Early evening around the fire pits at Catch 31

I EMBARKED on my first press trip this month, my first paid travel experience. It was a FAM (a well known term in PR and media circles referring to a familiarisation trip for media professionals). VisitVirginiaBeach.com invited a small group of journalists and bloggers to experience the region from a food and drink perspective.

I’d heard about press trips but never really understood them.  This explanation I found in a MatadorU Forum explains it nicely:

“So here’s the deal: just as book reviewers routinely receive books from publishers, and theater critics routinely receive tickets, and gadget reviewers routinely receive gadgets, travel writers are routinely provided access to the places, service, and products that they’re writing about.”

Most writers can’t afford to bankroll the continuous exploration that’s required to inspire new stories, so it makes sense that in order for a place to have more written about it, more people who write need to visit.

A debate around the ethics of being paid to travel (and then write) will always exist, but unless you enter the debate as a writer it’s very difficult to qualify your point of view–you’re not the one trying to make a living from writing.

Hilton Virginia Beach, overlooked by Neptune

The drive

Washington to Virginia Beach takes about 3h30m (a 200 mile ride), if there’s not much traffic. Only when you pass Richmond and exit I-295 onto I-64 does the drive start to get interesting.

Heading east along the Virginia Peninsula (created by the York and James rivers) you pass through the Historic Triangle, defined by Williamsburg–a recreated 18th Century American city, Jamestown–the first English settlement in North America, and Yorktown–where the American Revolutionary War ended.

As a new British immigrant to the United States I’ll always be fascinated with the country’s colonial history.  Tales of immigration are inspiring, especially from the days of pioneering new settlements in new lands.  The idea of leaving home for a new life abroad is so far out of the comfort zone of many people that stories about it are naturally absorbing and appealing.

Previously I’d only encountered the colonial history of America further up the coast in places like Boston, Plymouth, and Manhattan; exploring Virginia’s connection to the story is new for me.

When I-64 reaches the coast it turns into a bridge, then into a tunnel, then back into a bridge and then back into a regular road to deliver you into Virginia’s second most populous city, Norfolk (where I’m headed, Virginia Beach, holds the top spot); home to the world’s largest Naval base and the defense headquarters of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO)–a point worth remembering before you book Virginia Beach for a quiet coastal vacation. Noisy, low-flying aircraft are a daily occurrence.

The final few miles into Virginia Beach are along I-264, which turns into 22nd Street six blocks from the oceanfront.

The oceanfront

My 1997 edition of Lonely Planet, Washington DC & the Capital Region, has a section on Virginia Beach, it says “The city is everything it unashamedly attempts to be–a magnet for young revellers, a carefully spun web of tackiness, and an almost unpenetrable concrete palisade that often prevents the sun’s rays from reaching the beach.” The second part may be true, there is a lot of concrete along the boardwalk (which isn’t a boardwalk, it’s also concrete) but I doubt the off-season is likely to attract many young revellers.

The parking meter tells me that as of today, and for the next five months, curbside parking is free (meters operate April 1st to October 31st)–the off-season starts here, November 1st.

Imported palm trees, tacky souvenir shops, and towering beachfront hotels have an eerie feeling once the weather turns cold and visitors stop coming. This dormant, sleepy state also brings great comfort though with its closed doors, log fires and the need to bundle up against the cold wind whipping off the water.  It reassures us that seasons change and creates an opportunity for new (indoor) pursuits and new styles of food. There’s little more invigorating than a cold, blustery walk along the coast followed by a bowl of steaming Brunswick Stew.

Bowl of Brunswick Stew at Smithfield Inn

This trip exposed me to a Virginia Beach that extends far beyond the ‘carefully spun web of tackiness’, and into a much deeper connection with the land and the bay, its extensive farming community and the area’s proud heritage as ‘America’s First Region’.

In this series of articles I’ll be sharing some of the experiences that changed my view of this rich area.

