackson 

Fantasy adventure 

The second installment of Peter Jackson’s 

The Hobbit trilogy sees martin Freeman’s 

bilbo baggins and his merry band of dwarves 

travel through the Kingdom Of Erebor to do 

battle with the dragon smaug. 

ANCHORMAN 2: THE 

LEGEND CONTINUES 

Adam McKay 

Comedy 

Nine years after the success of Anchorman: 

The Legend Of Ron Burgundy, news anchor 

Ron burgundy (Will Ferrell), pining for the 

success of the 1970s, returns to set up a 24- 

hour news channel. 

bOOKs 

S. 

Doug Dorst 

and J J Abrams 

Fiction 

Ostensibly a book, 

entitled The Ship Of 

Theseus, recounting 

S’s adventures on 

a pirate ship, this 

postmodern novel also includes margin 

notes left by students Eric and 

Jennifer, which tell their own story. 

JOHNNY 

CASH: THE 

LIFE 

Robert Hilburn 

music critic Robert 

Hilburn was at 

Folsom Prison in 

January 1968 when 

Cash played his 

infamous gig there. This 600-page 

biography covers the singer’s life 

from boyhood to his death in 2003. 

PARIS. 

PORTRAIT 

OF A CITY 

Jean Claude 

Gautrand 

History 

In Taschen’s 

Paris. Portrait Of 

A City, photographer 

and historian Jean Claude 

Gautrand presents a photographic 

history of the City Of Light. 

53 

Open skies / december 2013

consume 

THE BOOKSHOP 

Books Actually 

Singapore 

Questions: Andrew Birbeck / Answers: Co-founder of Books Actually, Kenny Leck 

TRUE LOVE / 

owner co-founder 

Kenny Leck stocks 

Books Actually’s 

shelves with his own 

favourite reads 

Why did you decide to open a bookshop? 

I grew up reading. My mum flooded me with books in a bid to get me to stay 

still. Around 17 or 18 I took up part-time jobs in bookstores, which evolved 

into full-time work. 

You’ve diversified in order to grow and survive. What’s been your 

greatest failure and biggest success? 

The biggest letdown was trying to set up another bookstore specialising 

in non-fiction. We let our egos get in the way and thought we could do 

everything. The biggest success perhaps was learning from that failure and 

recognising that as a character-driven bookshop there can only be one. 

The business started with two founders. How many staff do you 

employ now, and how important is it to have the right staff? 

Originally it was Karen Wai and myself. She left the business mid-2011 to 

pursue her first-love, which is telling stories through photography and filmmaking. 

At the moment we have four full-timers. Anyone who works here 

must love books and love working as a bookseller. A lot. 

Has the local community supported you? 

They have been key to our success and understand the core reason we exist. 

How do you choose your titles? 

It’s personal. Basically we stock books we’d buy ourselves. 

What kind of atmosphere do you try to create? 

A ‘home’ that customers can always come back to. For example, we have 

friends who have left Singapore for studies or work and, two to three years 

later, when they return, they’re happy to see us, and we’re especially happy 

to see them. 

You tend to avoid stocking best-sellers. Why is that? 

Retail chains already sell them in high volume. We complement the book 

trade by selling different titles. 

How did your in-house stationery brand Birds & Co come about? 

Through our love and hoarding of vintage stationery. 

Can you explain the concept of Math Paper Press? 

We approached publishing with the same off-beat attitude we take with the 

bookstore. We print the voices we think should be heard. The surprise success 

is our poetry volumes. Poetry is supposed to be a tough sell, but not for us. 

Who’s the most famous person to walk through your doors? 

By far the person we always remember is the Taiwanese film director Tsai 

Ming Liang. 

You collect vintage typewriters. Which is your favourite, and do 

you ever use it? 

We use all the typewriters for our handmade Birds & Co notebooks. I love 

the Olivetti Valentine. 

Who is your literary hero? 

For now, Paul Auster. 

booksactually.com 

ImAgeS: BooKS ACtuALLy 

54 


consume 

THE GAMING STORE 

Super Potato 

Tokyo, Japan 

Words by Joe Svetlik / Images by Antony Tran 

Tokyo’s Akihabara 

district is a gaming 

and gadgets heaven. 

Take a stroll down 

its streets, which are 

bustling with otaku (geeks), and 

your senses will be bombarded by 

mammoth electronics stores and 

arcades that span seven storeys. 

With all the distractions, you could 

easily miss retro video games shop 

Super Potato. But you’d be missing 

out on one of the area’s highlights. 

Unless you approach it head-on, 

you won’t see the sign featuring 

company mascot Potato-kun along 

with Mario and Pac-Man. And Super 

Potato’s unassuming black doorway 

looks like the entrance to a bank 

or a hotel lobby. But head up the 

geek street / Tokyo’s Akihabara 

district is full of stores dedicated to 

geek culture 

staircase, with its walls festooned 

with games posters from days gone 

by, and you’ll find nirvana for nerds. 

Once inside, you will be 

transported back to the 1980s 

and 1990s, which is what many 

57 


consume 

GAME TIME / Super Potato is more than just a shop – it’s a museum housing everything from consoles to gaming memorabilia 

consider to be the golden age of 

home video games. Shelves are 

filled with box-fresh consoles 

such as the Nintendo Famicom 

(known as the NES in the West) 

and Sega’s Master System, to the 

Sega Mega Drive and Japanese 

company SNK Playmore’s Neo 

Geo. There’s Nintendo’s legendary 

Game & Watch series, along with 

the company’s first stab at a 3D 

console, the Virtual Boy, which 

made it as far as America, but not 

Europe. And an original R.O.B. 

robot that was designed to play 

games alongside you, like a second 

player. As well 

as the games and consoles, there 

are statues of characters such 

as Mario and Sonic, a six-foottall 

Game Boy (complete with 

working screen), and a wealth of 

other merchandise: badges, toys, 

key rings and plushies (stuffed 

toys). The stock is piled high, and 

everything is in mint condition. 

It’s no museum, either; almost 

everything is for sale, and you can 

even play some of the consoles. 

Game demos run on loop, filling 

59 


consume 

the shop with the familiar hum of 

eigh-bit basslines. Of the hundreds 

of consoles and games on offer, 

many were never released in the 

West. Like the Twin Famicom, for 

example, which is two consoles in 

one. So, though its stock might be 

old, you’re sure to find plenty that’s 

new. 

Super Potato wasn’t always 

a video games shop. It started 

some 500 kilometres away in 

Nipponbashi, which is Osaka’s 

equivalent of Akihabara. Originally 

it was a general store, selling 

various assortments and knickknacks. 

Its name derives from this 

bargain-hunting ethos. 

“The Japanese translation 

for a bargain is literally ‘dug-out 

stuff’,” says 35-year-old Youhei 

Kitabayashi, manager of the 

Akihabara store. “So the name 

Super Potato comes from the idea 

of digging around and finding lots 

of nice things.” 

Then, in 1983, Nintendo 

launched the Famicom in its native 

Japan. The console was a hit, 

making a star of its main character 

Mario. Seeing the Famicom’s 

roaring success, and the potential 

for home gaming, Super Potato 

started specialising in video games. 

As the years went on, demand 

for the original consoles stayed 

strong. The Nipponbashi store 

focused on retro video games, and 

was so successful that the owners 

wanted to expand. And where 

better than Akihabara, the home 

of Japanese gaming culture? The 

Akihabara store opened in 2003, 

and an institution was born. 

It seems tastes haven’t changed 

that much in 30 years. “The 

Famicom and Super Famicom are 

still our best-selling consoles,” says 

Kitabayashi. The most popular 

games series are Super Mario and 

Rockman (known as Mega Man in 

the West), both of which will be 

familiar to anyone who grew up 

with these consoles. 

So where does Super Potato 

find its stock? “People come to us 

from all over Japan to sell their 

consoles,” says Kitabayashi. “We get 

somewhere between 500 and 700 

people a month, bringing between 

5,000 and 10,000 items. It’s not 

just games and consoles, they sell 

us the posters, and the statues too. 

But once we get rare consoles, they 

always sell out quickly.” 

To collectors, a box-fresh 

Famicom is nothing special. 

There’s no shortage of them on the 

shelves of Super Potato, after all. 

No, the real experts are after far 

more niche finds. 

distinguished history / 

The Akihabara branch of Super 

Potato has been operating for 

a decade and has become a 

gaming institution 

60 


consume 

satisfied customers / Super Potato’s 

customers are mostly men, but three in every 

10 who walk through the door are females 

“Probably the rarest item 

we have is a set of PC games 

called Kids Station, with their 

[own] unique controller,” says 

Kitabayashi. “They were only 

available to students in certain 

Tokyo schools in the early 1990s, 

so they’re highly sought after. 

They’re not for sale, though, just 

for display. If we did sell them, 

people say they would be worth 

two million yen [US$20,200].” 

You can easily lose a couple 

of hours exploring every nook 

and cranny of Super Potato’s first 

floor. But don’t dawdle, there 

are two more to go. Up a second 

flight of stairs, you’ll find slightly 

more recent consoles such as 

the PlayStation, PlayStation 

2, Nintendo 64 and Game Boy 

Advance, along with what has 

to be one of the biggest Game & 

Watch collections in the world. 

There’s plenty of merchandise 

besides games on this floor, too. 

Then the third floor is full of 

arcade machines, with classics 

like Final Fight, Street Fighter 2, 

Astro City and more. 

As you’d expect, Super Potato 

attracts more men than women. 

But its appeal is broader than 

you might think. “Out of every 10 

customers, seven are probably men 

to three women,” says Kitabayashi. 

“And the age range is very wide, 

everyone from teenagers to people 

in their fifties.” 

Super Potato is such a success, 

it now has 10 shops throughout 

Japan. It’s a popular hangout with 

Japanese celebrities, too. The 

other branches sell the current 

crop of consoles such as the 

Xbox One and PS4, but only the 

Akihabara and Nipponbashi stores 

specialise in retro machines. And 

only the Akihabara store is right 

in the heart of the world’s biggest 

games and technology hub. The 

ultimate celebration of the history 

and culture of gaming, Super 

Potato is right at home. 

superpotato.jp 

62 


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UK: WHSmith store at Heathrow or Manchester Arrivals 

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Australia | Denmark | France | Germany | Netherlands | Spain | UK

BLD 

Stockholm 

Mathias Dahlgren, chef of The Restaurant Mathias 

Dahlgren in the Grand Hôtel Stockholm, shares his 

favourite places to eat in the Swedish capital 

IMaGeS: THe ReSTauRanT MaTHIaS DaHlGRen 

64 


B 

l 

d 

BREAKFAST 

LUNCH 

DINNER 

Rosendals Trädgård hasxs an open 

garden presenting biodynamic 

cultivation to the general public. 

It’s a lovely café where they serve 

nothing but food made with 

organically grown ingredients, 

and all of the breads are from 

their own bakery, which boasts 

a wood-fired stone oven. All of 

the breads are of such a high 

quality, and are extremely tasty, 

so when you add the garden and 

surroundings it is just a magical 

place to have breakfast. It’s best to 

visit in the summertime. During 

winter, I would recommend the 

newly reopened Wienerkonditoriet 

(wienerkonditoriet.com). 

Rosendals Trädgård 

Rosendalsterrassen 12, Stockholm 

Tel: +46 (0) 854581270 

rosendalstradgard.se 

There is a restaurant in the old 

town of Stockholm called Gyllene 

Freden, and it’s perfect for those 

seeking an authentic place that 

serves traditional Swedish cuisine. 

While they like to change the 

menu daily, you will always find 

traditional dishes like biffrydberg 

(diced potatoes, onions and beef ), 

raggmunkar med fläsk (potato 

pancakes) and many different 

kinds of herring. The overall 

experience and the atmosphere are 

outstanding. The location is great 

as well, and who wouldn’t enjoy 

a stroll through the old blocks of 

Stockholm before or after lunch? 

Gyllene Freden 

Österlånggatan 51, Stockholm 

Tel: +46 (0) 8249760 

gyldenefreden.se 

Dinner is the most enjoyable meal 

to eat out in Stockholm, and a lot of 

great new restaurants have opened 

recently. Furthermore, they are 

restaurants that are innovative and 

work with interesting concepts. 

One of my favourites is Råkultur, 

which boasts an interesting 

combination of Swedish and 

Scandinavian fish and shellfish 

dishes presented in a Japanese 

style. It’s a very vibrant restaurant 

with a casual atmosphere. While 

the craftsmanship and the food 

are of a very high quality, it’s not 

particularly expensive. 

Restaurang Råkultur 

Kungstensgatan 2, Stockholm 

Tel: +46 (0) 86962325 

rakultur.se 

65 


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©2013 A licensee of DTG Operations, Inc. or its affiliates. 

For a complete list of worldwide destinations, please visit thrifty.com

mapped 

04 

SEDAWATTA 

08 

PAPANUI 

MAIREHAU 

BURWOOD 

BRYNDWR 

SHIRLEY 

AVONDALE 

SINGHAPURA 

MERIVALE 

DALLINGTON 

UPPER 

RICCARDTON 

RICCARDTON 

11 

06 

05 

01 

07 

15 

02 

10 

16 

12 

13 

AVONSIDE 

LINWOOD 

CHRISTCHURCH 

14 

WOOLSTON 

SPREYDON 

OPAWA 

09 

03 

HOON HAY 

HUNTSBURY 

CASHMERE 

Christchurch 

Centred on the snaking River Avon and backed by the Southern Alps, Christchurch remains an 

1. The George 

(-43.525717 , 172.628326) 

2. Heritage Christchurch 

(-43.531055 , 172.637879) 

important gateway to New (-43.522840 Zealand’s , 172.629151) South Island. More than 2. Baretta two years after the 2011 Canterbury 

(-43.536677 , 172.635984) 

earthquakes devastated the 3. city Pescatore centre, New Zealand’s Garden City has slowly been reborn with a 

distinctly modern edge. Brimming (-43.525717 , with 172.628326) restaurants and trendy 3. Volstead drinking Trading Co. dens, as well as plenty of 

(-43.529482 , 172.606875) 

cutting-edge art spaces, Christchurch is back with plenty to say. 

3. Otahuna Lodge 

(-43.659809 , 172.583872) 

4. Peppers Clearwater Resort 

(-43.447909 , 172.596569) 

HOteLs 

01. the George 

02. Heritage Christchurch 

03. Otahuna Lodge 

04. Peppers Clearwater 

resort 

Restaurants 

1. Saggio di Vino 

(-43.521202 , 172.628196) 

2. King of Snake 

4. Chillingworth Road 

(-43.490466 , 172.622685) 

restaurants 

05. saggio di Vino 

06. King Of snake 

07. Pescatore 

08. Chillingworth 

road 

bars 

Bars/Clubs 

1. Gustav’s Kitchen and Wine Bar 

(at The Tannery) 

(-43.556716 , 172.680323) 

4. The Last Word 

(-43.529118 , 172.638609) 

09. Gustav’s Kitchen 

and Wine bar 

10. baretta 

11. Volstead trading Co. 

12. the Last Word 

GaLLerIes 

Galleries 

1. ArtBox 

(-43.536700 , 172.642415) 

2. Jonathan Smart Gallery 

(-43.545043 , 172.638456) 

3. Canterbury Museum 

(-43.530802 , 172.627169) 

4. Chambers241 

(-43.539555 , 172.634311) 

13. artbox 

14. Jonathan smart 

Gallery 

15. Canterbury Museum 

16. Chambers241 

67 


mapped 

HOTELS 

01 The George 

Well known for its 

exceptional service 

and central location, 

luxury boutique hotel 

The George is no 

newcomer. Paintings 

by local artist Ralph 

Haters make for 

stylish décor, and the 

hotel’s spacious suites 

overlook the River 

Avon and Hagley Park. 

thegeorge.com 

02 Heritage Christchurch 

Overlooking Cathedral Square, 

the revamped Heritage boasts 

a series of swish apartment 

suites as well as a lap pool. A 

little slice of Italy in the heart of 

Christchurch, the hotel is housed 

in a category one listed building 

designed in the style of an Italian 

Renaissance palazzo. 

heritagehotels.co.nz 

03 Otahuna Lodge 

A 30-minute drive from 

Christchurch city centre, this 

Relais & Chateaux hotel is 

set in a refurbished Victorian 

manor originally built for 

politician Sir Heaton Rhodes. 

