ME L B OUR NE | OAK L AND | L ONDON

A JOURNEY THROUGH EVERY COUNTRY IN THE WORLD

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Most travel journeys take in just a country or two, but the journey youre about to embark on
incorporates every country on earth. In this book youll nd evocative glimpses of every single
nation in the world, from Afghanistan to Zimbabwe, from the postage-stamp-sized Vatican City
to the epic expanse of the Russian Federation.
To actually visit all the countries in this book would require several passports and a suitcase
of plane tickets, or it can be simulated with a turn of these pages. Highlighted by some of the
nest photography in the world, the Travel Book offers a glimpse of each countrys perks and
quirks: when to go, what to see, how to eat it up and drink it in, and ways to immerse yourself
in the life and the land. What results is a grand snapshot of our diverse and kaleidoscopic
world rather than an encyclopedic reference. Its a book that unashamedly views the planet
through the prism of the traveller, focusing on places for their beauty, charm or singularity,
even if this does sometimes conict with dened political or geographical borders.
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THE COUNTRY CONUNDRUM
A country count can be an arbitrary thing.
At its core weve used the UNs list of 192
member states. Every one of these countries
features in the book, but weve also built
on the list to include foreign dependencies,
whether they be self-governing or not, that are
popular traveller destinations. Thus youll find
Caribbean islands (Anguilla, Cayman Islands,
Guadeloupe, Martinique, Puerto Rico, Turks
& Caicos, Virgin Islands), Atlantic islands
(Bermuda, Falkland Islands) and Pacific islands
(Cook Islands, Guam & Northern Marianas,
New Caledonia, Pitcairn Islands, Tahiti & French
Polynesia). There are the two great land masses
of Antarctica and Greenland, which are too
large and fascinating to leave out of any true
world guide. There are disputed lands such
as Palestine, Kosovo, Tibet and Taiwan, and
recognisably unique regions such as Hong
Kong, Macau and French Guiana. Weve also
divided Great Britain into its component parts
THE STORY
OF THE
TRAVEL BOOK
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(England, Scotland and Wales) to recognise
their individual appeal and their rich and
distinctive histories and cultures.
At the books end youll nd an additional
11 places of interest, chosen by Lonely
Planets founder and chief frequent-yer Tony
Wheeler. These bonus destinations are small
dependencies that still warrant great attraction,
whether it be the smoking cigar of Montserrat
or Gibraltar, that little piece of Britannia on the
Mediterranean. In total, you can read about 229
countries and destinations. Its exhausting just
to think about.
THE STRUCTURE
The Travel Book follows the most straightforward
of formats A to Z rolling through the
alphabet of nations. From a travellers
perspective, a countrys might and power
arent necessarily relative to its fascination and
appeal, and weve tried to capture that, giving
equal weight to every country regardless of
whether it has had 15 minutes or 15 centuries of
world fame the likes of Djibouti and Suriname
are as noteworthy here, as the superpowers of
the US and China.
The books guiding philosophy is to present
a subjective view of the world from Lonely
Planets perspective, looking below the surface
to show a slice of life from every country in the
world. Entries evoke the spirit of each place
by appealing to the senses what you might
see and feel, what kind of food and drink might
avour your visit, and which books, music or
lms will help prepare you for the experience.
Youll nd the events, objects and people that are
central to each countrys identity and youll nd
curious, little-known facts.
Photos are paramount to capturing and sharing
the spirit of a place and its people, and images in
this book have been chosen to weave stories of
their own. Clichd icons and picture-postcard views
have been avoided in favour of photos that tell of
life in its myriad forms at work, at play, at worship,
laughing, singing, relaxing, dancing or just surviving
in order to bring you countries, not brochures.
You may never visit all the Travel Books
destinations, but if its true, as Aldous Huxley
once wrote, that to travel is to discover that
everyone is wrong about other countries, then to
read about them all is to nd out if you are right.
We hope the Travel Book inspires a world of travel.
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Snow, ice, water, rock, sky. The stark surroundings of
Antarctica and the enormousness of its ice shelves and
mountain ranges make for an elemental beauty that can
haunt you for the rest of your life. Nothing compares
and nowhere else on earth can so heighten feelings of
humanitys insignicance and natures grandeur. The
wildlife, including emperor penguins, leopard seals and
minke whales, are not afraid of humans, allowing for
spectacular and surreal close encounters. Governed by
29 nations, this continent/country is primarily dedicated to
scientic research but its also one of the planets regions
thats most visibly affected by global warming; as parts of
the continent melt, others grow, leaving scientists to debate
what it all actually means.