Skyline Drive, Shenandoah, VA

The northern end of Skyline Drive is a straight 80 miles west of Washington D.C. along Route-66 (not the Route-66), and marks the start of Shenandoah National Park. We’re here to flirt with nature, reacquaint ourselves with some earth rhythms, and flood our senses with everything Fall. It’s been a while since we escaped the District, and Shenandoah is an easy bolt-hole.

Washington D.C. is a clean and spacious city.  The air drinks nicely, there’s no sooty, dirty nose to it like there can be in London; rarely do I see litter on the street, and even during peak hours the pavements feel empty.  Gathering together all of the open space in D.C. would need an area 9 times the size of New York’s Central Park–it has the nation’s highest ratio of parkland per resident.

“Ahh, fresh mountain air,” says Faizal, as if he’s been trapped breathing the toxic fumes of a smoggy city since his journey out here a few months ago.

It could be any number of things: the deep crimson maple leaves, the low slung white criss-cross fences, the red and white barns with their gambrel roofs.  I can’t help feeling I’m in New England.

“Do you want to stop?” says Faizal from the driver’s seat.

“No, let’s keeping going.  We have to come back this way.”

“Right!  Everyone’s stopping now.  The viewpoints should be quiet later.”

We didn’t come back this way, we took an alternative route home along Route-211, through Sperryville, but the thinking was good. Shenandoah sees around 15% of its visitors arrive in October for a glimpse of the tawny Fall colours, it’s always a busy time of year.

Signal Knob Overlook, Gooney Run Overlook, Compton Gap, we pass them all. It’s no big deal, there are 75 to choose from.  We decide our first stop will be around mile 20: Little Hogback Overlook–Fariza likes the name.

A 35 mph speed limit is in effect along the length of the road, so we settle in, roll down the windows and watch from the car as we snake our way along the ridge.  The hills look like the broccoli in the bottom of my fridge: a few pockets of green have survived the virulent yellow ageing effect, but they won’t hold out forever.  Red and gold leaves peel like rust from the hillside, or a bad case of wind burn from the cold gusts that whip across the ridge.  A few stark, empty, stick filled voids indicate where the landscape is headed in the next few weeks.

The sun is just catching on the top of Old Rag by the time we make our final stop.  I pull on my red hat, grab my camera, and for the first time wish I had some gloves.  The leaves have lost their brilliance in the shadows, colours are muted, the park is shutting down for the night.  Afternoons don’t last as long as they used to.

We pause long enough to survey the smooth granite summit of Old Rag in the distance and remember sitting up there in the summer sun a few months ago, munching peanut butter sandwiches.  Maybe we’ll return again next year, the leaves will. They always do.

National Geographic Traveler – Interview Series [Teaser] from Matador Network on Vimeo.

(Get inside advice from National Geographic Traveler’s editorial staff: Keith Bellows, Amy Alipio, Norie Quintos, Marilyn Terrell, Kathie Gartrell, and Dan Westergren. Offered only to students of www.matadoru.com)

Content creation has changed

We forget so easily what life was like five years ago.  In many places it hasn’t changed a great deal, but in the online world things move so fast that five years probably equates to about fifty.  Twitter and Facebook have both become part of the digital furniture in that time, both of which–like Google–are merely advertising businesses masquerading as something far more interesting.  The blogosphere is similar, it’s changed so much.

Noise on the internet has been cranked up significantly; it was once fairly easy to get noticed as a blogger if you had a nice looking site and a a well timed interesting message–that’s how Make Travel Fair won its recognition early on.  Once Twitter came along and Facebook opened up to brands, a blog was no longer the only means of creating content and engaging people in a discussion.  Some said the blog was dead.

To be an ‘influencer’ and a useful asset for advertisers you no longer even need to blog; you can tweet, Facebook, instagram, foursquare and tumble your way to a noteworthy Klout score.