The seven guestrooms are 

individually themed, and the 

lush surrounding estate comes 

packed with lakes, pools and 

woodland paths. 

otahuna.co.nz 

04 Peppers Clearwater Resort 

Located a little out of town, this 

luxury lakefront resort is the 

perfect spot for those seeking 

rest, relaxation and stunning 

views of the Southern Alps. Slick, 

bright rooms (some with private 

jetties) have a modern feel, and 

the golf course hosts the ISPS 

Handa Women’s NZ Golf Open. 

peppers.co.nz/clearwater 

rESTauranTS 

05 Saggio di Vino 

Tastefully decked out 

in warm, dark timber, 

Saggio di Vino has been 

a Christchurch favourite 

since 1991, and specialises 

in simple, modern 

European fare such as panfried 

Hapuka with lemon 

risotto. An eclectic wine 

list and a rolling cheese 

trolley offer the ideal finale 

to a decadent dinner. 

saggiodivino.co.nz 

06 King Of Snake 

Stylish red surrounds, 

skull wallpaper and 

a popular corner 

bar conjure up a 

sensual atmosphere 

at this Victoria Street 

newcomer, the latest 

from Tony Astle of 

Indochine. Tuck into 

SnOw buSineSS / Christchurch sits below the Southern Alps 

modern southeast Asian dishes, 

perfect for sharing. 

kingofsnake.co.nz 

07 Pescatore 

A finalist for Cuisine NZ Restaurant 

Of The Year 2013, local favourite 

Pescatore looks out on Hagley Park 

from The George hotel. Gourmet 

chef Reon Hobson concocts 

intricate seasonal menus, featuring 

ingredients such as poached 

Canterbury lamb loin and herbinfused 

sashimi tuna, and there’s an 

award-winning international wine 

list to match. 

thegeorge.com 

08 Chillingworth Road 

Treat yourself to an eight-course 

‘Trust The Chef’ degustation menu 

at this novel fine-dining venture 

and cookery school, helmed by 

twice South Island Chef Of The 

Year Darren Wright. Look out for 

signature breakfasts and delicious 

dinner treats such as Akaroa salmon 

with octopus terrine. 

chillingworthroad.co.nz 

01 08 

68 


mapped 

bars 

09 Gustav’s Kitchen 

And Wine Bar 

Part of new boutique retail project 

The Tannery, in Woolston, Gustav’s 

is the latest addition to the Cassel 

family bar empire. Choose from a 

carefully considered wine list at 

the vast mirrored bar, where dark 

oak and floral wallpaper lend an 

air of English opulence. 

gustavs.co.nz 

10 Baretta 

In honour of its trendy, but now 

defunct, SoL Square predecessor, 

Cartel, Baretta combines comfort 

and elegance in the style of a 

swanky Italian bar with a tiled 

terracotta courtyard out back. Live 

local music and Italian-inspired 

cocktails keep things going until 

the early hours. 

baretta.co.nz 

11 Volstead Trading Co. 

With well-worn retro furniture, 

live gigs and original wall 

murals by New Zealand signwriters 

JBFX, Volstead takes its 

inspiration from an American 

Prohibition era bar. Kick back with 

an extensive stock of international 

and local craft beers, including 

Emerson’s and Epic, and New 

Zealand Moa on tap. 

volstead.co.nz 

12 The Last Word 

From the owners of popular bar 

The Darkroom comes this discreet 

whiskey bar and cocktail lounge in 

the heart of renovated New Regent 

Street. Set over two floors and 

decorated with dark green walls, 

there’s an impressive selection of 

whiskies on offer. 

lastword.co.nz 

CiTy CenTre / Cathedral Square is right in the heart of Christchurch 

GaLLErIEs 

13 ArtBox 

In a bid to revitalise the 

city centre, the ongoing 

ArtBox project provides 

much needed exhibition 

space for local artists. 

Founded by Martin 

Trusttum of CIPT, 

the quirky modular 

structure will eventually 

hold 18 gallery ‘boxes’ 

in four buildings on the 

corner of Madras and St 

Asaph Streets. 

artboxgallery.info 

14 Jonathan 

Smart Gallery 

With a keen focus on the 

best of contemporary, 

New Zealand visual art, 

Jonathan Smart has 

been presenting the 

work of both established 

artists and cutting-edge 

creatives since 1987. 

Monthly exhibitions here cover 

everything from sculpture and 

painting to photography. 

jonathansmartgallery.com 

15 Canterbury Museum 

Set in a stunning 19th century 

Gothic revival building next 

to the Botanic Gardens, this 

important regional museum 

explores the story of Christchurch 

and Canterbury through a series 

of collections devoted to local 

history and Maori culture. 

canterburymuseum.com 

16 Chambers241 

This unique arts hub was 

launched in 2011 by Dr Warren 

Feeney and Ronald Mottram, in 

collaboration with Creative New 

Zealand. Intended to rekindle 

the inner city arts scene post 

earthquake, Chambers241 is a 

commercial gallery, music venue 

and local artists’ studio all rolled 

into one bright, modern space. 

chambers241.co.nz 

WordS: hg2.Com imageS: getty imageS 

70 


LOCAL KNOwLEDGE 

Dubai 

International 

Film Festival 

Twelve years ago Dubai didn’t have much of 

a film industry, but now, thanks to festivals 

such as DIFF, Emirati film is on the rise 

Words by Tahira Yaqoob / Images by Getty Images 

the director / DIFF’s artistic director, 

Masoud Amralla Al Ali, launched the festival 

in 2001 

When Masoud 

Amralla Al Ali 

launched the 

United Arab 

Emirates’ first 

film festival, a group of young female 

college students who had submitted 

amateur movies shyly approached 

him, and asked if he could cut the 

credits. Their families were in uproar 

over their decision to broadcast their 

names on screen – the film industry 

had little respect or credibility in the 

country and, for the sake of peace, 

they preferred to be anonymous. 

“We did as they asked and 

screened the films without credits, 

even though it was only their names 

and not their faces on screen,” 

recalls Al Ali, now the artistic 

director of Dubai International 

Film Festival (DIFF). 

Incredibly, that was only 12 

years ago – and what a difference a 

little more than a decade has made. 

The UAE has evolved from having a 

virtually non-existent film industry 

in 2001, aside from a handful of 

amateur enthusiasts doing the best 

they could with handheld cameras, 

to becoming a thriving international 

hub celebrating cinema from 

around the world with three major 

72 


When it comes to celebrating the festive season in style, 

look no further than The Meydan Hotel. From the traditional 

Christmas turkey to the midnight merrymaking of New 

Years, we have everything you need to make this season 

unforgettable. Festive tunes in the lobby and our restaurants 

all serving seasonal favourites to ensure the best of family fun. 

If you’d rather celebrate at home, why not let our chefs prepare 

your turkey with all the trimmings so you can just sit back and 

enjoy. We have something for everyone when the clock strikes 

12 on New Years Eve. Whether you want to welcome in 2014 

dancing to our live entertainment in Sky Bubble, or staying in 

the intimacy of your own suite, The Meydan Hotel has it all. 

For reservations and inquiries please call +971 4 381 3112 or 

email meydanrestaurantreservations@meydanhotels.com


STAR poweR / Hollywood stars Martin 

Sheen (above left) and Cate Blanchett (above 

right) will both be attending the 10th DIFF 

film festivals –DIFF, Abu Dhabi 

Film Festival and the Gulf Film 

Festival – and a rash of smaller 

events year-round. 

This month, Hollywood stars 

Martin Sheen and Cate Blanchett 

will be taking to the red carpet at 

the 10th annual DIFF, and will be 

joined by a phalanx of Arab screen 

idols – proof of a cinema industry 

that is swiftly coming of age. 

Among the screenings will be 

dozens of films made by Emiratis, 

from documentaries to short fiction 

films, while there are now pots of 

cash for would-be filmmakers, giving 

them a chance to apply for funding 

from the likes of the US$500,000 

Sanad Fund in Abu Dhabi and the 

US$100,000 coffers of Dubai Film 

Connection to develop their ideas 

and bring their projects to fruition. 

Image Nation, the moviemaking 

arm of Abu Dhabi Media, 

has not only funded blockbuster 

mAking movieS / 

The UAE’s Image 

Nation has helped fund 

Hollywood movies such 

as The Help (right) and 

Contagion (far right) 

films such as The Help and 

Contagion but also ploughed 

money into homegrown projects, 

from Nawaf Al Janahi’s featurelength 

film Sea Shadow two years 

ago to the recently-released Djinn, 

the Emirates’ first horror movie, 

which was helmed by The Texas 

Chainsaw Massacre director 

Tobe Hooper. 

“What has happened in the 

UAE is enormous in terms of 

understanding cinema and being 

open to it,” says Al Ali. “When I 

started, there was nothing. Now 

there are 70 or 80 short films and 

documentaries made by Emiratis 

every year on average. And instead 

of taking their names off the credits, 

families are coming into cinemas 

with their girls to celebrate their 

films with them.” 

Al Ali, 45, believes being exposed 

to great films from around the world 

and fostering local talent go hand in 

now there are 

70 or 80 short 

films and 

documentaries 

made by emiratis 

every year on 

average 

hand. A former poet, he first became 

interested in filmmaking in 1994, 

after completing a short course in 

Los Angeles, and made a 24-minute 

movie followed by a documentary, 

but became disconsolate at shouting 

into the wind. “I did not have any 

friends to talk to about cinema,” he 

says. “It was really tough and lonely, 

so I stopped.” 

Most of the cinemas in the 

Emirates had closed in the 1980s, 

driven out of business by the rise in 

Betamax videos and movie rental 

74 



there’ s a glut of 

upcoming young 

filmmakers 

devoted to 

making the 

world take 

note of emirati 

cinema 

stores. But Al Ali clung on to the 

memory of the obscure Italian films 

screened during his childhood, 

which sowed the seeds of his passion, 

even though they were so heavily 

censored because of their risqué 

content that often three films would 

be spliced together as one. 

“They had so much nudity that by 

the time they were cut, each one was 

45-minutes long,” he chuckles. “But 

from 1980, people totally forgot about 

cinemas, and there was nowhere 

showing art house films any more.” 

What revived cinemas was the 

introduction of copyright laws in 

the mid-1990s, which outlawed 

pirated videos and drove rental 

shops out of business. There were 

still less than 40 cinema screens 

in 2001, though, when Al Ali had 

the idea of bringing together other 

fledgling Emirati filmmakers for 

a showcase of their work at the 

Cultural Foundation in Abu Dhabi. 

A total of 58 short films were 

screened over three days, and by 

teenage drama/ Nawaf Al Janahi’s Sea 

Shadow is the story of two Emirati boys 

coming of age in the UAE 

the following year the event had 

morphed into the annual Emirates 

Film Competition. Al Ali was joined 

in running it by Al Janahi and Ali Al 

Jabri, who is now director of Abu 

Dhabi Film Festival. 

What the filmmakers lacked 

in expertise, they made up for in 

enthusiasm. As each of the trio 

of friends has taken his own path 

in embracing the film industry, 

one thing they have in common 

is the importance of imparting 

knowledge, and not simply 

plunging cash into productions but 

also nurturing talent. 

A strong undercurrent of each 

of the festivals and projects they 

spearhead is education, whether 

it is connecting scriptwriters with 

producers under the umbrella of 

Dubai Film Connection, inviting 

Hollywood directors to give lectures 

on how to make the transition from 

shorts to feature-length films or 

Horror flick / Djinn, the UAE’s first horror 

film, was directed by Tobe Hooper, famous 

for directing, The Texas Chainsaw Massacre 

finding an international platform for 

Emirati talent. 

That is already having an impact. 

Khalid Al Mahmood’s 2010 film, 

Sabeel, has been shown at festivals in 

Berlin, Miami and Switzerland, and 

led to him being named by Screen 

International as one of the 10 most 

influential Arabs in the film world. 

Nujoom Al Ghanem’s poignant 

documentary, Hamama, a homage 

to the ancient healing rituals still 

practised in the rural parts of the 

Emirates, garnered five international 

awards, and was made with the help 

of DIFF’s Enjaaz film fund. 

And there’s a glut of upcoming 

young filmmakers devoted to making 

the world take note of Emirati 

cinema, from City Of Life director 

Ali Mostafa to Nayla Al Khaja, who 

founded D-Seven Motion Pictures in 

Dubai, and Fujairah-born Abdulla Al 

Kaabi, who won three awards in LA 

with his short film The Philosopher, 

starring Jean Reno. 

“I do not think where the 

director is from plays a part in 

the audience’s psyche,” says Al 

Mahmood, who began making films 

in 2001 with a small shop-bought 

camera and is showing the short 

Don’t Leave Me at DIFF. “At the end, 

what matters most is the film.” 

77 


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Nujoom, who has made four 

feature films and is premiering her 

documentary Red Blue Yellow at 

DIFF, based on the life of Emirati 

painter Najat Makki, says there 

is still a lack of support for fulllength 

movies. 

Only three feature films were 

produced before City Of Life, and 

none have been shown widely 

outside the UAE or off the festival 

circuit. “The television industry 

is well established, and there is a 

good movement for short films, but 

not feature ones yet,” says the poet 

and former journalist. “I thought 

it would be good to establish a film 

scene here. I feel a responsibility 

for preserving our traditions. My 

dream is to produce fiction films, 

but the business I have chosen is a 

tough one.” 

Despite a 75,000-strong 

audience for his 2009 film, 

premiered at DIFF that year, 

Mostafa failed to break even with 

ticket sales for his US$7 million 

City Of Life, largely because a 

The eyes of The 

world are now 

Trained on arab 

filmmakers, and 

whaT They have 

To say abouT 

The world They 

live in... a good 

human sTory 

will always 

Transcend 

borders 

much-hyped distribution deal 

failed to materialise. “It was my 

first feature film and I learned a 

lot,” says Mostafa, who is poised to 

embark on his next film after a fouryear 

struggle to secure funding. 

“We had sold-out screenings 

at every international festival we 

went to, but it was impossible 

to make a profit, because we do 

Latest modeL / City Of Life directorAli 

Mostafa (left), Khalid Al Mahmood (top 

right) and Mahmood on the set of his 2010 

film, Sabeel (bottom right) 

not have enough cinemas here to 

recoup that much money.” 

He and other regional directors 

have certainly been helped by the 

success of Saudi Arabian director 

Haifaa Al Mansour’s Wadjda this 

year. It has been screened globally to 

universal acclaim and is now being 

tipped as a contender for a foreign 

language Oscar, the first time a Saudi 

film has been in the running. 

It means the eyes of the 

world are now trained on Arab 

filmmakers, and what they have 

to say about the world they live 

in. That, says Mostafa, can only be 

good news. “I make Arab films, not 

necessarily for an Arab audience, 

but for a western audience, so that 

they can understand and learn 

about our culture,” he says. “A good 

film and a human story will always 

transcend borders.” 

dubaifilmfest.com 

79 


80 


Pushkar / 

India 

place 

Near the centre of India’s 

arid northwestern state 

of Rajasthan lies the small 

holy town of Pushkar. The 

town itself wraps around 

the shores of Pushkar Lake, 

said to have formed from 

the falling lotus petal of 

Brahma (the Hindu god of 

creation) himself. Pushkar 

is a pilgrimage site for 

Hindus, although it is also 

popular with foreign tourists, 

especially during its annual 

camel fair. Pilgrims come 

from across India to visit the 

hundreds of temples or to 

wash away their sins in the 

sacred waters of the lake. 

PHOTO: KYLER DEUTMEYER 

81 


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COLUMN 

HOME SWEET HOME 

Hotels are as popular as ever, but New Yorker Noah Davis prefers to 

stay with strangers when he travels 

Words by Noah Davis / Images Airbnb 

I’m lying on a small bed in a sparsely decorated room in 

a loft in downtown Columbus, Ohio. While the spartan 

space is perfectly adequate for my needs, it is not a 

five-star hotel. Or even three stars. But that’s exactly 

the point. I found the lodging through Airbnb, a San 

Francisco-based start-up founded in 2008 that allows people 

to rent out their houses and apartments to perfect strangers for 

short periods of time. I try to use the service whenever I travel. 

It’s frequently cheaper than a hotel – although it boasts any 

price point imaginable – and offers more variety. Plus, it’s a lot 

more fun if you can stand a bit of uncertainty. Although the site 

offers pictures of listed properties, you never know the exact 

details of the place until you arrive. 

That serendipity is the reason my host put his home on 

Airbnb. Christophe Le Barbier left France for the United States 

seven years ago to study at Ohio State University. After 

graduating, he secured a job with L 

Brands, the conglomerate that owns 

Victoria’s Secret and Bath & Body 

Works. He bought a tastefully 

industrial two-bedroom apartment 

in a converted warehouse and 

found a roommate. But she moved 

out, leaving Le Barbier alone. “For 

about a year, I was living by myself, 

which was fine, but I kind of 

enjoyed having somebody around 

every once in a while,” he says. 

Enter Airbnb. “It’s fun to meet 

some pretty random people,” he 

says. Over the past four months, Le 

Barbier has had six or seven guests. 

83 


COLUMN 

ChoiCe ACCommodAtion / There are 500,000 properties listed on rental site Airbnb 

Most stay for one or two nights while 

passing through for a conference or 

another event (I was there covering a 

football match), but an actor who had a 

play in Columbus spent 14 days in the 

extra room. Then, like everyone else 

who stays, he moved on with his life. 

The success of Airbnb, which 

charges a six to 12 per cent service fee 

on every booking, reflects a growing 

trend in the international culture of our 

increasingly interconnected planet. We 

are ever more comfortable sharing 

photos, status updates and other 

Is It really 

a surprIse 

that we’re 

ok wIth 

sharIng our 

apartments 

and houses 

personal information. Is it really a surprise that we’re OK with 

sharing our apartments and houses as well, especially if we can 

benefit financially from the transaction? Sure, it can be strange 

to have a stranger in your living space, with or without you 

present – many people vacate their apartments when they are 

rented – but it also makes perfect sense that travellers would 

want the comforts of someone’s home. 

Airbnb isn’t the only site offering this service. Roomorama, 

founded by perpetual travellers Jia En Teo and Federico Folcia, 

boasts rooms all over the world. HomeAway has almost 

600,000 vacation rentals for travellers everywhere from 

Manhattan to Pigeon Forge, Tennessee. Wimdu.com claims 

235,000 apartments, holiday homes and B&Bs worldwide, 

which are, on average, 30 per cent cheaper than a hotel of a 

similar standard. Couchsurfing.org is 

exactly what its name suggests, a 

website on which people list their 

couches as alternative 

accommodation for travellers. 

But Airbnb is the biggest. The 

stats prove the model. A total of 8.5 

million guests have stayed in a 

property listed on Airbnb, 4.5 

million in 2013 alone. The site boasts 

500,000 listings – including 600 

castles – across more than 33,000 

cities in 192 countries. “This 

summer, roughly every two seconds 

someone was checking into an 

Airbnb listing – and on our peak 

night this summer, 175,000 people 

were staying on Airbnb around the 

world,” an Airbnb executive says. 

The growth is exponential. 

The service is not without 

potential problems. Destruction of 

property is the obvious one. The 

company drew negative press in 

2011 after a woman had her San 

Francisco apartment burglarised 

and vandalised, and she was 

unsatisfied with Airbnb’s initial 

84 


COLUMN 

efforts to help resolve the matter. 

Another horror story posted on the 

tech blog TechCrunch featured 

damage done to a door with an axe. 