BEST TIME TO VISIT
November to February for summer
TOP THINGS TO SEE
Majestic icebergs and mountain reections on the water
at Paradise Harbour
The true grit of Antarctic exploration icily preserved at
Shackletons expedition hut
Dazzling blooms of violet, pink and white in the gardens on
Campbell Island
Three eerie, ghost-lled explorers huts on Ross Island
A beautiful blue-eyed shag regurgitating a meal to its chick
TOP THINGS TO DO
Glide on a Zodiac under the mornings pink skies past basking
Weddell seals and noisy gentoo penguins
Sail inside the restless volcano at Deception Island
Get startled by a loud fffff, then be bathed in a sh-scented
mist as a whale surfaces next to your boat
Experience the bluster of Home of the Blizzard, one of the
windiest places on earth
GETTING UNDER THE SKIN
Read Travelers Tales Antarctica: Life on the Ice, a collection of
Antarctic tales from the goofy to the harrowing
Listen to Rothera Stations wintering rock band Nunatak made
up of two scientists, two engineers and a eld assistant
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Watch the beautifully restored footage of Shackletons men
and dogs working on the ice-beset ship Endurance in the
1998 lm South
Eat an Antarctic barbecue, set up on deck or even on the ice
Drink an Antarctic Old Fashion: made from one fth of 100-proof
bourbon, seven packets of multiavoured Life Savers sweets and
just-melted snow
IN A WORD
The A-factor (The local term for the unexpected difculties caused
by the Antarctic environment)
TRADEMARKS
Icebergs; penguins; freezing cold; geologists; explorers; the South
Pole; glaciers; seals; 24-hour sunlight, sled dogs; global warming
RANDOM FACT
Antarcticas ice sheets contain 90% of the worlds ice 28 million
cu km holding about 70% of the worlds fresh water
1. Youll need a few layers of clothes to brave camping in the true wildnerness
of Patriot Hills
2. Browning Peninsula resembles a bite taken from a giant ice-cream
cake and the aerial views are just as appetising
3. The march of the king penguins spans the land as far as the eye can see,
Lusitania Bay
4. Roll on the ice like a local on the western Antarctic Peninsula
MAP REF Y, 30
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Scott Station
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The Dry
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Slovakia long played second ddle to the Czech
Republic, but with the demise of Czechoslovakia in the
Velvet Revolution of 1989, the Slovaks moved on with a
characteristic lack of rancour and went about their business
unperturbed. Here, folk traditions still hold sway, family life
is paramount, and no one is particularly bothered with glitz
and glamour. Slovakia offers a wealth of outdoor attractions,
with well-marked paths criss-crossing forested hills, the
High Tatras mountains and Mal Fatra National Park.
Unpretentious Gothic cities, stately castles and picturesque
villages with wooden churches made without nails, punctuate
the landscape. The locals appreciate the unspoiled nature
of their surrounds so wherever you go youre sure to be
greeted by a Slovak striding out bearing a backpack.
BEST TIME TO VISIT
May to September
TOP THINGS TO SEE
The sprawling, rocky mass of Spi Castle, a ruin rambling over
four hectares
Neat pastel facades on the Gothic-Renaissance burghers
houses in Bardejov
Precipitous peaks and pine-topped ridges in the Mal Fatra
National Park
Prickly spires and battlements on Bojnice Castle, the most vistied
chateau in Slovakia
TOP THINGS TO DO
Wander the streets beneath Bratislava Castle dropping in at
the narrow Museum of Clocks and Museum of Jewish Culture
Plunge into a thermal pool, breathe seaside breezes in
a salt cave, or be wrapped naked in hot mud at a Pieany
thermal treatment
Dip your toes over the edge of a plte (wooden raft) down
Dunajec Gorge
Clamber up the ladder and chain ascents to the precipice in
Slovensk Raj
Crunch through the snow on the walking trails of the High Tatras
GETTING UNDER THE SKIN
Read the straightforward tales of feisty Slovakian women in That
Alluring Land: Slovak Tales by Bozena Slancikova-Timrava
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Listen to wailing gajdy (bagpipes) and konkovka (shepherds
utes) that are central to much Slovakian folk music
Watch internationally acclaimed Krajinka, directed by Martin Sulik,
10 vignettes of Slovakian rural life, landscape and ways throughout
the 20th century
Eat schnitzel, bryndzove halusky (potato dumplings with sheeps
cheese and bacon)
Drink local beers such as dark, sweet Martiner or full-bodied Zlat
IN A WORD
Ahoj (Hello)
TRADEMARKS
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RANDOM FACT
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mammoth bone found near Pieany in 1938, is almost 25,000
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2. Perfomers dance in folk dress at the annual Gemer folk festival, Rejdov
3.
