“Where have you been on holiday?” With so much of the world now open to tourism, it’s getting harder and harder to answer this question in a way that impresses. On the other hand, there are so many more choices, and extreme environments are so accessible that the activities you can do in remote areas seem limitless. It’s now almost as much about what you do in a place as the place itself.
Extreme holidays offer an opportunity to challenge yourself and your limits, often in some of the most inspiring locations you can imagine. The important thing to bear in mind when booking an extreme holiday is the activity level. How much activity do you want? You would actually be more active at an inexpensive Muay Thai course in Thailand than an expensive cruise to the North Pole. But then you wouldn’t have seen the North Pole — without a doubt one of the world’s most extreme environments. Whatever you desire, here is a selection of trips to get your pulse racing.
A great starting point for extreme-adventure holidays is responsibletravel.com, which gathers 48 trips classed as "extreme" from various companies, allowing you to choose by location. There are tours that allow you to ride a stage of the Tour de France or do a ski marathon in Switzerland; motorbike tours of Mongolia; an activity holiday in Nepal featuring canyoning, bungee jumping, white-water rafting, downhill mountain biking, paragliding and hiking; an overland journey along the Karakoram Highway in Pakistan; diving in Antarctica; trekking the world's deepest canyon in Peru or Austria's highest mountain. In addition to offering specialised activities, most of these trips also give a decent overview of the destination itself.
Other companies that deliver include Exodus (www.exodus.co.uk), which now offers a two-week Journey to the North Pole on the world's largest nuclear-powered icebreaker, equipped with helicopters for aerial sightseeing. The trip costs from £18,400 (Dh103,820) per person excluding flights and involves flying to Helsinki and on to Murmansk, from where the ship departs, stopping at Franz Josef Land before heading to the geographic North Pole. Although there is time off the ship, a lot of time is spent at sea.
Following polar explorers For those who actually want to follow in the footsteps of the great polar explorers, Gane and Marshall's Ski the Last Degree — Journey to the North Pole expedition departs from Spitsbergen, in the Svalbard archipelago, where adventurers will begin an arduous journey across the pack ice to the geographic North Pole. This is a gruelling challenge, requiring participants to haul a sled weighing in excess of 50kg for 10 days in extreme climatic conditions. The trip departs in April 2016 and is led by highly experienced polar explorer Alan Chambers. Prices start from £39,000 (Dh220,000) per person and includes a pre-expedition training weekend in the United Kingdom, return flights from London Heathrow to Spitsbergen, a helicopter flight to ice camp Barneo, ice camping and hotel accommodation for 13 nights, transfers, all meals, specialist equipment and full medical and evacuation insurance. For more information, visit www.ganeandmarshall.com.
Volcanoes, hot springs and geysers For a strenuous trekking programme, World Expeditions (www.worldexpeditions.com) is offering a 21-day trip to Kamchatka in the far east of Russia — a landscape offering sweeping bays, boiling geysers, bears, snow-capped volcanoes, plus alpine meadows and lowland forests. There are six to eight hours of trekking per day with one rest day in the middle, plus a visit to volcanoes and hot springs at the end. The trip costs from £3,660 (Dh20,650) per person, excluding international flights.
Summit bound Exodus offers 18 "summit holidays", allowing you to scale peaks such as Mont Blanc, the highest peak in western Europe, Mount Toubkal in Morocco, the highest in North Africa, Mount Kilimanjaro, the highest in Africa, and Mount Fuji in Japan. An eight-day trip to the summit of Mount Kenya costs from £999 (Dh5,630) per person, excluding flights. There are five hiking days, each with distances of between 9km and 23km, and the accommodation is "private toilet tents". The trip is graded "challenging/tough".
Martial arts If you like a hard workout but prefer a proper bed at the end of each day and proximity to a beach, Muay Thai boxing enthusiasts can head straight to the source in Thailand. There are Thai boxing camps all over the country that accept tourists, with varying costs and levels of activity: the best are extremely tough and will leave you with an exhilarating awareness of your physical potential — and how sluggish our lifestyles usually are. In Phuket, a week's accommodation in a deluxe bungalow at Tiger Muay Thai & Mixed Martial Arts camp (www.tigermuaythai.com) costs from Dh1,000. A week of training costs from Dh354, with a choice of 11 classes daily.