But these tales are few and far 

between, and Airbnb partnered 

with Lloyd’s of London to offer 

US$1,000,000 in insurance to 

property owners. They have also 

increased their customer service in 

an effort to respond more quickly 

to claims. 

You also put your faith in a host 

you don’t know. When I arrived at 

my Airbnb accommodation during a 

downpour in Bruges, Belgium, my 

host, Pascal, greeted me at the door. 

He was outgoing, gregarious, and 

armed with a helpful map of the area 

detailing some of his favourite spots. 

He also had something to tell me: 

there would be another person 

staying in the private room I booked. 

Something about a mistake with the 

system. He didn’t elaborate, nor did 

he offer me a discount. It was an 

annoying hassle, but not a deal 

breaker. I stayed out for most of the 

night seeing the sites, and only 

crossed paths with my unintended 

roommate briefly when I returned. 

There are also legal issues that 

the company needs to address. To 

borrow a line from James 

Surowiecki writing in The New 

Yorker, the rentals are “not hotels, 

but they’re not not hotels, either.” A 

New York state law prohibits 

people from renting apartments for 

fewer than 30 days. This only 

pertains to situations in which the 

permanent resident isn’t present, 

but anecdotal evidence suggests 

that covers most of the Airbnb 

rentals in NYC. After all, it’s rare for 

someone in New York to have a 

spare bedroom sitting around 

unused. This situation is unique to the United States’ biggest city, 

but it’s easy to see how the hotel industry at large would be 

against the continued success of Airbnb and its ilk. And that’s fair. 

But there’s room for both. Last year, I travelled to Kiev, 

Ukraine, with a friend for Euro 2012. It was difficult to find a hotel 

that wasn’t taking advantage of the opportunity to charge an 

exorbitant fee (I’m being charitable here. We are talking hikes of 

500 or 600 per cent a night.) And even when we did, how could 

we trust that the pictures of the place on its own website were 

real? We turned to Airbnb and booked a two-bedroom apartment 

for our two-week stay. The owners could have faked the pictures, 

but we had Airbnb’s feedback system to give us some semblance 

of a guide. We trusted the service. If the place had been 

misrepresented, we would have known. It was a leap of faith, and 

more than a little nerve-wracking when we arrived during a 

torrential downpour in Kiev and initially had issues contacting 

the landlord, but our phone call went through on the third 

attempt. We picked up the keys, and found ourselves in a lovely 

place with a kitchen, a living room and our own personal space. It 

looked, more or less, like the pictures. Not too bad for somewhere 

halfway around the world. 

In the end, perhaps the question isn’t why should you use 

Airbnb or services like it, but why shouldn’t you? As a traveller, 

these sites offer you flexibility, affordability and the opportunity 

to stay in a hovel or a castle if you so desire. As a renter or owner, 

you can always say no to inquiries. And if you say yes, you’ll make 

some quick cash and, possibly, a new friend. 

Noah Davis is a writer based in New York 

natural 

selection / 

This treehouse in 

Vermont, USA, is 

just one of many 

unique homes you 

could check into on 

Airbnb 

86 


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The Crash 

The young athlete who has fought his way 

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the 2016 US Olympic team 

(140) 

TV IS DEAD. LONG LIVE TV: Jamal Edwards, the 23-year-old multi-millionaire who doesn’t watch TV 90 

Our WOmAN IN: Artist Fauzia Minallah shares her life in Islamabad 98 

WHY DO WE STILL WOrK?: Paddy Smith asks why we are still slaves to the nine-to-five 114

V is 

ead. 

ong

JAMAL 

EDWARDS 

IS THE 

FOUNDER 

OF 

YOUTUBE 

CHANNEL 

SB.TV. 

GEOFF 

BROKATE 

MET THE 

23-YEAR- 

OLD WHO, 

WITH 200 

MILLION 

VIEWS 

AND EIGHT 

MILLION IN 

live 

THE BANK, 

BELIEVES 

THAT 

TRADITIONAL 

TV IS DYING

Jamal Edwards grew up on a social housing estate in Acton, 

West London. He did not do well in school. He got a kick out of 

vandalism and, by his own admission, would resort to violence 

when pushed. When he was 14, he assaulted one of his peers 

for saying the wrong thing. The boy ended up in hospital, in a 

critical condition, and Jamal ended up in a jail cell for 24 hours. 

“Being locked away for that day was an eye opener, it made me realise that I 

didn’t want that for my life,” he says. “Nowadays, I look back at it and think 

I’d be in a lot more trouble [if I hadn’t changed my attitude to life]. When 

something bad happens to you, sometimes that is a good thing, because it 

helps you grow into whatever character you want to be.” 

Today, Jamal Edwards, now 23 years old, is a multi-millionaire – an 

internet media mogul who rubs shoulders with Richard Branson and Bill 

Clinton, and has toured with Dr Dre. Following our photo shoot, at lunchtime 

on a Saturday afternoon, we retire to a nondescript bar in gentrified 

Fulham in West London – not Jamal’s scene at all. With his trademark 

baseball cap, which casts a shadow over most of his baby face, he couldn’t 

look more out of place. Choosing a 

table by the window, Jamal orders an 

orange juice – he will nurse the soft 

drink throughout the interview, taking 

occasional tiny sips – and takes a seat. 

He seems distracted, as though 

he’s already thinking about where he 

needs to be next. I was supposed to 

meet him at his London home three 

days ago, but on my way there I noticed 

a tweet saying that he was in Bristol 

on his UK book tour. “Sorry about the 

other day,” he apologises. “I have two 

weaknesses: my phone, I can’t live 

without my phone, and organisation. 

I’m doing so many things, and I’m always 

struggling to fit everything in.” 

As if to highlight his point, he 

starts swiping the screen of his iPhone 

– he admits to owning ten or 15 mobile 

phones, and always carries a Samsung, 

as well as his iPhone – and continues 

to speak without looking up. 

BEING 

LOCKED 

AWAY FOR 

THAT DAY 

WAS AN EYE 

OPENER... 

I DIDN’T 

WANT THAT 

FOR MY LIFE 

92 

OPEN SKIES / DECEMBER 2013 

“You just reminded me, I need to 

reply to an email from the Bill Gates 

Foundation. They want to do something 

together,” he says. 

The book that Jamal missed our 

first appointment to promote is Self 

Belief: The Vision. Recently published 

by his friend Richard Branson’s 

Virgin Books, it chronicles 

his path to success and reads like a 

guide for young people on how to 

follow their dreams. 

Jamal wasn’t a naturally gifted 

pupil and struggled to achieve average 

grades. Entrepreneurial skills, he 

believes, should be taught in schools. 

His first taste of entrepreneurship 

was at age nine. He collected football 

cards and traded them at school. He 

used to parade around the grounds, 

seeking out the highest bidder, enjoying 

the thrill of earning money and 

being the person everyone came to 

when they needed a particular card. 

At 15 Jamal received a video camera 

as a Christmas gift and started 

uploading videos to YouTube. 

“I was just doing silly videos,” 

he says. “I was going into my back 

garden and filming foxes, filming my 

mum making macaroni and cheese.” 

The videos may have been silly, 

but Jamal started to feel the buzz of 

waking up to see how many hits his 

videos had received. While he studied 

for a media diploma, he worked 

part-time in a popular UK clothing 

store, a job that earned him enough 

money to follow his real passion – 

filming the rap artists from the emerging 

London Grime scene. 

He established his own YouTube 

channel, SB.TV, in 2006, at the age of 

16, and built it up until, in July 2009, 

after the third time trying, he finally 

became an official YouTube partner. 

YouTube began giving Edwards 

a share of the advertising revenue 

raised by SB.TV, and he received his 

first cheque in the post for £100, setting 

him on the path to success. It was 

only then that his mum allowed him 

to give up his part-time job. “I think 

my passion for filming came first, and 

when I started making money from

I WAS JUST 

DOING SILLY 

VIDEOS. I 

WAS GOING 

INTO MY 

BACK 

GARDEN 

AND FILMING 

FOXES 

it, I was like, ‘I can make money from something I love doing’,” he says. 

Jamal decided that networking was a means to promote SB.TV to an everwider 

audience, which is a strategy he still follows today. He seems to possess 

a quality that allows him to see the potential in every opportunity. While he 

was working in the clothing store he used to take the long way home, because 

it would take him past the BBC’s London studios. He would to walk by in the 

hope that he might meet someone who could help him further his career – a 

celebrity, or even a technician. Eventually it paid off, people started to recognise 

him, and he managed to arrange a work placement in the BBC’s sound 

engineering department in 2009. 

He has continued to be resourceful. In November 2009 he wrote to Daren 

Dixon, CEO of AAB Talent Management, and by January 2010 he had landed 

his first big interview, with US 

singer Kelly Rowland. It was a masterstroke, 

which increased SB.TV’s 

clout overnight. 

He was completely unprepared 

for the interview; he didn’t even have 

a presenter, only managing to find 

one the day before via a request on 

Twitter. He is not afraid to take a risk. 

“I don’t let anything stop me 

from doing what I want to do; I never 

say I can’t do it. If I have any doubts 

I’ll just go and do it anyway,” he says. 

In January 2011 Jamal scored 

an interview with US rapper Nicki 

Minaj. Minaj’s record company had 

told Jamal that he wasn’t allowed 

to go down with her in the elevator 

after the interview. But he was desperate 

to capture footage of her as 

she walked out into a crowd of adoring 

fans. So he jumped into the elevator 

with her and filmed it anyway. 

That night he uploaded the video, 

and the next day he had more than 

100,000 views; the record company 

contacted him to tell him how great 

the video was. 

But none of his early successes 

could prepare him for the furore 

that was to come after Google chose 

him to star in their Chrome advert 

in August 2011. The advert chronicles 

Jamal’s journey into popular 

culture, from the early videos of his 

mother cooking to interviewing big 

names in the music world. It was 

the perfect platform to introduce 

Jamal Edwards the brand. The ad 

concludes with the tagline: “the 

web is what you make of it”. 

“It was the second most popular 

advert on YouTube that year 

[with more than six million views],” 

Jamal says. “It was all over TV, it 

was on during the first ad break of 

[UK TV talent show] X-Factor, so 

everyone saw it. I was sweating, 

and my Mum’s friends were calling. 

My parents didn’t really know what 

I had been doing, because when I’m 

filming these Grime artists, Mum’s 

like, ‘Who are all these people? 

Who’s Skepta? Who’s Chipmunk?,’ 

and when she saw that ad on the 

93 


BECauSE I 

havE a LaRgE 

FoLLowINg 

oF YouNg 

pEopLE I havE 

To ThRow IN 

SomE SoCIaL 

ISSuES, 

SomEThINg 

ThaT wILL 

makE pEopLE 

aCTuaLLY 

ThINk 

TV, she was, ‘Oh wow!’ My parents 

actually recognised what 

I’d been building.” 

Jamal attributes his achievement 

to the fact that SB.TV is 

not a “faceless business”. He 

claims that contemporary society 

wants to know the person 

behind the brand. He refers to 

his mentor, Richard Branson, 

noting how people are drawn to his brands because they relate to Branson’s 

story. Jamal has been open and honest about his life. 

“It’s important to be honest, I had stories in the book that I’d never 

told before, but I waited for a certain time,” he says. “If people had 

asked me when I was younger, ‘Tell me about the time when you got 

arrested, when you were sitting in a cell, when everything was going 

pear shaped,’ people could have looked at me and thought, ‘woah!’ 

But because I’ve done what I’ve done, and I’ve reached a certain stage, 

now when I tell the story people say, ‘Oh, he’s doing what he’s doing 

and that’s in the past.’ So it’s about doing it at the right time.” 

The most powerful tool in Jamal’s promotional arsenal is, of course, social 

media, which he has used to create a buzz around himself, as well as to promote 

SB.TV directly. The best example of this is his Twitter flirtation with 

pop star Rihanna. “Oh yeah, basically I was in Cannes and I found out she 

was in the hotel next to me, and I started tweeting her, and it trended,” he 

says, becoming animated and putting down his iPhone, which he has been 

checking on a regular basis throughout the interview. “People started putting 

pictures of Rihanna and me together. I think that was a bit cheeky. I was a bit 

embarrassed when I actually met her, because I didn’t know if she had seen all 

CELEBRITY FRIENDS / 

(Clockwise) Jamal with UK Labour 

Party leader Ed Miliband, front 

row at London Fashion Week with 

models Alexa Chung and Poppy 

Delevingne, and Jamal’s mentor 

Richard Branson 

the things I’d done. Maybe she would 

think I was a stalker or whatever.” 

When he did meet Rihanna, he just 

said “hi”, he admits with a laugh, 

In March 2012 Q magazine 

named him one of the most influential 

people in music, hailing him as 

the next Simon Cowell. The following 

month SB.TV hit 100 million 

views, and this year the Manchester 

International Festival billed him as 

“the voice of a generation”. 

It might come as a surprise, considering 

his flair for self-promotion, 

but Jamal doesn’t like the label. 

“I don’t talk for all young 

people, ‘cause there are loads of 

different social circles,” he says. 

“You’ll get people talking about a 

certain youth demographic, but 

that doesn’t represent another 

demographic. I can only talk from 

my perspective and experience, and 

then I try to forecast as many young 

peoples’ opinions as possible.” 

Whether he feels like the voice of 

a generation or not, it hasn’t stopped 

governments and charity organisations 

approaching him in the hope 

that working with him will help 

them reach ‘the youth’. 

“It’s overwhelming,” he says. “It’s 

a huge responsibility. I used to only 

do music, but now I feel that because 

I’ve got a large following of young 

people I have to throw in some social 

issues, something that will make 

people actually think.” 

Jamal’s latest hit is a video featuring 

Prince Charles, outlining the 

difficulties young people face while 

living with disabilities such as autism 

and depression. He has also arranged 

entertainment for an event for Bill 

Clinton’s foundation and conducted 

interviews with the UK Prime Minister, 

David Cameron, and the opposition 

leader, Ed Miliband. 

“If I could give something back, 

it would be transforming politics in 

a way that young people can understand,” 

he says. “That’s the bridge 

94 


i don’t 

watch 

anything 

on tv these 

days. what 

is there 

to watch 

on tv? 

coUrting royaLty / 

Sharing a joke with Prince 

Charles, who features in 

Jamal’s latest video 

that’s broken at the moment. There’s 

no connection between young people 

and parliament.” 

At just 23, Jamal is now considered 

one of the early pioneers of 

online broadcasting. The media has 

even coined a new phrase, ‘The Jamal 

Effect’, which refers to the group of 

young directors and producers trying 

to follow Jamal’s model. 

“I was born in a digital space, 

whereas people from print or TV 

are trying to move into it,” he says, 

explaining his success. “SB.TV has 

shown that it’s possible, and I’m 

glad to be recognised as someone 

who has been doing things for a 

little while… There’s no blueprint 

for doing online. Online allows you 

creative freedom, and it allows you 

to do things much quicker at a lower cost. You can try something out first 

to see if it works, and then go to a brand. With TV the costs are much 

higher.” SB.TV will upload a video and promote it on Twitter, allowing 

users instant access to the content, while television viewers need to wait 

days or weeks for the scheduled programming. “Everyone’s on [the] internet, 

they won’t wait around to watch something if they can watch it 

online,” says Jamal. “I think young people are impatient. If you’ve released 

something, they don’t want to wait for it.” 

Major broadcasters’ viewer numbers are in decline. The four big networks 

in the US all announced profit losses for the first quarter of 2013, with 

ABC announcing a 40 per cent drop off from the same period last year. Primetime 

ratings are falling faster than ever, with the most significant drop being 

between the ages of 18 and 49, the demographic most coveted by advertisers. 

Broadcasting networks once controlled the advertising 

market: during its heyday, TV could boast 

50 million viewers watching one programme at 

the same time. Now the numbers are closer to five 

million. It is a growing concern for companies who 

have substantial advertising contracts 

with TV stations. Traditional 

television, an industry estimated to 

be worth US$9 billion in the US, is 

now in a very uncomfortable position 

and, if trends continue, its livelihood 

will be decimated as companies 

take their contracts elsewhere. 

A significant indication that advertisers 

are starting to look for alternative 

avenues is the advent of 

Brand Cast, a new YouTube initiative. 

Jamal’s channel was one of a handful 

chosen to show their content to more 

than 700 companies. Held in a room 

full of CEOs paying for the chance to 

have their brands associated with the 

latest content, the event allows companies 

to reach target online audiences. 

Due to the success of channels 

like SB.TV internet audience 

numbers are increasing, encouraging 

major brands to jump ship and move 

away from television. 

Jamal is unimpressed with what 

traditional TV is currently offering. 

“We will be witnessing the end of 

[traditional] television, if there are no 

new ideas. I don’t watch anything on 

TV these days. What is there to watch 

on TV? I wouldn’t say it’s dead, but if 

it doesn’t fix itself it will die.” Meanwhile, 

as television struggles to adapt 

to the changing environment created 

by social media and digital broadcasting, 

Jamal is sitting pretty. 

In 2012 The Sunday Times included 

him on its young rich list, estimating 

Jamal’s fortune to be £6 million. 

In October 2013 SB.TV secured 

funding from Marc Boyan, founder 

and CEO of Pinterest backer Miroma 

Ventures, in a deal that estimates that 

SB.TV is worth £8 million. 

So where could Jamal possibly 

go from here? He finally puts his 

phone away, before enthusiastically 

reeling off a well-rehearsed list. 

“I wanna branch out from music 

and do fashion, comedy, sports, gaming, 

gadgets and culture, SB.TV USA, 

get involved in films, live merchandising, 

e-commerce. I wanna build it 

into a 360˚ global youth media platform.” 

He takes a breath. “I’m on it!” 

image: geoff Brokate, getty imaheS 

96 


drink responsibly WWW.drinkiQ.CoM 

©2013 r & A bAiley & Co. The bAileys Word 

And AssoCiATed logos Are TrAde MArks.