Having the support of a community is vital

The Matador Network has stayed abreast of these changes remarkably well, and built a community that understands it.  MatadorU is a 12 chapter insight into how popular content is produced, what you need to do as a successful blogger, and how you can get on track for a multi-media career as a photographer, writer, or both.  It’s not only a classroom but a community of people asking and enquiring about the same things as you… how do press trips work? how to I get on one? how do I pitch a magazine? how can I make my writing better?

Learn how to write beyond your blog

I’ve learnt that if you are serious about writing then your blog should not be the only home for it, you must reach beyond if you want to generate some income from your efforts.  A few people may still be lured by the illusion that you can actually make a living from blogging, and hope that soon they’ll be raking in advertising dollars.  I’ve never met anyone who lives comfortably in the western world and makes a living from their blog; which leads me to believe that it just doesn’t happen. Either they live a nomadic life, hopping between countries where living is cheap, or are supported by a partner who makes a good living.

Next month I will feel like a writer and photographer when I get on my press trip, and it’s thanks to the help of MatadorU and its community that I’ll be there and that I’m beginning to write in places other than this blog.

Yes there are affiliate links in this post.

TODAY I will write. It’s that simple. I will wake up, make breakfast, and then I will write. I need to be inspired. I need to find a story, a memory, a simple trigger from which I can begin to recollect an experience. This assignment has been hanging over my head for too long.

It’s a bright sunny morning. If ever there was a day for writing, today is it. With eyes half shut and heavy morning feet I plod downstairs and switch on the kettle – Fariza will be down soon and will want some coffee, even if I don’t.

I rub my eyes as the kettle boils. Two mangoes stare back at me from the fruit bowl. They always go bad, I never eat them in time to enjoy them the way they should be – soft, bright, yellow, juicy, sweet, velvet in the mouth – the way they were in the Cook Islands. I squeeze them gently. They’re slightly soft, perfect.

A beautifully yellow, unblemished half of mango rolls away from my knife as I slice through the tough green skin. Its sweet smell hits my nose immediately. It smells yellow. In the spectrum of happy colours yellow is at the top. Butter, egg yolks, lemons, honeydew melons, bananas, sunshine… they all make the morning a better time of day.

I carry the mango stone to the sink – they’re so messy to enjoy but worth every effort. The smell, the taste, the texture, even the sound of me gnawing at the fibrous flesh takes me back to the South Pacific. I close my eyes for a moment, still holding the stone at my mouth.

It was years ago that we were in the Cook Islands. Tropical fruit was always on the breakfast menu, often fresh from the tree that morning. Papayas, passion fruit, star fruit and mangoes were all in great abundance.

It was our last day on Aitutaki – a small coral atoll about an hour north of Rarotonga by plane – and we’d promised ourselves that we’d wake up for the sunrise. We rode on our moped to the eastern edge of the island where a single hammock and picnic bench were perfectly positioned for welcoming the day.

The main island road was dark and deserted except for the dim glow of our headlamp and the bashful drone of a 50cc engine. Two mangoes and a papaya rattled about in the front basket. My still sleepy eyes struggled with the quick and early transition from bed to moped; weeping constantly in the cool, humid headwind as we raced across the island. Dawn was beginning to break. We arrived just as the first sunbeams started to paint the sky. The next half an hour was spent in silence.

Once the sun had fully risen and the pinks and oranges started to fade we cut open our fruit, quickly devouring the flesh in an shamelessly barbaric manner.

“Morning! Did you make any coffee?”

I jump, startled. Mouth and hands covered in mango. I turn and reply, “Not yet” with a big grin. She looks at me and a knowing smile creeps across her face. She knows where I’ve been. I look down at the mango stone and it’s almost bare of flesh. I throw it in the bin, wash my hands and face, and we each sit down at the table with a mug of coffee. We turn at the same time turn to look at a photo on the wall of us both holding hands at Cathedral Cove, in New Zealand.

“I wish we could go travelling together again“, she says.