National Park
4. The view from St Michaels Tower, Bratislava, takes in the historical old town
nestled beneath Bratislava Castle
MAP REF H,22
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Trnava
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Komarno
Bystrica
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Zilina
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South Africa overshadows almost every other country
on the continent with its economy, its inuence and the
turbulence of its history. Yet, its only in the microcosm of
daily life where the countrys real spirit emerges. Share a
drink with locals in a tin-roofed shebeen (illegal drinking
establishment); glance into a township school; sip a glass
of wine on a blue-sky day on a Winelands Cape Dutch
estate; sit at dawn at a watering hole in any of South
Africas national parks; spend a morning at Johannesburgs
Apartheid Museum. Wherever you go, South Africas human
drama with its pain, its injustice and its hope mixes with
an unsurpassed natural beauty. The result is sobering and
challenging, fascinating and inspiring and alluring enough
to keep most visitors returning time and time again.
BEST TIME TO VISIT
Year-round, with spring (September to November) and autumn
(April to May) ideal almost everywhere
TOP THINGS TO SEE
Cape Town, Robben Island and Table Bay from the top of
Table Mountain
Namaqualands vast, colourful carpets of spring owers
The convergence of two oceans at the Cape of Good Hope
Stark and solitary landscapes of shifting sands in Kgalagadi
Transfrontier Park
Stunning panoramas from almost anywhere amid the peaks
and valleys of the Drakensberg
TOP THINGS TO DO
Bush walk at dawn past elephants and zebras in
Kruger National Park
Spend time in Soweto, Johannesburgs sprawling, turbulent,
hope-lled soul
View dolphins, crashing waves and waterfalls while trekking
along the Wild Coast
Discover Cape Town, with its lively vibes and
cosmopolitan rhythms
Explore the beauty and birdlife of lovely iSimangaliso Wetland Park
GETTING UNDER THE SKIN
Read Long Walk to Freedom Nelson Mandelas
inspirational autobiography
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Listen to Nkosi Sikelel iAfrika (God Bless Africa) part of the
South African national anthem of unity
Watch Amandla! A Revolution in Four-Part Harmony, which uses
music, song and the voices of political activists and other
prominent South Africans to document the anti-apartheid struggle
Eat biltong (dried and cured meat); mealies (maize); and
boerwors (sausages)
Drink wines from the Cape Winelands; or rooibos herbal tea
IN A WORD
Howzit?
TRADEMARKS
Table Mountain; Springboks rugby team; Nelson Mandela; Kruger
National Park; wildlife; whales; surf; braai (barbecue)
RANDOM FACT
Almost half of South Africas wealth is concentrated among just
10% of the population
1. Unsuspecting prime rump is enough to make any predators eyes light up,
as Burchells Zebras quench their thirst in Kruger National Park
2. Fancy a cuppa? San people (Kalahari Bushmen) prepare a brew
3. A young lion plans his next move while lapping water from a pool in Sabi
Sands Game Reserve
4. Sheltered from the wind, the beaches at Clifton are regarded as Cape
Towns top sunbathing spots
MAP REF S,22
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Cape
Town
Bloemfontein
Pretoria
Swellendam
Kimberley
Mmabatho
Klerksdorp
Potchefstroom
Welkom
Kroonstad
Vereeniging
Soweto
Johannesburg
Rustenburg
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Nelspruit
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Estcourt
Durban
Pietermaritzburg
Louwsburg
East London
Port
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King
William's
Town
Uitenhage
Port Elizabeth
Umtata
Vioolsdrif
S WAZ I L AND
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