FAUZIA MINALLAH 

Artist, 50 

OUR WOMAN IN… 

Islamabad 

Pakistan’s cosmopolitan capital city is a 

constant inspiration to the artist and founder 

of the Funkor Childart Centre Islamabad 

I 

was blessed with very progressive parents, who 

encouraged me not only to achieve academically 

but also instilled in me a respect for the artistic 

talent I was born with. They encouraged me to 

improve my skills, and at 11 years old I was a student 

of one of the most respected painters in Peshawar. 

My father was so proud of my artistic talent that 

I was barely 17 years old when I had a solo exhibition 

in Peshawar. As an artist, I have concentrated more on 

exploring different mediums and uses of my artistic 

talent. It’s more about the enjoyment of art rather 

than achieving great heights. 

I don’t have any philosophy as such; my art is 

closely related to my feelings. It is a medium of selfexpression. 

For example, when [Pakistani schoolgirl 

activist] Malala Yousafzai was shot I cried for days, 

and it was at that time that I made an animation about 

her. When the centuries old Jehanabad Buddha in 

Swat was destroyed in 2007, I picked up a hammer 

and chisel to carve images of the Buddha in stone. 

When trees were cut down in Islamabad during the 

so-called ‘development’ process, I painted canvases 

with images of trees. 

My work was part of an exhibition at the Tokyo 

Metropolitan Art Museum, and I have been honoured 

to have a retrospective of my work exhibited at the 

National Gallery in Islamabad. I have exhibited work 

from projects with children in Hiroshima, Munich 

and Tokyo. 

As a mother and a painter, I felt the need to work 

with children through art and picture books. In 2001, I 

developed Amai, the bird of light, a cartoon character 

for children. It is a magical bird made of light and 

millions of tiny stars. Amai can turn into a shooting 

star and take children on exciting adventures around 

the world. Since 2002, Amai, the bird of light, has 

been used in picture books, which are distributed free 

of charge among children who can’t afford them. 

Amai is the vehicle I use to promote values to 

children that will enable them to be responsible 

citizens of not only their own country, but also of the 

world. This is also the spirit behind Funkor Child Art 

Centre’s work with children. It is not a big organisation; 

I started it in my studio. We bring hope, through art, 

to the lives of children who really need it the most. 

Through Funkor I help children in refugee camps and 

shantytowns with their ‘healing’ process. 

Interfaith harmony is what we need the most in 

Pakistan. It heartens me that if you Google the words 

‘multicultural harmony’ the first image that pops up, 

98 


OLD inspiratiOn / 

When the Jehanabad Buddha in 

Swat (top left) was destroyed 

in 2007, Minallah started work 

on her own Buddha Still Lives In 

Pakistan 

fan cLub / 

Minallah signs one of her books 

for an admirer at the National 

Gallery in Islamabad 

buDDha’s rebirth / 

For her work Buddha Still Lives 

In Pakistan (top right), Minallah 

carved images of Buddha and 

dancing figures into 

slate, inspired by 

chitarkari, a folk art from her 

hometown in Hazara 

whether you are in England or Pakistan, is the image of a mural painted by 

Pakistani children under my guidance. This image has been used in a number 

of publications and websites around the world. Working together with friends 

it has been possible to help internally displaced Christian, Hindu and Sikh 

refugees. I am happy that I was able to help some of the most marginalised 

minority communities. The whole world needs interfaith harmony, not just 

Pakistan, and I am glad that in a small way I am a part of it. 

I don’t know of anyone for whom being successful is not important, 

and, of course, it is important for me, too. Although I cannot claim to be 

successful, I do find happiness and solace in my art. I feel successful when 

children discover the joy of painting in a refugee camp or a blind child reads 

what I wrote for them in Braille books. 

I grew up in Islamabad, where I was always surrounded by nature 

(Margallah Hills National Park). Growing up in Islamabad meant experiencing 

the glorious environment of abundant trees and natural profusion. 

Islamabad is essentially a new city. It was built after uprooting and 

relocating the inhabitants of the small villages that lived on the land that 

was to become the capital. To the founders of the new capital, the history 

and culture of the indigenous inhabitants seemed unimportant. Newcomers 

to Islamabad from all over Pakistan treated it more or less as a way station 

en route to the next posting; no one owned it as home. 

100 


get stunning views of 

Islamabad. If you visit 

during the day, a hike 

in the Margallah Hills 

can be nice, followed by 

lunch at one of the small 

restaurants run by the 

villagers. At night there is a lively festival atmosphere with food stalls and fairground 

rides around the main lookout point. 

We have a happening art scene in Islamabad. Besides the National Art Gallery, 

there are a number of galleries where you can find good art, such as Gallery 6, Tanzara, 

Saatrang, Kuch Khaas, Aqs and Nomad. 

Like most Pakistanis, family is very important to me. I like having people around 

me, and love to get together with my siblings, nieces and nephews. My teenage sons 

make fun of me when, like a stereotypical South Asian mother, I tell them I will look 

for wives for them. I have lived a beautiful life in Pakistan. I love the rich heritage 

and spectacular mountains here. Pakistan is my home, my identity and inspiration. 

fauziaminallah.com 

Tourists who come here think of Islamabad as 

a new city, built in 1960 – a city devoid of history 

and heritage. I discovered the historical side of the 

capital through eminent scholar and archaeologist 

Dr Ahmed Hassan Dani’s work. Dr Dani’s insights 

into the area’s history inspired me to photograph 

all the heritage sites he had mentioned. The result 

was my pictorial account of the city, Glimpses Into 

Islamabad’s Soul. 

In Islamabad I convinced the local government 

to save its ancient trees. I felt sad when a centuries 

old banyan ‘buddha tree’ was burnt down by 

extremists. I love the stately banyan and peepal trees 

– they are such wonderful examples of nature’s art. 

I cannot imagine living in a bigger city with 

tall concrete buildings. Compared to Karachi and 

Lahore, Islamabad is smaller, greener and the 

traffic is much better. It is much calmer and better 

organised than other cities in Pakistan, so lots of 

people move here. 

Islamabad is the most cosmopolitan city in 

Pakistan. Most of the big politicians are based here. 

We have a lot of diplomats and NGO workers living 

here so we have a lot of high end, fashionable places 

to eat out. The best places to visit in Islamabad are 

Pappasalis, Usmania and Zeno’s restaurants for 

Pakistani cuisine. We inherited a culture of high tea 

from the British Empire, and it’s delightful to spend 

Sundays at Pappasalis’ with my family enjoying 

their high tea buffet. 

Islamabad is surrounded by hills and is a short 

drive to the Margallah Hills National Park. There 

are some wonderful restaurants 

there, and you 

HOME TOWN / 

Minallah says that 

Islamabad is the most 

cosmopolitan city in 

Pakistan 

DINNER TIME/ 

Pappasalis restaurant 

is one of Minallah’s 

favourite places to 

enjoy traditional 

Pakistani cuisine 

gREEN cITy / 

Islamabad is greener 

than other cities in 

Pakistan, says Minallah. 

She advises a hike in 

the Margallah Hills 

before lunch 

102 


Christopher 

Beanland finds out 

why seven concrete 

buildings in the UK, 

once regarded as 

ugly, are now loved 

by the public and 

the architecture 

fraternity alike 

Never in human history has an architectural 

style been so poisoned by its moniker. Brutalism 

is not the ideology of brutality at all; 

the word actually evolved from breton brut, 

French for ‘raw concrete’. But here was 

the other problem: people hate concrete, or at least they 

thought they did. Because now we’re turning a corner. 

“We’re on the cusp of people accepting Brutalist buildings,” 

says Catherine Croft, director of the 20th Century 

Society, a London-based organisation that aims to preserve 

the best of Britain’s modern architecture. 

As recently as a couple of years ago, Croft and her colleagues 

often found themselves fiddling as Rome burned: 

during the 1990s, and continuing well into the new millennium, 

Britain became obsessed with ridding itself of 

what it collectively perceived as “ugly” and “failed” buildings. 

Now there’s a feeling that these buildings – mostly 

from the 1960s and 1970s – have architectural merit. This 

change was confirmed when the British government 

chose to list Preston Bus Station in September, protecting 

it from the bulldozers. 

Three days later, at the Wellington Arch in Hyde 

Park, central London, architects and journalists 

gathered for the opening of a new exhibition. It was 

called Brutal & Beautiful, and it showcased many 

of Britain’s best post-war buildings. At that launch, 

Richard Rogers – the designer of Heathrow Airport’s 

Terminal 5 – spoke about why he loved Brutalism, too. 

Suddenly it feels like concrete’s time might be here 

once more: Park Hill flats in Sheffield has been renovated 

and has received awards, and the Barbican in 

London is more popular than ever, with apartments 

fetching a fortune. 

The architectural writer Jonathan Meades believes 

that Brutalim’s roots can be traced to the Atlantic defences 

that Germany built in France and the Channel 

Islands during the Second World War. But Brutalism’s 

spell was really cast in the white heat of the 1960s. It 

was inspired by the Swiss architect Le Corbusier, who 

saw that concrete could be a cheap and beautiful way 

to create sculptural buildings. The biggest Brutalist 

project was London’s Barbican. From Birmingham to 

Glasgow, British cities embraced the style. Many Brutalist 

buildings have already been knocked down – like 

the Trident Centre in Gateshead, where the Michael 

Caine film Get Carter was shot. 

Many of them are still threatened. “I’m looking 

at libraries and civic centres that are facing closure 

and demolition,” says Elain Harwood, who curated 

the Brutal & Beautiful exhibition at London’s Quadriga 

Gallery. “It’s such a waste, and their beauty 

doesn’t seem to be recognised, let alone the fact 

they’re also useful.” 

But things are changing. We’re starting to see 

that something that is rough around the edges can 

be starkly attractive, too. We’re also appreciating the 

sheer optimism in the future that these buildings so 

swaggeringly expressed: they were always for the 

people, and for the future. 

106 


IMAGE: ConCrEtopIA by John GrIndrod 

Cumbernauld 

Town CenTre 

Cumbernauld, SCotland 

1967 

“Cumbernauld Town Centre was 

intended to provide, within a continuous 

‘citadel-like’ structure atop 

an exposed moorland ridge, the 

majority of civic, commercial, cultural 

and recreational facilities for 

the New Town,” says Ross Brown, 

an architecture master’s student in 

nearby Glasgow who blogs about 

Scotland’s Brutalist buildings at 

scotbrut.co.uk. 

“Envisaged by its architect, Geoffrey 

Copcutt, as a ‘gigantic drive-in 

vending machine’, the centre bridges 

a dual-carriageway A-road – elegantly 

expressing the post-war principle 

of pedestrian and vehicle segregation, 

upon which Cumbernauld 

was conceived,” says Brown. 

For Brown, Cumbernauld Town 

Centre’s “multi-level, multi-function 

‘mega structure’ efficiently integrates 

structure, services and circulation, 

and influenced later developments, 

including those in the new towns, 

Runcorn, in Cheshire, and Irvine, in 

Scotland.” 

This strange spaceship structure 

has had its detractors – including the 

2005 UK Channel 4 TV show Demolition, 

in which various pundits 

crowded around, each taking their 

chance to kick it while it was down. 

“Ultimately, less than a quarter 

of the original proposal was built, 

and much has subsequently been 

demolished or disfigured,” says 

Brown. “Nevertheless, enough concrete, 

brick and tile remain to impress 

the ingenuity and quality of 

planning and design that brought 

the centre international acclaim – a 

town for tomorrow built yesterday.” 

107 


Preston 

Bus 

station 

Preston, england 

1969 

“Recently granted heritage protection 

after a brilliant campaign by 

the 20th Century Society, led by 

Christina Malathouni, Preston’s bus 

station is one of Britain’s most immediately 

likeable Brutalist buildings,” 

says architectural historian Dr Barnabas 

Calder of the concrete monolith 

in the northwest of England. 

Calder, a lecturer in architecture 

at nearby Liverpool University, 

adds, “The uninterrupted 

length of the building is heroic in 

its scale and bold simplicity, but 

the slender ribs supporting the 

curving parapets along each deck 

of parking makes the effect elegant 

rather than lumpen.” 

The bus station’s distinctive feature 

is those curved edges, which 

soften the look of the whole thing, 

making it immediately easy on the 

eye as it stretches into the distance. 

“Much of the original, simple, 

tough, spare interior survives, and 

the slow dance of the buses on the 

forecourt, and the cars swirling up 

the ramp to the parking form a hypnotic 

spectacle,” says Calder. 

The bus station has won many 

admirers, despite the local council 

trying to bulldoze it. It changed its 

mind after the building was saved at 

the eleventh hour. The people of Preston 

will now have their Brutalist bus 

station for some years to come. 

IMAGEs: JAMEs DAvIEs 

108 


Balfron 

Tower 

London, EngLand 

1967 

“Though Balfron Tower is less wellknown 

than its later sibling, Trellick 

Tower in Kensington, Balfron is in 

better condition, complete with its original 

concrete playground,” says Elain 

Harwood of English Heritage. “Just 

stay off the concrete slide if you value 

your trousers!” 

The building’s designer, Erno 

Goldfinger, was one of the 1960s’ most 

enigmatic architects. Ian Fleming borrowed 

his name for a James Bond villain, 

and Goldfinger and his wife spent 

a month living in a flat at the top of the 

tower when it opened, having residents 

over for gin slings and vol-au-vents. 

“The surrounding buildings of the estate 

add to the impressive sense of a big, 

monumental architectural statement. The 

spectacular size and sculptural handling of 

the building is offset by a quiet attention to 

detail,” says Harwood. 

“This is lavished particularly on the 

perfectionist construction techniques 

learned from Goldfinger’s time in the 

1930s studying with France’s most meticulous 

concrete architect, Auguste Perret,” 

he adds. “Balfron’s concrete is of the 

highest quality, with its neat corners particularly 

impressive since the texture is 

produced by hammering the surface cement 

off to expose the pebbles within.” 

Balfron is being upgraded and will soon 

become a desirable address once more. 

IMAGEs: JAMEs Burns 

109 


Park Hill 

Sheffield, england 

1961 

The largest listed building in Europe was a 

byword for the progressiveness of Sheffield’s 

council house policy in the 1960s – then it became 

a watchword for urban decay. 

“For its early residents, Park Hill worked,” 

says blogger Municipal Dreams, who writes 

about social housing at municipaldreams. 

wordpress.com. “‘You think I live in council 

housing? I’ve got a penthouse,’ they’d say. That 

remark might sound apocryphal, but the sense 

of community the flats created, and the quality 

of accommodation they offered, were real. 

People loved these ‘streets in the sky’ and Brutalism 

was just an architectural label.” 

“What went wrong? Well, there was neglect 

– they needed money spent on upkeep, and 

local authority budgets were tight,” Municipal 

Dreams continues. “But the real problems came 

from outside – Sheffield’s economic decline in 

the 1980s and the change in council housing, 

built for a ‘respectable’ working class, was now 

used as housing of last resort for the poor.” 

Park Hill was nominated for the 2013 

Stirling Prize – Britain’s highest architectural 

honour – for its bold refurbishment by Urban 

Splash architects. But that has come at a price. 

“Private money is making Park Hill a ‘des 

res’ [desirable residence] once more. The 

tragedy is that the working people the flats 

were built for will be largely excluded,” says 

Municipal Dreams. 

IMAGES: JAMES BurnS 

110 


Robin Hood GaRdens 


1972 


Robin Hood Gardens is one of the 

few highbrow projects that the legendary 

husband and wife duo Alison 

and Peter Smithson got around 

to building. The Smithsons’ friend 

was the critic and TV presenter 

Reyner Banham, who popularised 

the word “brutalism” in the 1960s. 

It seemed like an apt way to describe 

these flats, whose ‘streets in 

the sky’ were eventually affected by 

the problems of crime, poverty and 

social neglect, which tarnished this 

type of living in the 1980s bust. 

Nevertheless Robin Hood Gardens 

is an ethereal kind of place, set 

between Canary Wharf’s millionaires 

and the scruffy entrance to the 

Blackwall Tunnel under the Thames. 

Residents don’t want to move out 

for the council to bulldoze it, and it 

has famous fans, including Richard 

Rogers, one of Britain’s most respected 

architects. 

“It is important to keep the best 

of the past and re-use it, rather than 

damaging the quality of our cities,” 

argues Rogers. 

“This waste of the best continues 

today with the ongoing destruction 

of Robin Hood Gardens, 

one of the greatest buildings by 

the architects Peter and Alison 

Smithson,” he adds. 

For Rogers it is “a decision that 

future generations will regret”. 

111 


The BarBican 


1973 to 1981 

“Out of the impoverished, austere 

ruins of the Second World War, 

rebuilding took Britain many decades,” 

says John Grindrod, author 

of Concretopia – A Journey Around 

The Rebuilding of Post-War Britain. 

“The Barbican, built in the hole in 

the City created by the blitz, was 

not completely finished until 1981.” 

“So many of these schemes represent 

Britain’s hopes for a better 

future, every bit as powerfully as all 

that great art by Henry Moore, Graham 

Sutherland and the like,” he 

adds. “They are, and will increasingly 

be seen as, a hugely significant 

part of our island history. Sure, 

there were bad things cheaply and 

cynically built, but masterpieces 

like the cathedrals in Coventry or 

Liverpool, Trellick Tower and The 

Barbican shouldn’t be confused 

with the opportunistic trash. They 

are optimism in solid form.” 

Grindrod sees the Barbican, with 

its mix of private and rented flats, 

schools, YMCA, gym, shops and arts 

centre, all in the middle of the City of 

London, as a utopian idyll. 

“We have so little of that Welfare 

State sensibility left. Buildings like 

The Barbican remind us of harder, 

more generous times,” he says. 