Sail Rail tickets are a bargain

I recently travelled from London to Dublin on a Sail Rail ticket - a great combined train and ferry deal that takes you all the way from your local station to Dublin ferry port – you end up with a handful of different tickets to shuffle through, which can be mildly frustrating, but for around £70 return it’s a bargain.  The novelty of making a phone booking rather than simply typing into an internet search box and clicking the ‘buy now’ button also makes for a nice change – Sail Rail tickets can only by purchased via a phonecall.

Free WiFi on the train helps you stay connected

My first experience of travelling this route into Ireland was back in 2007, so it was interesting to see how things have changed in a few years, and what it’s like after the novelty of replacing plane with train and ferry has faded.  Virgin trains now carry free WiFi onboard (atleast in First Class, and in Standard Class until the end of February) which is a huge benefit to this portion of the journey, unfortunately Irish Ferries operate a pay-per-use policy for their WiFi during the crossing.

It’s worth noting that Virgin Trains no longer accept credit or debit cards at their onboard shops, so make sure you’ve got some cash handy before relying on this to keep you fed and watered on the journey.

Not ideal for a short break

The problem with this trip is that the train from London to Holyhead is a significant distance.  It’s around 3.5 hours on top of your local commute into London – an hour for me – which makes for a rather long period of travel when tagged on the front of a slow ferry ride of 3.5 hours.  The journey ends up close to matching the air time of a London to New York flight.  Bearing in mind that this is not a one-way journey means that it is far from ideal for a short break.

It’s often said that this type of travel is not about drawing comparisons to flying, but about enjoying a different and slower experience, and I agree; but the transport must be comfortable and mindset correct.  A short weekend trip away doesn’t really fit the philosophy in my opinion and travel distances should be kept more manageable when time is short.  A 4 to 5 hour journey time is probably towards the upper end of this threshold, which means staying a lot more local for short breaks if you want to keep it green.

With that said there is a quiet, inner satisfaction in the days that follow a train and ferry journey.  The feeling of having been abroad and not visited an airport is rather pleasing.

My top tips for travelling London to Dublin by train and ferry

• Catch a faster boat like the Irish Ferries Swift, it cuts the crossing time in half to 1 hour 49 minutes.
• Book a First Class seat on the train for greater comfort and free WiFi.

The Dublin Swift ferry departs Holyhead daily at 12:00 and 17:15, and returns from Dublin daily at 08:45 and 14:30.

Trying to compare different faiths of the world is like trying to compare car insurance, each is different in its own way, each claims to be better than the other, yet all generally exist to serve the same purpose and deliver the same end result.

Multi Faith Prayer Rooms / Flickr photo by welou

Diversity of the earth and of the human race

In the vast majority of cases a person’s religion is dictated by the circumstances of their birth.  Someone born to a Muslim family in a Muslim country (or even a non-Muslim country) will probably become a Muslim, someone born into a Christian family in a Christian part of the world will probably become a Christian, someone born into a remote tribe will carry the same beliefs as other tribe members.  It’s highly unlikely that a Buddhist family in Tibet would raise a child who follows Islam.  This hereditary tradition creates few problems until the diversity of the human race is revealed, and it is considered that faiths are no longer concentrated almost exclusively within different nations which are wholly of that faith.

At the mercy of your place of birth

Since the different major religions of the world all spawned in different corners of the globe, whilst the world beyond the horizon was vastly unknown to many, is it realistic to still believe today that simply by virtue of birthplace much of the entire human race may be forever condemned to a life of no spiritual significance, with no hope of an afterlife, simply because they do not follow your faith.

How do we integrate? Can we integrate?

This theological question is further complicated as a new generation of people with different faiths and cultures become integrated, and whose families are burdened with the possibility of an inter-faith marriage.  Is one party forced to convert to please the other, or can there be a happy union of souls?

Note:
This article was inspired by a lecture given by Philosoper and Theologian, John Hick, titled ‘Religious Pluralism and Islam’.