112 


Birmingham 

Central liBrary 

Birmingham, England 

1974 

IMAGES: JAMES DAvIES 

If you want to know what the folk of 

the 1960s thought the future would 

look like – take a look at Birmingham 

Central Library. It is exciting, 

confusing and brooding. Just like 

the city it sits in. Its upturned ziggurat 

shape evokes Aztec pyramids 

and Japanese temples. 

The fly in the ointment is that 

Birmingham has just opened a new 

library, and this one lies empty. The 

council wants to knock it down, 

but the city’s residents are rallying 

around the campaign to save it and 

turn it into something else. 

“I am picking up a growing sense 

of loss for its life as a library and increasing 

support for the building’s 

retention,” says campaigner Alan 

Clawley, who has also written a book 

about the buildings architect, John 

Madin – a local who created many 

Midlands landmarks. “If nothing 

else, the Council could hire it out on 

a short-term basis between now and 

the end of 2015, when they plan to 

start knocking it down.” 

Birmingham was obsessed with 

knocking things down in the 20th 

Century, and the decision to demolish 

the library was taken back in 

1999. Attitudes have changed since 

then, though, and Clawley and his 

campaign group now argue that 

the building could be turned into 

“a hotel, art gallery, climbing wall, 

museum of music or incubator for 

small companies”. 

113 


WHY DO WE STILL WORK?

Why DO WE StiLL WORK? 

WORDS by PaDDy Smith 

iLLUStRatiONS by hayLEy WaRNham

Expert predictions, numerous selfhelp 

books, a 1960s cartoon 

and even empirical evidence suggest 

that we should ditch the 40-hour 

workweek, but still we toil. Why? 

The last time we had any 

sort of quantum shift in 

the pattern of our working 

lives was more than 

a hundred years ago. It’s 

hard to pinpoint exactly when the 

industrialised world decided twoday 

weekends were a good idea, but 

that was the last ‘big thing’ to rock 

the average workplace. 

A good portion of the credit for 

the existing arrangement is usually 

given to Henry Ford, who jumped 

the gun on working week legislation 

(and, incidentally, the minimum 

wage) in the early 1900s. His idea 

to split the week 

into five eighthour 

workdays is 

the pattern most of 

us still follow. The 

myth, which still 

pervades business 

today, is that more 

hours equate to greater productivity. 

Ford recognised that this was not 

the case. But he wasn’t – as some like 

to claim – singularly responsible for 

‘inventing’ the weekend. As good 

a story as it makes (and Ford knew 

a thing or two about PR), two-day 

weekends have their roots in the 

Industrial Revolution, along with 

almost everything else we recognise 

from our present-day working lives. 

Thankfully, things are a bit more 

civilised now. It might be reasonably 

common to see the office technophobe 

having a heated conversation 

with the printer, but when the spinning 

jenny was invented to automate 

cotton spinning in the mid-18th century, 

embittered former employees 

who had been displaced by the new 

technology set fire to the machinery. 

Slavery and child labour were common. 

Pay was dismal, especially if 

you were a child. Worse if you were 

a slave (obviously). 

Unless you have views that differ 

pretty wildly from the norm, you’ll 

agree that work for most people is 

considerably better than it used to 

be. You’d think we’d be happy about 

living and working in an industrialised 

world governed by fair conditions, 

fair hours and 

fair pay. But we’re 

not. The problem 

is not that we’re 

spoiled (although 

try telling that to 

a nine-year-old labourer 

in an 18th 

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century cotton mill) but that things 

were supposed to be so much better 

by now. The trappings of the Industrial 

Revolution – globalisation, 

automation, opportunity, mobility, 

economic migration, outsourced 

labour – were meant to buy us the 

biggest house on Easy Street, where 

we could put our feet up. Far from 

being grateful for our lot, the feeling 

that weekends are simply not 

long enough is starting to set in. 

Working a four-day week is 

not a new idea. In 1971, management 

consultant Riva Poor penned 

4 Days, 40 Hours, a book advocating 

a three-day weekend in lieu of 

working 10-hour days. Poor’s analysis 

was that companies could not 

only save money by closing their 

offices for an extra day a week, 

but that productivity could be increased 

as a result. But where was 

the evidence? 

A few years after she penned 

that thesis, in 1974, Britain was reduced 

to a three-day working week 

for two months, when dwindling 

coal supplies caused by striking 

miners forced the government to 

ration electricity supplies to most 

industries. Despite working hours 

also being controlled, the fall in 

productivity was not as stark as 

most had expected. 

For a better example, fast forward 

to Utah. It’s 2008. The recession 

has hit and the state coffers are 

looking thin. The governor, Republican 

Jon Huntsman, puts nearly 

three-quarters of public employees 

on a four-day week. They have just 

one month’s notice. Pretty much anyone 

with a fair knowledge of public 

services or political 

knee-jerk decisions 

sits back 

to watch the fireworks. 

Boy, are 

they in for a disappointment. 

Far 

from being a disaster, 

the scheme 

worked. Hundreds 

of thousands of 

dollars were saved by shutting public 

buildings and garaging vehicles for 

an extra day. Eighty per cent of workers 

favoured the new arrangement, 

and most felt they were more productive. 

Businesses and people were 

often in favour of being able to access 

public services outside conventional 

Far From being grateFul 

For our lot, the Feeling 

that weekends are 

simply not long enough 

is starting to set in 

118 

Open skies / December 2013 

working hours. And there were 

many fringe benefits, too: faster offpeak 

commutes for public workers 

were a boon, but also had the effect 

of reducing congestion and emissions. 

Soon the rest of the US had 

switched to a four-day week… oh, 

wait. No, it didn’t. 

Instead, Utah’s four-day week 

ended in 2011 under a new governor. 

But it wasn’t without a legacy. 

Two large cities in the state, 

Provo and West Valley City, continue 

to operate on a four-day 

week, and the idea has also been 

adopted in pockets elsewhere (Virginia 

and Georgia have both run department 

trials; Oregon and Texas 

talked about it, but decided against 

it). Gambia (yes, the entire country) 

announced it was switching to 

a four-day week earlier this year. 

As for the rest of us, we are left 

with small conciliations. Flexible 

working hours, job shares and the 

option to work from home are widely 

offered. ‘Hot-desking’ has become an 

entry in the Oxford English Dictionary. 

Duvet days, an allowance of a 

couple of days a year when employees 

can call the office to say they’re 

not coming in because they can’t be 

bothered, are an actual thing. These 

things are hardly transformative. Are 

we expecting too much? 

Apparently not. In 1930, superstar 

economist John Maynard 

Keynes reckoned we’d all be working 

a 15-hour week by 2030. Well, 

that’s not quite what he said, but 

he thought it would be attainable 

to work for 15 hours a week to 

cover our basic needs. And he was 

by no means alone. His contemporary, 

the English 

philosopher 

Bertrand Russell, 

wrote an essay in 

1932 entitled In 

Praise Of Idleness 

in which he proposed 

a four-hour 

day made possible 

by advances in 

technology.

Even as late as 1964, sci-fi author 

Isaac Asimov (a man who had a 

much better grasp of where technology 

was going than most) foresaw a 

future 2014 populated by press-button 

operatives. “The lucky few who 

can be involved in creative work of 

any sort will be the true elite of mankind,” 

he said, “for they alone will do 

more than serve a machine.” Not only 

did Asimov think we wouldn’t be doing 

much grafting, he speculated that 

in its absence we’d miss it. 

He was far from alone in this. 

Even in 1891, Oscar Wilde declared, 

“Just as trees grow while the country 

gentleman is asleep, so while 

Humanity will be amusing itself… 

machinery will be doing all the necessary 

and unpleasant work.” 

But technology, far from making 

our working lives easier, has 

connected us at every waking hour. 

Many of us are available even as we 

sleep – with every office around the 

world capable of dialling into the 

globalised corporate nightmare on 

the nightstand. Or whatever you 

call your smartphone. 

It’s an idea picked up by Timothy 

Ferriss, American author of The 

4-Hour Workweek, a book that describes 

reaching working nirvana 

by outsourcing basic duties and operating 

in short bursts of hyper effectiveness. 

One of his clarion calls 

is for “selective ignorance” – turning 

our backs on the emails, instant 

messages and social feeds that clutter 

our working days and distract us 

from our primary objectives. Ferriss 

advocates dipping into these diversions 

sparingly. For himself, he went 

further, outsourcing their management 

to personal assistants in the 

Philippines and India. Technology 

has made communication 

vastly easier, yet it hasn’t 

changed the world of work 

as drastically as you might 

imagine. On a macro level, it 

has transformed industries, 

but at Joe Worker’s desk it 

has simply made number 

crunching and duplication 

Technology, 

far from 

making our 

working 

lives 

easier, has 

connecTed 

us aT every 

waking hour 

easier. There is a broad assumption 

that using a computer to do something 

must take less time, but it is often 

a fallacy. It may be convenient to 

look up a company’s phone number 

on their website, but it saves no time 

on looking up the number in a book 

and is likely to take longer than calling 

a directory service on the phone. 

An email thread comprising several 

back-and-forth messages is much 

less efficient than a phone call. Ever 

run a video call? Chances are it took 

longer to set up than the conversation 

needed to be. 

Quite apart from technology, 

society has changed. When William 

Hanna and Joseph Barbera created 

futuristic cartoon The Jetsons 

in 1962, they were able to imagine 

George Jetson working a two-hour 

week 100 years in the future, yet 

hadn’t envisaged that Jane Jetson 

might also have a job. Instead, she 

was a space-age housewife. 

It might be flippant to cite a 

children’s TV show for its lack of 

social foresight, but it’s a serious 

issue. Fewer women are content 

to work in the hidden economies 

of unpaid housework and childcare 

when they can go out and earn 

money to pay others for the grunt 

work. If all of them decide to work, 

there are twice as many people 

in the workforce and not enough 

work to go around. Theoretically 

at least, the forecast tells us to expect 

prime conditions for a reduced 

working week: more people doing 

more jobs for fewer hours. 

But let’s back up, because despite 

fanciful notions of working 20 (Russell), 

15 (Keynes) or four (Ferriss) 

hours per week, the chances are you 

are working 40 hours or more. The 

biggest shake-up you can realistically 

hope for right now is a four-day 

week (still working 40 hours). And 

yet that seems too much to ask. Why 

are we so slow to adopt new working 

patterns when they are all but proven 

to have benefits for all or most of the 

parties involved? 

Because it’s work. It’s what we 

spend most of our waking lives 

doing. It’s the single most popular 

talking point on Earth. Our specialisms 

run so deep there is a good 

chance part of your name refers 

to an ancestor’s profession. Work 

defines us. Its cultural importance 

is unsurpassed. And widespread 

change does not happen overnight. 

That’s not to say it won’t happen. 

A third of Dutch men work either 

part-time or a full-time four-day 

week. Many of the more progressive 

businesses in the Western world 

offer flexible working hours for 

employees. But there are too many 

obstacles for most businesses of any 

size to commit to a standard four-day 

week. Unless you have a business that 

can shut down for three days every 

week with no adverse results, you 

will eventually have to process 

more personnel, a cost 

which is likely to outweigh 

your projected savings. 

Technology will also 

play its part in the glacial 

transformation of working 

life. It already allows 

us to work effectively 

120 


from home, even if for most workers 

that is more an occasional 

glitch in their office-based lives 

than a regular occurrence. 

More than that, the internet 

has lowered the barrier for 

working alone or in small groups, 

particularly in the knowledge industries 

(remember Asimov’s creative 

elite?). Anyone with a bit of 

nous and a smartphone can set 

up a broadcasting operation from 

the living room (YouTube), an 

online shop from the spare bedroom 

(eBay) or a record company 

from the attic (SoundCloud). No 

premises, no fixed hours, no rules. 

You might not make much 

money with any of the 

above examples, but who 

needs money? 

Mark ‘Moneyless Man’ 

Boyle does not have a job because 

he lives, as the name 

suggests, without money. He 

uses the internet to find free 

stuff (such as the campervan 

he lives in), grows and forages 

for food, and makes his 

own soap and toothpaste. He 

cooks on a homemade outdoor 

stove, burns wood for 

heat and has acquired a solar panel 

for his laptop, on which he pens 

books, blogs and manifestos – about 

living without money. 

It’s an extreme approach to 

getting a longer weekend, but 

Boyle isn’t the first person to quit 

the rat race and try living without 

a job. Other adherents of a truly 

cashless society are Daniel Suelo, 

who stopped using money in 2000, 

Heidemarie Schwermer (1996) and 

Tomi Astikainen (2009). And he 

won’t be the last; from Silicon Valley 

to the Great Barrier Reef a trend 

is gathering pace. People are slowly 

relinquishing their possessions. In 

a quiet way, and possibly without 

realising it, you’re one of them. 

Calm down. No one has drained 

your bank account. Your suitcase 

will probably be on the carousel at 

your destination, full of the same 

things you stuffed into it before 

heading to the airport. And, yes, 

sadly you still have to go to work. 

But, while those moneyless 

men are a small and unusual group 

of people, they are also a useful barometric 

indicator of the pendulum 

beginning to swing away from corporations 

and back towards individuals. 

Successful businesspeople 

are beginning to turn their backs on 

the diminishing material returns to 

be had from climbing coporate ladders 

and beginning to reach instead 

for goals of fulfilment and happiness. 

As we outsource production 

and turn our minds to knowledge 

Money isn’t going 

to disappear, 

but the idea of 

possession is 

already starting 

to wane 

industries, so our love affair with 

ownership begins to fade. 

Money isn’t going to disappear, 

but the idea of possession is already 

starting to wane. The decline of 

physical media for storing music 

and films is well documented. CDs, 

tapes and records have all but been 

usurped by computer files. And 

rather than own those files, people 

have started to rent access to them 

via a monthly subscription to a 

streaming service. The best known 

is Spotify. The same is happening 

to video as services such as iTunes 

and Netflix allow members to rent 

films and TV shows as temporary 

downloads. 

None of this is new, or surprising. 

But look further and you will 

see other signs that we are becoming 

happier with frugality. Home swap 

holidays are a good example. Freeconomy 

– the idea of giving away 

things you don’t want (like that 

campervan in the back yard) is gaining 

traction. And the next step could 

well be the direct (and untaxable) 

exchange of services and products. 

Before the universal exchange of 

money, the blacksmith would shoe 

the baker’s horse for a few loaves of 

bread and a bag of flour. Who says 

that can’t happen again? 

Not Matt Monohan, a Silicon 

Valley start-up CEO who has renounced 

most of his possessions 

and started evangelising a lifestyle 

of reciprocal benefit. He sold his flat 

and car, preferring to find ad hoc 

solutions to his needs. He 

has happily traded spending 

his money on possessions 

for a life of free-spirited 

travel, opportunity and 

experience. He isn’t living 

without money, but the drift 

away from ownership is significant 

because it represents 

a much more realistic 

vision of how life and work 

– and the oft-cited balance 

between the two – might 

look in the future. 

For now, we are still 

working too hard. We increasingly 

work in knowledge industries where 

the tasks have a more elastic nature 

than, say, manufacturing. We are 

still addicted to an ultimately unfulfilling 

über-boom in consumerism. 

But we are seeking help – never 

have Workaholics Anonymous 

meetings been more popular. If the 

first step towards helping ourselves 

work less is admitting we have a 

problem, we can seek solace in that. 

We are relinquishing our possessions, 

slowly but definitely. The pendulum 

seems to hang at the top of its 

arc, but if we can get over our fear 

of abandoning a model that has been 

in place since the Industrial Revolution 

and embrace a new one based 

on flexible hours, multiple roles and 

the return of the meritocracy, it’ll 

swing into its inevitable glide towards 

a happier future. 

122 


TAke a 

Words by Marina Chetner 

Los Angeles is synonymous illustrations by Paul sterry 

with the glitz and glamour of 

Hollywood, and is so often 

associated with the words 

hike 

‘urban sprawl’ that the richness 

of its wild natural beauty tends 

to be overlooked. Within the 

borders of LA County – the 

most populous county in the 

nation, it spans more than 4,000 

square miles and 272 diverse 

neighbourhoods – a multitude 

of hiking trails traverse 

designated parklands. 

From the famous Santa Monica 

in 

Mountains to the westward 

wilderness of Topanga State 

Park, navigating a trail through 

rugged terrain adds an atypical 

dimension to the LA experience. 

While out-of-towners exhaust 

themselves at crowded sites 

such as the Hollywood Walk of 

Fame, or opt to sightsee from 

a double-decker bus stuck in 

traffic, the secret to escaping 

LA 

the street-level pandemonium 

is by stepping off the beaten 

footpath and on to a dirt trail.

126 


The Hollywood Sign 

Griffith Park 

The Hollywood sign 

is a world-renowned 

icon, symbolic of LA 

and its film industry. 

Erected as HOLLY- 

WOODLAND to temporarily 

promote a real estate development 

in the 1920s, it stuck 

around to become one of the 

city’s most beloved landmarks. 

After many repairs and a resurrection 

(it lost LAND along the 

way), the sign is permanently at 

home on Mount Lee, safe under 

the guardianship of the Hollywood 

Sign Trust. 

It’s a pleasant 3.5-mile hike 

to see the letters up close. Start 

at the Hollyridge trailhead, located 

at the top of Beachwood 

Drive behind the Sunset Ranch 

sign. After half a mile, make 

a sharp left at the fork to join 

Mulholland Trail. At the second 

fork, go right – the paved Mount 

Lee Drive gradually inclines 

to showcase a sprawling view 

of the valley before it turns to 

reveal the backs of the 45-feethigh 

letters, obstructed only by 

a chain-link fence. 

To see the sign from above, 

a short dirt path leads to the 

mountain’s peak, which also 

offers panoramic views of San 

Fernando Valley, Forest Lawn 

Memorial Park, Lake Hollywood 

Reservoir and the distant 

Pacific Ocean from a 1,680ft 

elevation. Parking is available 

by the trailhead. Note: the fire 

road accommodates horses 

from the nearby stables, so 

watch your step. 

GPS: 3400 N. Beachwood Drive, 

Hollywood 

127 


Culver City Steps 

Baldwin Hills Scenic Overlook 

Located in burgeoning Culver City, this California 

State Park has attracted joggers, hikers 

and workout fiends since 2009; not so much 

for the switchback trails as for the 282-step 

recycled concrete staircase, which cuts a 

jagged line down the hill’s grassy face. The steps run a 

half-mile, with each uneven slab ranging from two to 

20 inches in height. 

The well-marked trailhead begins at the intersection 

of Jefferson Blvd and Hetzler Road; after a 

couple of turns, it meets the stairwell’s base. Here, the 

choice is to either tackle a Stairmaster-like workout, 

or to continue zigzagging the trail for a mile. Either 

way, both roads lead to the 511ft-high viewing platform, 

where the unique north-facing perspective is 

akin to looking at a foldout map of LA. 

Trace a line from the Pacific Ocean and Santa 

Monica, over the tops of Beverly Hills and the Sunset 

Strip, past West Hollywood and Koreatown, and 

over to downtown’s building cluster. Directly ahead 

is the Hollywood sign; immediately below, spot the 

rainbow-crowned Sony Pictures Studios, and the 

location of UK celebrity chef Gordon Ramsay’s TV 

series, Hell’s Kitchen. Parking is available on Jefferson 

Boulevard. 

GPS: 6100 Jefferson Boulevard, Culver City 

128 


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ENJOY JOHNNIE WALKER® RESPONSIBLY, DRINKiQ.COM. 

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Runyon Canyon Park 

Santa Monica Mountains 

Only a few minutes’ drive from the Hollywood 

Strip, Runyon Canyon Park is located 

in the eastern Santa Monica Mountain 

range. It offers a number of hiking 

trails, with the path most trodden being the 

1.65-mile loop that starts at the North Fuller Avenue 

entrance. For a medium-level workout and immediate 

views, follow the right-bearing trail to Inspiration 

Point – its steady incline allows a leisurely pace, and 

there’s a place to sit and marvel at the Hollywood vista. 

Then, a steeper climb up the ridge’s earthen steps 

leads to a second outlook: Cloud’s Rest. At an elevation 

of 1,040ft, the view from here sweeps over the Los 

Angeles Basin, anchored by the Hollywood sign in the 

east and Santa Monica to the west. From this midway 

point, it’s an easy descent along Runyon Canyon Fire 

Road to complete the loop. 

Popular with celebrities, runners, tourists, and dog 

walkers – there is an off-leash policy – the trail is busy 

at the weekends. Since street parking is a challenge, 

visit on a quieter weekday morning, or park on Hollywood 

Boulevard and walk two blocks uphill. Take note 

of street cleaning signs to avoid a costly ticket. Free 

daily yoga classes are offered in a shady grass enclave 

by the park’s entrance. 

GPS: 2000 N. Fuller Avenue, Los Angeles 

131 


HEALTHY AND DELICIOUS DINING - THAI STYLE 

Thai food has rapidly grown in popularity among casual 

dinners and gourmets alike, earning it a status as one of the 

world’s most popular cuisines. 

The popular Thai menus can be found in Thai Restaurants 

worldwide. For a proper Thai culinary experience, look for the 

Thai Select Logo; a sign of Authentic Thai Cuisine worldwide. 

www.thaifoodrestaurant.com

Eagle Rock Loop 

Topanga State Park 

Covering 11,000 acres of craggy peaks, sandstone 

cliffs and mountain slopes, Topanga 

State Park is described as the largest state 

park within a city limit in the US, turning 

the cliché of LA as an entangled mess of 

car-clogged highways on its head. The 6.5-mile Eagle 

Rock Loop starts at the parking lot by Trippet Ranch– 

a former 19th century homestead – and trails under 

an oak canopy before opening to a scene of vast undulating 

mountains and peek-a-boo ocean views. It’s 

a steady 1.1-mile walk up Eagle Springs Fire Road to 

Eagle Junction, where a sign-post points to a narrow 

rocky path that leads to Eagle Rock. 

Much of Topanga’s terrain is a product of successive 

earthquakes, and Eagle Rock, a giant boulder 

outcrop, is composed of dense volcanic rock. Scale 

its slanted face to enjoy a panoramic view over Santa 

Ynez Canyon from an elevation of 1,957ft. To complete 

the loop, continue to Hub Junction, make a 

sharp right to meet up with Eagle Junction and head 

back to Trippet Ranch. 

On-site parking costs US$10. There is free street 

parking along Entrada Drive – it’s a short walk from 

the park’s entrance, and don’t be surprised if you 

spot a deer or two along the way. 

GPS: 20825 Entrada Drive, Topanga 

133 


Temescal Canyon Loop 


This 3.5-mile hike is not for the faint of 

heart. The first half of the trail starts steep 

and the end is steep, making the Canyon 

Loop one of the more challenging routes 

in Temescal Gateway Park. Enter from 

Sunset Boulevard, walk past the parking lot, and 

track to the left. The immediate uphill trek begins 

as the Temescal Ridge Trail, which tapers after ten 

minutes under an archway of chaparral before resuming 

its ascent. The sinuous path continues like 

this for over a mile, with plenty of brown California 

Towhee birds hopping about as they incessantly forage 

the trail for food. 

Reaching the summit feels victorious – at 

1,000ft, the generous sweep of the glorious Pacific 

Ocean is a worthy reward. The path adjoins the 

Canyon Trail at a junction and travels 0.4-mile deep 

into dense vegetation before reaching a small waterfall 

(not even a trickle for much of the year). It’s 

more than a mile along the pebbly canyon floor, and 

a paved road surrounds Santa Monica Mountains 

Conservancy’s conference facilities and offices before 

coming full circle at Sunset Boulevard. On-site 

parking costs US$7, although it’s free to park along 

Sunset Boulevard. 

GPS: 15601 Sunset Boulevard, Pacific Palisades 

135 


Los Liones and Parker Mesa Overlook 


Los Liones is a good introduction to the 

nature-loving hiking novice. Weaving its way 

through Topanga State Park, this slim trail is a 

rocky 1.5-mile climb along a ridge shrouded in 

grey chaparral, wildflowers and wiry grasses. 

Glimpses of the sparkling ocean along the way culminate 

in a panoramic snapshot at the outlook, located 

at the end of the winding trail. From the 500ft elevation, 

Santa Monica Pier and Catalina Island are easy to 

spot, though when there’s fog, the ocean and city are 

rendered opaque. 

It’s worth continuing the two extra miles to Parker 

Mesa Overlook to experience more spectacular views, 

though be warned, it’s a lengthy uphill pursuit along 

the East Topanga Fire Road. Devoid of shade thanks to 

low-lying sagebrush, the saving grace of this well-trodden 

trail is the unobstructed vista over the canyon, Pacific Palisades 

homes and the ocean. After 1.5 miles, bear left at 

the junction to follow the path to its end, where Parker 

Mesa Overlook is marked by two benches and an infinite 

ocean view. From an elevation of 1,525ft, the scene takes 

in the haze of LA, Santa Monica Bay, Malibu’s shoreline 

and steep green bluffs. Bring a large bottle of water and a 

light snack for the seven mile round-trip. On-street parking 

is available at the Los Liones entrance. 

GPS: 580 Los Liones Drive, Pacific Palisades 

137 


Griffith Observatory West Trail Loop 

Griffith Park 

Make a day of it and plan this hike around 

a visit to the Griffith Observatory (free 

admission, closed on Mondays). Start by 

walking through Fern Dell Park – a garden 

of Zen tucked under a canopy of California 

sycamores, further cooled by a rushing creek lined 

with lush green ferns, climbing ivy and tropical plants. 

This area was designated a Historic Cultural Monument 

in 1973 after archaeologists identified it as a Gabrielino 

Native American village site. Keep to the right and continue 

along the dirt trail that leads into Griffith Park’s 

wilderness. This is when the Observatory finally comes 

into view. The rest of the way presents excellent opportunities 

for photography buffs to capture the rotunda 

from unique perspectives. The trail ends at the Observatory’s 

grounds, where it’s easy to spend a few hours 

exploring the planetarium, relaxing in The Café At The 

End Of The Universe, and admiring the building’s architectural 

beauty in between peering at the massive metropolis 

through telescopes. 

To complete the three mile loop, keep right at the 

fork when heading back down. Note: Time your descent 

well as trails close at sunset, which is when parking tickets 

are given out on Fern Dell Drive. Movie fans: scenes 

from Yes Man starring Jim Carrey were filmed here. 

GPS: Fern Dell Drive at Los Feliz Boulevard, Los Feliz 

139 


t h e 

c r a s 

h 

by Matt Mccue

At 18, LukAs VerzbicAs 

wAs the stAr of the us 

triAthLon teAm, working 

towArds winning 

A medAL At the 2012 

London oLympics. then, 

in JuLy 2011, he suffered 

A crAsh thAt Left 

him unAbLe to wALk. 

AgAinst ALL the odds, 

he is now Looking AheAd 

to the rio oLympics in 

2016. this is his story 

On the final loop of a 15- 

mile cycle workout in the 

mountains above Colorado 

Springs, Colorado, 

Lukas Verzbicas’s competitive 

instincts jolted him awake 

and he rebelliously broke away from 

his US triathlon teammates, much to 

the irritation of his coach, and stepfather, 

Romas Bertulis. Bertulis had 

instructed the small group of wiry 

men to ride controlled in a pack – 

no sprinting. Everyone understood 

that mandate, except for two riders, 

one of them the newest and youngest 

member of the team, Verzbicas. 

With a beanpole physique, a mop 

of sun-bleached hair and razorsharp 

cheekbones Verzbicas was an 

18-year-old prodigy on the fast track 

to sporting glory. Considered the 

future of US triathlon, and a medal 

contender in the 2016 Olympics, he 

liked to go hard, whether or not that 

was the given instruction. 

The workout of five-kilometre 

loops took the riders over the undulating 

roads that cut through Garden 

Of The Gods, a public park surrounded 

by jagged, red rocks rising from 

the alpine terrain. A burst of bright 

sunshine lit the blue sky this Tuesday, 

July 31, 2011, just another day 

in the long line of mile-high training 

days that blended together for these 

endurance athletes. 

Out ahead, Verzbicas and another 

rider who was disobeying Bertulis’ 

instructions flew down a steep 

300-metre decline at 30mph. “I 

wasn’t thinking about slowing down 

because there was a tight 180-degree 

u-turn that took us right back up the 

mountain,” explains Verzbicas. The 

more speed he could gain heading 

into the turn, the greater momentum 

he would have to catapult 

himself up the incline and edge past 

his teammate. Focused on the road 

ahead, Verzbicas initially missed the 

patch of loose sand on the edge of 

his lane, still wet and slippery from 

the previous night’s hard rain. At the 

last second he spotted it and jerked 

his handlebars to take the turn 

wide, but, as he veered to the right, 

his half-inch wide tyres caught the 

tiny grains and began to slide off the 

road. “I hit my brakes hard, but they 

wouldn’t work,” says Verzbicas. He 

slammed into the guardrail with 

such force that he doesn’t remember 

the crash at all. 

The next thing he knew he 

was lying flat on his back, a heap 

of scarred limbs sprawled in every 

direction. He heard ringing in his 

ears. He told his teammate that 

142 


he was fine – saved by his trusty 

helmet – and tried to stand. “I got 

about a foot above the ground and 

then I collapsed,” he says. “Knowing 

what I know now, it was probably 

the wrong move.” 

He would later learn that he had 

broken two vertebrae, punctured his 

right lung, cracked six ribs and busted 

his collarbone. An ambulance 

arrived minutes later. The last sensation 

Verzbicas remembers before he 

passed out was tightness in his chest 

restricting his breathing. His lungs 

were filling with blood. 

When a dazed Verzbicas came 

to hours later at Penrose Hospital, 

he found himself lying under a stack 

of blankets in a strange hospital 

bed. An oxygen mask covered his 

face and plastic tubes snaked out of 

his veiny limbs. Bertulis stood over 

him, as did Verzbicas’ mother, Rasa 

Verzbickiene. A doctor described the 

severity of his injuries, “but I couldn’t 

comprehend what he was saying – it 

It was crazy, but then I began 

to accept It. I thought, ‘If I am 

goIng to dIe, at least I dId It doIng 

somethIng I love to do’ 

made no sense,” says Verzbicas, who 

was hopped up on medication and 

struggling to breathe. The nurses 

confided to his parents that it was unlikely 

he would ever walk again – no 

one dared share that with Verzbicas. 

He needed emergency surgery. The 

trauma surgeon, Verzbicas recalls, 

explained he would put rods into his 

back to stabilise his spine, and conceded 

that there was a 33 per cent 

chance of fatality during the procedure. 

“That’s when it hit me: This only 

happens in movies,” says Verzbicas. 

“It was crazy, but then I began to accept 

it. I thought, ‘If I am going to die, 

at least I did it doing something I love 

to do.’” He matter-of-factly signed 

the consent form for the surgery and 

drifted back to sleep. 

According to Verzbicas, he cried 

the first time he participated in a road 

race. Verzbickiene, a Lithuanian distance 

runner and the country’s onetime 

recorder holder in the 3,000 

metres, talked him into it. She and 

Bertulis had moved to the suburbs 

of Chicago in 1999 to seek out a new 

life in America with Lithuanian-born 

Lukas in tow. The parents coached 

club running teams, so they agreed 

early on that their oldest son would 

try the sport. Bertulis bought Lukas, 

then 10, running shorts for his five 

143 


The firsT Time i 

saw Lukas race 

he crashed, 

which didn’T 

surprise me, 

because he 

didn’T Look good 

on The bike 

kilometre road race debut. “I cried, I 

was so embarrassed to go to the starting 

line in those short shorts,” says 

Verzbicas. “Then the gun went off, 

and I couldn’t help myself and went 

out with the leaders.” He tailed the 

frontrunners to the two-mile mark. 

“I collapsed, fell down and couldn’t 

go on anymore,” he remembers. “I 

walked the last mile with my dad.” 

It was a rare defeat for the wunderkind. 

During his teens, he trained 

like a triathlete, balancing swimming 

and biking workouts with running 

a relatively low 35 miles a week and 

became only the fifth American high 

school student to break the fourminute 

mile during a race in 2011. A 

few weeks later, he set the US high 

school two-mile record of 8:29.46. 

However, track and field wasn’t 

even his best sport. He excelled in 

the triathlon and won the 2011 ITU 

Triathlon World Junior Championships 

in Beijing. The victory showed 

that he was the best triathlete aged 

19 or under on the planet. Following 

high school graduation in Illinois, he 

earned a scholarship to join the most 

storied college running programme 

in America, the University of Oregon. 

He didn’t last there long. After 

a month of subpar races and an itch 

to focus on the triathlon full time, he 

left Oregon in late 2011 and moved 

to Colorado Springs to join the US 

triathlon development team. 

There he continued his rapid 

rise, winning his first two professional 

races in 2012. At an event 

in Banyoles, Spain that June, he 

beat Frenchman Laurent Vidal, 

who would go on to finish fifth in 

the 2012 London Olympics triathlon. 

The most impressive part of 

Verzbicas’s whirlwind ascent was 

that his technical biking skills – vital 

for steering around the tight turns of 

a sprint triathlon – were so raw and 

rudimentary. “The first time I saw 

Lukas race he crashed, which didn’t 

surprise me, because he didn’t look 

good on the bike,” says his manager, 

Bob Babbitt. “To be honest, his bike 

handling scared me.” 

To address that issue, Babbitt, 

connected his star with Richard 

Bryne, a guru of cornering who 

works with many Tour de France 

riders. Although cornering seems 

like an elementary skill, there is a 

real art to it, insists Bryne. Around 

each bend, a rider must take into 

account his entry point, speed, visibility, 

road camber, tyre traction and 

exit angle, and evaluate all of those 

data points in a split-second to make 

a high-speed decision. Technical ex- 

144 


pertise is vital because the most efficient 

way for a biker to take a turn is 

by pedalling full blast into it, even on 

a steep downhill. If Verzbicas could 

develop this component of his racing 

skills, he seemed to have unlimited 

potential. Verzbicas and Bryne 

agreed to work together and, about 

a week later, Bryne called Verzicas to 

set up his first lesson. He never heard 

back. “The day I called him is the day 

he ended up having the crash,” says 

Bryne. “In hindsight I would have 

wished I had gotten to him sooner.” 

Verzbicas successfully made 

it through the spinal surgery, but 

when he woke he looked down at his 

spindly legs and noticed something 

wasn’t quite right. “My left 

leg was fine, and I could feel a sensation 

in it,” he says, “but I had no 

motor control over my right leg.” 

It was the most pressing of many 

issues Verzbicas faced. Unable to 

consistently eat solid food over 

the next 33 days he spent in the hospital, 

his weight sunk to 105 pounds, 

30 less than what he normally carried 

on his bony six-foot frame. 

“Everyone said I looked like a Holocaust 

victim,” he says. 

I never really cry, but when 

I was alone at nIght, and 

no one was around, and It was 

too paInful to sleep, I dId 

The one thing that kept him 

sane was watching the London 

Olympics on a tiny hotel TV. “I 

set an alarm for the middle of the 

night to watch the men’s triathlon 

live,” he says. “I was thinking I was 

supposed to be there.” To boost 

his spirits, his parents brought in 

the pair of Nike track 

spikes that he wore to 

break the four-minute 

mile. On the wall, they 

also hung a white board 

with Verzbicas’ goals 

for each day written in 

thick black marker. The 

action items included 

completing tasks like 

re-learning how to tie 

his shoes. As Verzbicas 

achieved them, they 

were erased. One item, 

though, always remained 

up: Rio 2016. Once 

considered a foregone 

conclusion, qualifying 

for the next summer 

Olympics seemed like 

a heady dream for a 

guy who couldn’t walk 

under his own power. 