Airshow audience / Flickr photo by kbaird

Making new things old

There are new products and services available now across all sorts of areas that quite amusingly attempt to make new things old again.  Many supermarket products now carry vintage style labels and branding; people will pay exorbitant amounts of money for old ‘vintage’ clothing; one of the best selling iPhone Apps of 2010 was Hipstmatic, which turns your phone into an old style camera in order to make your new photos appear old, it claims ‘digital photography has never looked so analog’.  We’ve all been pushed forward so fast over these last ten years into a cheap, temporary, disposable, stretched existence that people are now beginning to push back and lean on the more solid and genuine articles that we left behind.

Obsessed with taking photos

A slow photography movement was recently suggested by Tim Wu in his Slate article, ‘The Slow Photography Movement – What is the point of taking pictures?‘.  I certainly agree with what Tim has expressed in his article, photography has got out of control.  Whether it’s tourists snapping indiscriminately at landmarks, point-and-shoot photographers laden with thousands of pounds worth of equipment, or parents watching their child perform in a play through a viewfinder.  We are obsessed with trying to capture moments.  It’s as if we feel that what we can immortalise on film is of higher value than any reality unfolding at that particular moment in time.

We all need to be more conscious

Taking photography seriously is not for everyone, it is a rather technical skill, and like painting it requires time and a great attention to detail.  The slow photography movement already exists amongst serious photography enthusiasts, it’s integral to the skill; just as slow travel and slow food have always existed amongst serious travellers and foodies, it’s integral to the experience.  What the proponents of all these movements are really pushing for is a population with a higher level of consciousness, where even the most disinterested individuals understand the art of living.  We have all become so buried in work, technology and the fast pace of life that we’ve lost our heads and our vision; we’re depriving ourselves.

What do you think about these slow movements? Are they niche or are more people now climbing onboard trying to return to how things used to be and get back some of what we’ve lost?

I recently blogged about “10 Major internet developments in 2010“, and smartphone photography, or rather the new opportunities it is giving rise to, is definitely one of those.  Particularly in the case of the iPhone, apps like Instagram have really contributed to the rise in popularity of the camera phone.

As the larger news outfits look to cut costs on covering local and international stories, citizen journalism and backpack journalism, look to become increasingly important. The proliferation of smartphone photography will undoubtedly lead to huge libraries of real time images shared though various apps and websites.

News source:

This video was discovered through Twitter via a retweet from @BenColclough.

RT @CailinONeil: "What Camera should I buy?" http://su.pr/1XshXS thanks to @spudhilton @ibackpackcanada @candicewalsh @eloren

December 13, 2010 12:03 pm via TweetDeckReplyRetweetFavorite

@MarksTravels

Mark Sukhija

Maintaining a good reputation online will never be an easy task nowadays with facebook updates, tweets, user reviews all being passed around the internet amongst a global audience at lightning speed.  Bad press can destroy a business and it doesn’t have to be a well regarded journalist writing in a respected publication, it can be a single Blogger in his bedroom sharing an opinion or one disgruntled customer writing a negative review.

Flickr photo by bondidwhat

A good example of this is the Blogger that almost put an end to Tribewanted just as it was getting out of the starting blocks.  He wrote a report calling the project a scam and membership levels plummeted overnight. Tribewanted – a pioneering new model for tourism – is in its fourth year now and setting up a second destination in Sierra Leone this month… clearly not a scam.

Knowing how to deal with bad press is tricky, some people suggest ignoring it and others suggest tackling it, one thing is for sure you can’t prevent it.  Just who is liable for the opinions posted on review sites like TripAdvisor? Are anonymous public broadcasts of customer complaints the best way to reconcile differences?

If you’re going write a review why not write it using your full name and let the business know directly if you’re not happy, that way they have the opportunity to correct a mistake.   This is where the open nature of the Internet fails, valuable feedback is not given to hotels but posted somewhere that they may never find it.