“I usually pick things 

up fast, and here I was 

struggling to perform 

these basic functions,” 

he says. Verzbicas understandably 

felt sorry 

for himself. “I never 

really cry, but when I 

was alone at night, and 

no one was around, and it was too 

painful to sleep, I did, because it 

was emotionally so hard,” he says. 

“I was realising how much more I 

still had to do.” 

Rehabilitation began with relearning 

how to sit up. “That took 

a couple of days,” says Verzbicas. 

His competitive mindset carried 

over into his therapy. “I began tackling 

rehab,” he says. “I would do it 

every day, twice a day.” Two weeks 

following the crash, he was scheduled 

to have surgery to repair his 

collarbone. Before the hospital staff 

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took him to the operating room, he 

noticed a tiny twitch in his right leg 

— an unexpected flicker of life. “It 

was a miracle,” says Verzbicas. 

At the three-week mark, 

Verzbicas reached another milestone: 

he took his first step, with assistance 

from a hospital therapist. 

Then he walked with crutches, then 

with a cane and then on his own. 

“Nobody believed that he would 

walk, but I knew that everything 

would come back for him,” says 

The 33 days in 

The hospiTal 

was The 

hardesT 

Training i had 

ever done 

in my life 

Verzbickiene. She had hiked up 

nearby Pikes Peak to fetch Lukas 

water from the highest point of the 

mountain in hopes that it offered a 

holistic cure for the paralysis and 

sped up the healing process. 

After 33 long days, Verzbicas 

walked out of the hospital under 

his own power and moved back 

into the Olympic Training Center 

dorm. “The 33 days in the hospital 

was the hardest training I 

had ever done in my life,” says the 

guy accustomed to swimming 18 

miles, biking 150 miles and running 

40 miles every week. 

To regain the strength in his atrophied 

legs, he and his dad began 

taking three-mile walks. The pair 

always presented a funny sight, with 

the son wrapped in two different Velcro 

braces, one for his neck and another 

for his back. One unseasonably 

hot morning in the second week of 

September, they were walking down 

a dirt trail when Verzbicas began 

moving faster and faster to see if, 

maybe, he could run again. He looked 

at it his dad, who nodded for him to 

try it. Verzbicas unfastened his neck 

brace and broke into a trot — 37 tentative, 

glorious steps that may or may 

not have been against his doctor’s 

orders. When he passed his dad, he 

couldn’t help but flash a wide smile. 

He knew he would come back. 

The most frequent words Lukas 

Verzbicas uses to describe his return 

to running, biking and swimming 

are “shortly thereafter”. By 

all accounts, he is re-discovering 

these athletic pursuits before most 

who have suffered a similar fate. He 

spent 2013 attacking his rehabilitation 

exercises and graduated from 

that programme this fall. With the 

rehabilitation phase behind him, 

the 20-year-old can begin his twoand-a-half 

year build-up to qualify 

for the 2016 Olympics. 

He can’t completely escape 

the crash – he still has screws left 

in his spine and a titanium plate 

lodged in his collarbone – but he 

has decided to seek out a new train- 

148 


ing environment. Last April, he 

moved to the US Olympic Training 

Center outside of San Diego for its 

year-round warm climate, access 

to the Pacific Ocean and fresh perspective. 

Verzbicas works with 

Richard Bryne, who notes his pupil 

is a quick study. “If he had known 

then what he knows now, the crash 

would have probably been avoidable, 

and that’s the sad part,” says 

Bryne. The lessons have included 

taking Verzbicas to a Go-Kart track 

to practise zipping around corners 

at high speeds. “After a few laps, he 

started smacking into my car and 

spinning me out, so he was completely 

catching on,” says Bryne. 

Besides Bryne, Verzbicas has 

found an ally in Joaquim Cruz, 

the 1984 gold medallist in the 

800-metres and track coach at the 

Olympic Training Center. “When 

Lukas arrived, I avoided looking into 

his accident because I wanted to 

work with what I had: a kid who has 

tremendous potential and a very impatient 

athlete trying to get back into 

racing right away,” says Cruz. The 

challenge now, Cruz acknowledges, 

is holding Verzbicas back from competitive 

racing until early 2014, when 

the qualification period begins for 

the next US Olympic triathlon trials. 

Verzbicas has almost fully regained 

his muscular strength. His 

right leg, which was 40 per cent 

weaker than his left after the crash, 

is within 10 per cent of being back 

to normal. The one lingering side 

effect Verzbicas deals with is a 

gastrointestinal issue stemming 

from his nerve damage. Whenever 

he works out hard, he loses control 

of his bowels. “The first time 

it happened I told him to clean it 

up and get back to training,” says 

Cruz. “He told me it was really 

emotionally draining, and I told 

him that if it’s a physical ailment, 

Verzbicas wants to reconnect with 

the one thing that gives him purpose 

– competing to the best of his 

ability – so badly that he might not 

see how far he has already come. 

“A couple of times he told me God 

the challenge now is holding verzbicas back 

from competitive racing until early 2014, 

when the qualification period begins for the next 

us olympic triathlon trials 

then it’s OK to be done, but if it’s 

mental, then suck it up.” Verzbicas 

pushed on. “Looking from an outsider’s 

perspective it’s very good to 

know that less than one year ago I 

couldn’t move and was practically 

paralysed, but for me it is like, ‘I 

still have a long way to go,’” he says. 

Therein lies the mindset of a champion: 

always focused on improving. 

cursed him,” says Cruz. “I told him 

it was the opposite. If God wanted 

to curse him, he would be in a 

wheelchair right now. He has experienced 

what he has and it’s his 

choice as to what he is going to do 

with it.” Knowing Lukas Verzbicas, 

the answer is clear: accomplish the 

last remaining goal written on that 

white board, Rio 2016. 

IMAGES: NIlS NIlSEN, JohN SEGEStA 

150 


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Dubai Jazz Festival 

The line-up for the Emirates Airline Dubai Jazz 

Festival is announced 

(154) 

3 

briefing 

Dubai film festival: DIFF celebrates its 10th year 158 

ian goulD: The ICC umpire talks cricket 163 

Routemap: Discover the world as connected by Emirates 170 

153 

OPen skies / DecemBer 2013

iefing 

news 

Jazz Fest line-up announced 

star perForMers / Santana, Jamie 

Cullum, Stone Temple Pilots With Chester 

Bennington and Olly Murs will all peform at 

the Emirates Airline Dubai Jazz Festival 2014 

legendary global Music icon 

santana (pictured), british 

pop star olly Murs, the uK’s 

nuMber one Jazz-pop singer 

JaMie culluM and alternative 

classic rocK band stone teMple 

pilots with chester bennington 

will perform at the Emirates 

Airline Dubai Jazz Festival 2014. 

The event will introduce A 

Unique Take On Jazz, Pop and 

Rock from February 13 to 21, 2014 

at Festival Park, Dubai Festival 

City. Also taking to the Emirates 

Main Stage will be Grammy 

Award Winner Colbie Caillat and 

chart-topping British boy-band 

The Wanted. 

Jazz enthusiasts will not be 

disappointed as the Jazz Garden 

will be back again for its sixth year, 

offering free jazz performances 

throughout the midweek nights of 

the festival.dubaijazzfest.com 

154 


EMIRATES 

EMIRATES 

EMIRATES 

077_COVER_V1 

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ICE - DIGITAL WIDE SCREEN - APRIL13 

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ICE - DIGITAL WIDE SCREEN - JULY13 

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ICE - DIGITAL WIDE SCREEN - MAR13 

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briefing 

news 

coveRed by von 

April 2013 

DABANGG 2 

CHANNEL 500 

SALMAN 

KHAN 

P.73 

हन्द हन्द हन्द हन्द हन्द हन्द हन्द 

P.67 

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DEUTSCH P.62 

ITALIANO P.65 

ESPAÑOL P.64 

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POLSKI P.66 

PORTUGUÊS P.64 

한국어 P.71 

FCBCCoverApr13EX2H.indd 75 13/03/2013 14:32 

July 2013 

DAFT 

PUNK 

RANDOM ACCESS MEMORIES 

CHANNEL 2400 

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FCBCCoverJuly13EX2H.indd 75 17/06/2013 17:37 

March 2013 

SKYFALL 

CHANNEL 101 

DANIEL 

CRAIG 

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RegulaR flyeRs on emiRates and fans of the ice inflight 

enteRtainment system will have noticed a bold new 

look foR the ice guides in 2013, wrapped up in exclusive 

cover artwork created by the award-winning London-based 

artist, Von. 

For the guides, which contain highlights and listings of all 

the movies, TV and music available on the ice system, Von’s 

portraiture is a perfect fit, his blend of traditional painting 

methods and cutting-edge digital techniques capturing the 

stars of ice in a striking new light. 

Since he set up his studio, HelloVon, in 2006, Von’s work 

has been gaining an ever-higher profile, with an enviable 

client list including Nike (for whom he covered 17 windows 

of the iconic Selfridge’s building in London with his portraits 

of World Cup footballers in 2010, one of his own favourite 

projects), Penguin, Time magazine, The New York Times and 

the London 2012 Paralympics promotional campaign. 

But illustration is only half the story. Von is also an 

exhibited artist, having shown in London, Paris, New York, 

Los Angeles, Barcelona and elsewhere. He identifies the 

influences behind his work as nature and popular culture, but 

beyond that is reluctant to talk about his methods: “I normally 

just say I draw stuff for a living and change the subject. It’s 

way too difficult to sincerely describe your own work and not 

sound like an idiot,” he says. Perhaps the best explanation 

comes from looking at the work itself, its mix of detail and 

abstraction resulting in mesmerising images that have been 

described as “walking the line between surrealism and 

documentary portraiture”. 

This month, Von releases a prestigious new collector’s 

edition box set of his work – you can find out more, and 

see his other original pieces and limited-edition prints on 

his website. 

shopvon.com 

FCBCCoverMar13EX2H.indd 75 13/02/2013 17:16 

Perfect timing 

Don’t miss your next Emirates flight. Make sure you get to your boarding gate on time. 

Boarding starts 45 minutes before your flight and gates close 20 minutes before 

departure. If you report late we will not be able to accept you for travel. 

Thank you for your cooperation. 

156 


iefing 

news 

FREQUENT FLYER 

PARTNERSHIP 

EmIRATES ANd VIRgIN AmERIcA have announced 

a frequent flyer partnership that allows 

members of both airlines’ frequent flyer 

programmes to earn and redeem points or miles 

for travel across the networks of the two airlines. 

Emirates flies to 137 destinations in 77 

countries, including New York (JFK), San 

Francisco, Los Angeles, Washington, Seattle, 

Houston and Dallas/Fort Worth in the US. 

Emirates is also the only airline to operate 

a First Class service between New York and 

Milan, and will fly to Boston from March 2014. 

dIFF cELEbRATES ITS 

10TH ANNIVERSARY 

dUbAI INTERNATIoNAL 

FILm FESTIVAL (dIFF) wILL 

bE mARkINg ITS 10TH 

ANNIVERSARY IN SPEcTAcULAR 

STYLE THIS moNTH. The festival, 

which runs from December 6 to 

December 14, aims to showcase 

new talent from the UAE, as 

well as celebrate the very best 

of film from around the world. 

More than 170 films from 

more than 50 countries, 

including 68 premieres will be 

shown throughout the week, 

and movie fans will be able to 

enjoy workshops, premieres, 

galas and awards. These will 

include an audience with actor 

Martin Sheen, who is this year’s 

recipient of the DIFF Lifetime 

Achievement Award. 

Competition will be fierce 

yet again for the Muhr Awards, 

which celebrate excellence in 

158 

OPen skies / DecemBer 2013 

short films, feature films 

and documentaries from 

the UAE, wider Arab world, 

Asia and Africa. For the 

second year running, Oscarwinning 

actress 

Cate Blanchett will head 

the judging panel for 

the hotly contested IWC 

Filmmakers Award. 

Look out for awardwinning 

documentary 

maker Errol Morris’s The 

Unknown Known and 

Jonathan Teplitzky’s The 

Railway Man, starring Colin 

Firth and Nicole Kidman. 

DIFF, in collaboration 

with Dubai Cares and 

Oxfam, will also be hosting 

the ‘One Night to Change 

Lives’ charity gala at the 

Armani Hotel Dubai. 

dubaifilmfest.com

بيتك فى دبي Your home in Dubai 

Located in the heart of Dubai 

Opposite Metro Station 

Walking distance to Burj Khalifa, world’s tallest skyscraper 

Dubai Airport - 15 min. 

Abu Dhabi Airport - 45 min. 

Walking distance to shopping malls 

Close to Business Hubs ( DIFC, DWTC ) 

Spa & Outdoor Swimming Pool 

يقع الفندق فى قلب إمارة دبي 

أمام محطة المترو 

مسافة قصيرة إلى برج خليفة ، أطول برج فى العالم 

مطار دبي علي بعد 15 دقيقة 

مطار أبو ظبي على بعد 45 دقيقة 

مسافة قصيرة لمراكز التسوق 

قريب من مراكز الأعمال ) مركز دبي العالمي،‏ مركز دبي التجاري العالمي ( 

سبا وحمام سباحة خارجي 

US$150 Starting Rate. 

Terms and conditions apply 

تبدأ الاسعار من 150 دولار.‏ 

تطبق الشروط والأحكام 

Sheikh Zayed Road, P.O Box 116957, Dubai, United Arab Emirates 

Tel: +971 4 323 0000 Fax: +971 4 323 0003 reservation@emiratesgrandhotel.com 

www.emiratesgrandhotel.com

iefing 

news 

EmiratEs rEsort wins 

ConsErvation award 

move open skies english 2.pdf 1 11/19/13 9:52 AM 

EmiratEs wolgan vallEy rEsort has bEEn 

rECognisEd at thE travEl + lEisurE 2013 global 

vision awards for its ongoing commitment to 

conservation and sustainability. 

The awards are given in recognition of significant 

contributions in the travel and tourism industry 

to protecting the world’s natural and manmade 

resources. This could be the promotion of cultural 

heritage, conservation of nature or actively engaging 

in community outreach projects. 

The award is the latest in a long line of accolades 

for Wolgan Valley, which sits in the breath-taking 

Greater Blue Mountains World Heritage Area roughly 

three hours’ drive from Sydney. Covering an area of 

4,000 acres, the retreat not only provides a unique 

holiday experience but also ensures the long-term 

conservation and biodiversity of its surroundings. 

wolganvalley.com 

C 

M 

Y 

CM 

MY 

CY 

CMY 

K 

160 


iefing 

news 

Q&A: Kelly 

RowlAnd 

The American singer, who performed 

at the Dubai Airshow Gala Dinner at 

the end of November, has had two hit 

albums this year, performed at the 

Super Bowl and become a judge on TV 

talent show The X Factor 

You flew Emirates to Dubai. 

What were your impressions of 

the experience? 

I was taken care of like a princess. 

The seats were comfortable, and the 

flight attendants were very nice. It 

was a wonderful experience. 

You performed at the Dubai 

Airshow in November. What 

did you think of Dubai? 

I've been to Dubai before, and it's 

one of the most magical places I've 

ever been. 

You are currently a judge on The 

X Factor. How is that going? 

The X Factor is going great, and I love 

being in a position to help inspire and 

mentor undiscovered talent. 

What's it like working with 

Simon Cowell? 

Simon is hilarious. He's one of 

a kind. 

You have released an album with 

Destiny's Child this year, and 

joined Beyonce and Michelle 

Williams for a performance at 

the Super Bowl. What was it like 

working with them again? 

Beyonce, Michelle and I are sisters, 

and we have a blast whenever we're 

around each other. 

You released Talk A Good Game 

in June. How happy were you with 

how the album was received? 

The response that Talk A Good Game 

has received has been tremendous, 

and I'm happy that so many people 

can relate to the songs, because this 

album is really close to my heart. 

You toured for the album. How 

did the tour go? 

The tour was awesome, and I plan 

to get back on the road as soon as my 

schedule permits. 

Dr. David B. Samadi 

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ 

Chair of the Department of Urology 

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ 

& Chief of Robotic Surgery 

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ 

at Lenox Hill Hospital 

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ 

• Fellowship trained in open, laparoscopic, and robotic surgery 

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ __ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ 

• 97% prostate cancer cure rate, 96% of patients regain 

continence, 85% of patients regain sexual function 

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ __ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ 

• Minimal blood loss and no transfusions 

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ __ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ 

• Discrete and private in-office consultations 

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ __ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ 

• Multilingual staff providing first-class care 

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ __ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ 

• State-of-the-art operating room 

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ __ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ 

• Lu x u r i o u s p r i v a t e h o s p i t a l r o o m s a n d s u i t e s w i t h ov e r n i g h t 

guest accommodations 

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ __ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ 

• Gourmet meals prepared by a private chef 

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ __ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ 

When you’re 

the best in 

the world, 

the world 

comes to you. 

Having successfully performed more than 5,000 robotic 

prostate cancer surgeries, it’s no surprise to find out patients 

from more than 40 different countries have traveled to 

New York City to be treated by Dr. David B. Samadi. His 

world-class skill as a physician is enhanced by the warm, 

personal care he provides – completing the entire surgery 

from beginning-to-end for every patient he treats. 

485 Madison Ave • 21st Floor • NY, NY 10022 

To schedule an appointment at Lenox Hill Hospital Prostate Cancer Center, call +1.212.365.5000, or visit roboticoncology.com. 

2227_Dr_Samadi_173mmx106mm.indd 1 

162 


10/15/13 12:47 PM

iefing 

news 

Q&A: IAn 

Gould 

Former England cricketer Ian Gould, 

a member of the Emirates Elite Panel 

of ICC Umpires since 2006, played 18 

one-day matches for his country. He is 

now one of the game's most loved and 

respected umpires 

How did your cricket 

career start? 

While playing for Slough Cricket 

Club I was asked to attend Easter 

coaching classes at Lords for a 

trial for the MCC ground staff. 

Following this trial I was lucky 

enough to be selected, along with 

the mighty Ian Botham. After a 

year there, I was spotted by the 

Middlesex coach Don Bennett, and 

I played for Middlesex for eight 

years, winning the championship 

twice and the Gillette Cup once. I 

moved to Sussex County Cricket 

Club, where I played for the next 

10 years. I was also lucky enough 

to get selected for England, which 

was special. 

How did you get the 

nickname Gunner? 

I am a mad Arsenal Fan. 

You could have been a 

footballer, rather than a 

cricketer, couldn’t you? 

While playing for Slough youth, I 

was spotted by an Arsenal scout, 

and again, like with cricket, I was 

invited for trials, at the mighty 

Arsenal. Following the trials, I was 

invited to join Arsenal at the age 

of 15; to be playing cricket at Lords 

and soccer at Highbury, it was a 

dream come true. My football did 

not move forward as the cricket 

did, so it was a pretty easy choice 

[to become a cricketer]. My 

professional cricket career then 

naturally extended into coaching, 

and then umpiring. 

What’s the best match you 

ever have umpired? 

The World Cup semi-final in 2011, 

India versus Pakistan, a high-octane 

event played by 22 passionate 

people and watched by three 

billion people. It was a fantastic 

atmosphere; trying to keep calm 

and focused was one of the hardest 

things I have done in umpiring, and 

something I would love to do again. 

It must be hard to maintain 

your concentration over the 

five days of a test match. How 

do you manage it? 

I keep the same routines for all 

formats of the game. That works 

for me. There are different playing 

conditions for each format that 

require your preparation before the 

match. On the field, though, your 

routines need to be the ones that 

you have always used. 

Technology now plays a big 

role in the decision making 

process. How does it affect 

the way you go about your 

business? 

Technology, in my opinion, has 

helped the world of cricket, as 

it helps with getting decisions 

163 


right. The match officials at 

the international games – the 

referee, on-field umpires and the 

third umpire – are one team, and 

between us we want to make the 

right decisions. There should be 

no difference whether there is 

DRS [Decision Review System] or 

no DRS. Giving decisions on field 

requires absolute concentration, 

and you do not think about the 

technology. You want to get as many 

on field decisions right as you can. 

Pure and simple. 

You were involved in the 

ICC Cricket World Cup 

2007, and again 2011. Are 

you excited about the next 

tournament in 2015? 

All World Cups are exciting. The 

event brings all the greatest players 

in the world to one tournament. 

To me this is the pinnacle of the 

ICC calendar, and I hope to be 

there in 2015. World Cups have 

the cricketing world on edge – 

and I mean the cricketing world. 

One fascinating statistic is that 

after India the highest number 

of TV viewers watching the 2011 

tournament was in the USA. 

What advice would you give 

an aspiring umpire? 

You need love and passion for the 

game of cricket, together with 

patience and lots of understanding 

of the laws of the game, as there 

are many, including daft ones. The 

real ingredients for good umpiring 

extend into being a team man, 

a good man manager. When the 

game gets tense, the best umpires 

will perform.

164 


iefing 

news 

NEW ROUTE: BOsTON 

kNOWN as THE BiRTHPlaCE Of 

amERiCaN iNDEPENDENCE, Boston’s 

rich history can be experienced in 

abundance throughout the city. As 

the capital of Massachusetts, its story 

is one of progress and reinvention, 

from its foundation in 1630 by 

British puritans, through its integral 

role in the establishment of the 

USA, to its boundary-pushing and 

artistic present. It has been called 

the ‘Athens of America’, a testament 

to its cultural offering and many 

prestigious colleges and universities. 

fREEDOm TRail 

The 2.5-mile (4km) Boston 

Freedom Trail is a red-brick-lined 

route taking visitors on a journey 

through more than two century’s 

of the city’s history. Along the way 

16 sites of special interest tell the 

story of the American Revolution 

and the fight for independence. 

The route starts at Boston Common 

(the oldest public park in the USA) 

and effortlessly mixes the antiquity 

of the city’s foundations with the 

vibrant life of a modern metropolis. 

faNEUil Hall 

maRkETPlaCE 

Located in downtown Boston, 

Faneuil Hall Marketplace has 

been the central meeting point 

for residents and visitors for more 

than 300 years. Made up of Quincy 

Market, North Market, South Market 

and the prestigious Faneuil Hall, 

this venue of unique shops, eclectic 

dining and live entertainment sits 

right at the heart of city life. Discover 

the history behind Faneuil Hall and 

find out why it’s known as the ‘cradle 

of liberty’. 

fENWay PaRk 

While wars may have been won 

from Boston’s streets and meeting 

places, truly epic battles have been 

fought at Fenway Park for the last 

100 years. Just ask any baseball fan 

(pretty much anyone in the city) 

and they’ll tell you that there’s no 

team better than the Red Sox, and 

no place better to see them than 

Fenway Park. What makes a visit 

even more special now is that the 

Red Sox recently won the World 

Series on home turf for the first time 

in 95 years. Tours of Fenway Park 

are available. 

CHaRlEs RivER 

EsPlaNaDE 

Charles River Esplanade, a public 

park, offers spectacular views of the 

city and river, and houses the Hatch 

Memorial Shell, a purpose-built 

concert and performance venue. 

HaRvaRD yaRD 

Located in nearby Cambridge, 

Harvard Yard is the centre of 

Harvard University. The college was 

founded in 1636, and is the oldest 

university in the USA. Nowadays 

the university educates around 

20,000 students and counts eight 

American presidents among its 

alumni. Campus tours with a current 

Harvard student are available. 

NEW ROUTES: 

Kabul: from December 4, 2013 

Kiev: from January 16, 2014 

Taipei: from February 10, 2014 

Boston: from March 10, 2014 

POPUlaTiON: Boston City is estimated at 636,479 

laNgUagE: English 

CURRENCy: US Dollar 

ClimaTE: Continental 

HisTORiCal faCT: Boston was home to the USA’s first public school and first subway system. 

mOsT famOUs CiTizEN: Benjamin Franklin, one of the Founding Fathers of the United States and noted author, 

politician, inventor and scientist 

WHaT is BOsTON famOUs fOR? It is a centre for educational excellence with over 100 colleges and universities 

DiD yOU kNOW? At 90 feet below ground, Boston’s Ted Williams Tunnel is the deepest in North America 

WHaT TO EaT: New England clam chowder, Boston baked beans, New England lobster 

Emirates will fly daily from Dubai to Boston beginning March 10, 2014 

165 


iefing 

Comfort 

Wellness in the air 

To help you arrive at your destination feeling relaxed and refreshed, Emirates has developed this collection of helpful 

travel tips. Regardless of whether you need to rejuvenate for your holiday or be effective at achieving your goals on a 

business trip, these simple tips will help you to enjoy your journey and time on board with Emirates today. 

smart traveller 

Drink plentY 

of Water 

Rehydrate with 

water or juices 

frequently. 

Drink tea 

and coffee in 

moderation. 

travel 

lightlY 

Carry only the 

essential items 

that you will 

need during 

your flight. 

Wear 

glasses 

Cabin air is drier 

than normal, 

therefore swap 

your contact 

lenses for 

glasses. 

use skin 

moisturiser 

Apply a 

good quality 

moisturiser to 

ensure your skin 

doesn’t dry out. 

keep moving 

exercise your 

lower legs and 

calf muscles. 

This encourages 

blood flow. 

make 

Yourself 

comfortaBle 

Loosen clothing, 

remove 

jacket and avoid 

anything 

pressing against 

your body. 

Before Your 

JourneY 

Consult your doctor 

before travelling 

if you have any 

medical concerns 

about making a long 

journey, or if you suffer 

from a respiratory 

or cardiovascular 

condition. 

Plan for the destination 

– will you need any 

vaccinations or special 

medications? 

Get a good night’s rest 

before the flight. 

Eat lightly and sensibly. 

at the airport 

Allow yourself plenty of 

time for check-in. 

Avoid carrying heavy 

bags through the 

airport and onto 

the flight as this can 

place the body under 

considerable stress. 

Once through to 

departures try and relax 

as much as possible. 

During the flight 

Chewing and 

swallowing will help 

equalise your ear 

pressure during ascent 

and descent. 

Babies and young 

passengers may suffer 

more acutely with 

popping ears, therefore 

consider providing 

a dummy. 

Get as comfortable as 

possible when resting 

and turn frequently. 

Avoid sleeping for long 

periods in the same 

position. 

When You arrive 

Try some light 

exercise, or read if you 

can’t sleep after arrival. 

166 


• Contract Drafting & Review 

• Business Setup , Offshore & Free Zone Companies 

• Corporate & Commercial Legal Services 

• Litigation & Arbitration 

• Debt Collection 

• Banking, Insurance & Maritime Cases 

• Real Estate, Construction & Labor Cases 

• Trademarks, Patents & Copyrights 

• صياغة العقود ومراجعتها 

• تأسيس الشركات والأوفشور والمناطق الحرة 

• الخدمات القانونية للأفراد والشركات 

• التقاضي و التحكيم 

• تحصيل الديون 

• قضايا البنوك والتأمين والقضايا البحرية 

• قضايا المقاولات والعقارات والقضايا العمالية 

• العلامات التجارية وبراءات الاختراع وحقوق المؤلف 

DUBAI 

EMIRATES TOWERS, 14TH FLOOR, SHEIKH ZAYED ROAD P.O. BOX: 9055, DUBAI, UAE 

TEL: +971 4 330 4343 | FAX: +971 4 330 3993 

contact@emiratesadvocates.com | www.emiratesadvocates.com 

ABU DHABI 

Tel: +971 2 6394446 

auh@emiratesadvocates.com 

RAS AL KHAIMAH 

Tel: +971 7 2046719 

rak@emiratesadvocates.com 

DUBAI INTERNET CITY 

Tel: +971 4 3900820 

dic@emiratesadvocates.com 

SHARJAH 

Tel: +971 6 5728666 

shj@emiratesadvocates.com 

JEBEL ALI 

Tel: +971 4 8871679 

jafz@emiratesadvocates.com 

DIFC 

Tel: +971 4 4019562 

difc@emiratesadvocates.com 

WITH AFFILIATE OFFICES IN SAUDI ARABIA, 

QATAR, BAHRAIN, KUWAIT AND OMAN 

FOR 24 HOUR LEGAL ASSISTANCE, PLEASE CALL +971 (50) 328 99 99

iefing 

VISAS & STATS 

Guide to us customs 

& immiGration 

Whether you’re travelling to, or through, the United States today, this simple 

guide to completing the US customs form will help to ensure that your journey 

is as hassle free as possible. 

CUSTomS DEClArATIon Form 

All passengers 

arriving into the US 

need to complete 

a Customs Declaration 

Form. If you 

are travelling as a 

family this should 

be completed by 

one member only. 

The form must 

be completed in 

English, in capital 

letters, and must 

be signed where 

indicated. 

electronic system 

for travel 

authorisation (esta) 

If you are an international 

traveller wishing to enter 

the United States under the 

Visa Waiver Programme, You 

must apply for electronic 

authorisation (ESTA) up to 72 

hours prior to your departure. 

esta facts: 

Children and infants require 

an individual ESTA. 

The online ESTA system 

will inform you whether 

your application has been 

authorised, not authorised or 

if authorisation is pending. 

A successful ESTA 

application is valid for two 

years, however this may be 

revoked or will expire along 

with your passport. 

apply online at 

www.cbp.Gov/esta 

nationalities eliGible 

for the visa waiver*: 

Andorra, Australia, Austria, 

Belgium, Brunei, Czech 

republic, Denmark, Estonia, 

Finland, France, Germany, 

Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, 

Japan, latvia, liechtenstein, 

lithuania, luxemburg, malta, 

monaco, The netherlands, new 

Zealand, norway, Portugal, San 

marino, Singapore, Slovakia, 

Slovenia, South Korea, Spain, 

Sweden, Switzerland and the 

United Kingdom** 

* subject to chanGe 

** only british citizens 

qualify under the visa 

waiver proGramme. 

168 


HOW TO USE THE 

SMART GATES AT 

DUBAI INTERNATIONAL 

AIRPORT 

If you are a citizen of one of the 33 countries that do not 

require a pre-arranged visa to enter the UAE (see the list 

below), or are a UAE resident, you can speed up your journey 

through Dubai International Airport by using the Smart Gates. 

33 NATIONALITIES THAT DO NOT 

REQUIRE A VISA 

• ANDORRA • AUSTRALIA • AUSTRIA 

•BELGIUM • BRUNEI • CANADA • DENMARK 

• FINLAND • FRANCE • GCC NATIONALS 

• GERMANY • GREECE • HOLLAND 

• HONG KONG • ICELAND • IRELAND • ITALY 

• JAPAN •LICHTENSTEIN • LUXEMBOURG 

• MALAYSIA • MALTA • MONACO 

• NEW ZEALAND • NORWAY • PORTUGAL 

• SAN MARINO • SINGAPORE • SPAIN • SWEDEN 

• SWITZERLAND • UK* • USA • VATICAN CITY 

*UK citizens only (UK overseas citizens require a visa) 

Both residents and tourists who hold a passport with a 

barcode that can be scanned by the Smart Gates’ e-reader, 

including children above the age of seven, can check in and 

out of the airport within 22 seconds – with no passport 

stamps. The automatic identification system uses an iris scan 

and facial recognition. 

THE PROCESS 

STEP ONE 

Look for the Smart Gates at passport 

control and have your national ID card, 

E-Gate card or machine-readable passport 

ready to be scanned. 

STEP TWO 

Open your passport at the photo page and 

place it photo-side down on the scanner. 

Alternatively, if you are a UAE resident 

you can scan your UAE national ID card by 

placing it in the ID scanner. 

STEP THREE 

Next, place your index finger on the 

fingerprint scanner. 

OK! 

Passengers who hold passports without e-readable barcodes can 

use the existing e-Gates or the immigration counter to complete 

their entry or exit process. 

WHERE YOU CAN FIND THE 

SMART GATES 

The Smart Gates are located on the right-hand side of the 

Immigration Hall, in Concourse B. 

STEP FOUR 

Stand in the blue footprint guide on the 

floor, face the camera straight-on and remain 

still for your iris scan. Wait until the system 

matches your photograph and your facial 

imprint before continuing through the gate. 

169 169 


ROUTE MAP 

170 


171 


NEW ROUTES: 

Kabul: from December 4, 2013 

Kiev: from January 16, 2014 

Taipei: from February 10, 2014 

Boston: from March 10, 2014

INTERNATIONALLY 

ACCREDITED 

HEALTHCARE ON 

YOUR DOORSTEP 

MEDICLINIC MIDDLE EAST OPERATES: 

• Mediclinic Welcare Hospital 

• Mediclinic Dubai Mall 

• Mediclinic Meadows 

• Mediclinic Mirdif 

• Mediclinic Beach Road 

• Mediclinic City Hospital 

• Mediclinic Ibn Battuta 

• Mediclinic Arabian Ranches 

• Mediclinic Al Qusais 

• Mediclinic Al Sufouh 

EXPERTISE YOU CAN TRUST. 

UAE • SOUTH AFRICA • NAMIBIA • SWITZERLAND 

www.mediclinic.ae

173 


ROUTE MAP

175 


ROUTE MAP

the FLeet 

Our fleet contains 212 planes made up of 200 passenger planes 

and 12 cargo planes 

Boeing 777-300eR 

Number of Aircraft: 90 Capacity: 354-442 Range: 14,594km Length: 73.9m Wingspan: 64.8m 

Boeing 777-300 

Number of Aircraft: 12 Capacity: 364 Range: 11,029km Length: 73.9m Wingspan: 60.9m 

Boeing 777-200LR 


Boeing 777-200 


Boeing 777F 

Number of Aircraft: 10 Range: 9,260km Length: 63.7m Wingspan: 64.8m 

For more information: emirates.com/ourfleet 

176 


Airbus A380-800 








boeing 747-400erF 

Number of Aircraft: 2 Range:9,204km Length: 70.6m Wingspan: 64.4m 

Aircraft numbers as of December 2013 

177 


last look 

Milan 

ELENA ROSSI 

32, SALES MANAGER 

NAVIGLI, MILAN 

I have lived in Milan since 

September 2004. I moved here 

mainly for work, but also because 

I always loved the idea of living in 

a big city. I love the secret places 

of Milan, the nightlife and the 

infinite list of gigs and events you 

can choose to attend every week. 

I work as a sales manager in a 

multi-brand showroom in this 

area, Navigli. It’s one of Milan’s 

most famous areas. It’s particularly 

nice at sunset, especially in the 

spring – it looks so romantic and 

bohemian. The canals, constructed 

by Leonardo da Vinci, make the 

area unique. My style is a mix of 

contemporary fashionista and 

subculture and vintage details. I 

just finished a business meeting. 

I’ve chosen a mix of ironic chic 

pieces and colourful prints, with a 

touch of punky attitude by wearing 

Vivetta shirt, Stella Jean skirt and 

Corto Moltedo pochette with a 

vintage leather jacket. 

lisbonserenade.tumblr.com 

image: Serena BelcaStro 

178 


Discover Luxury 

The largest selection of 19th Century French antiques in the region, 

19th Century Antiques specializes in rare furniture, bronzes, paintings, clock sets, 

and vases of exceptional quality and taste. 

JUMEIRAH EMIRATES TOWERS, BOULEVARD | DUBAI, UAE 

TEL: +971 4 3887000 FAX: +971 4 3887111 | WWW.19CENTURYANTIQUES.COM

www.omegawatches.com 

IN 1969 OMEGA DEFIED ZERO GRAVITY GOING TO THE MOON. 

IN 2013 OMEGA DEFIES MAGNETIC FIELDS ON EARTH. 

This OMEGA Seamaster Aqua Terra resists magnetic fields greater than 15,000 gauss, solving 

a problem that has perplexed watchmakers for centuries. 

More information available at OMEGA Middle East, Emirates Towers, Dubai, UAE. Tel: +971 4 3300455

Download Open Skies December 2013 - Emirates.com

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