Nepal and beyond The Dubai-based Wild Guanabana (www.wildguanabana.com) offers a variety of hiking and active holidays. An eight-day budget hiking trip to Nepal's Annapurnas, including Poon Hill at 3,210m, costs from $899 (Dh3,300) per person excluding flights; a 14-day "deluxe" trip to Annapurna Base Camp costs from $1,999 (Dh7,340) per person for 14 days. For 12- to 16-year-olds, there's a four-day hiking, abseiling and caving trip to Lebanon (pictured), costing from $860 (Dh3,160) per person, excluding flights. Another option is a 11-day trip to Antarctica aboard the Ocean Diamond, from $6,295 (Dh23,120) per person, excluding flights.
Along the Congo River For a holiday of a lifetime that may be low on comfort but high on adventure, Wild Frontiers (www.wildfrontiers.com) has recently launched a 30-day trip along 1,700km of the Congo River (DRC). The trip starts and ends in Kinshasa and takes in Kisangani and Bolobo. It retraces part of a journey undertaken by Welsh explorer Henry Morton Stanley in 1874 and involves travel by riverboat, camping on the riverbanks and trips into the forest. It costs from £6,295 (Dh35,520) per person excluding flights.
Closer to home The hiking group UAE Trekkers (www.meetup.com/uaetrekkers/) takes on the challenging peaks in the UAE, Oman and beyond, providing training and organisation as a group.
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Power: 248hp at 5,200rpm
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Under ‘snapback’, measures imposed on Iran by the UN Security Council in six resolutions would be restored, including:
- An arms embargo
- A ban on uranium enrichment and reprocessing
- A ban on launches and other activities with ballistic missiles capable of delivering nuclear weapons, as well as ballistic missile technology transfer and technical assistance
- A targeted global asset freeze and travel ban on Iranian individuals and entities
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Killing of Qassem Suleimani
OPTA'S PREDICTED TABLE
1. Liverpool 101 points
2. Manchester City 80
3. Leicester 67
4. Chelsea 63
5. Manchester United 61
6. Tottenham 58
7. Wolves 56
8. Arsenal 56
9. Sheffield United 55
10. Everton 50
11. Burnley 49
12. Crystal Palace 49
13. Newcastle 46
14. Southampton 44
15. West Ham 39
16. Brighton 37
17. Watford 36
18. Bournemouth 36
19. Aston Villa 32
20. Norwich City 29
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World Cricket League Division 2
In Windhoek, Namibia - Top two teams qualify for the World Cup Qualifier in Zimbabwe, which starts on March 4.
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Thursday February 8, v Kenya; Friday February 9, v Canada; Sunday February 11, v Nepal; Monday February 12, v Oman; Wednesday February 14, v Namibia; Thursday February 15, final
The biog
Favourite films: Casablanca and Lawrence of Arabia
Favourite books: Start with Why by Simon Sinek and Good to be Great by Jim Collins
Favourite dish: Grilled fish
Inspiration: Sheikh Zayed's visionary leadership taught me to embrace new challenges.
The Bio
Favourite holiday destination: Either Kazakhstan or Montenegro. I’ve been involved in events in both countries and they are just stunning.
Favourite book: I am a huge of Robin Cook’s medical thrillers, which I suppose is quite apt right now. My mother introduced me to them back home in New Zealand.
Favourite film or television programme: Forrest Gump is my favourite film, that’s never been up for debate. I love watching repeats of Mash as well.
Inspiration: My late father moulded me into the man I am today. I would also say disappointment and sadness are great motivators. There are times when events have brought me to my knees but it has also made me determined not to let them get the better of me.
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Position: legal consultant with Al Rowaad Advocates and Legal Consultants.
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Stars: Jaideep Ahlawat, Ishwak Singh, Lc Sekhose, Merenla Imsong
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UAE insurance firm Al Wathba National Insurance Company (AWNIC) last year launched an e-commerce website with a facility enabling users to buy car wrecks.
Bidders and potential buyers register on the online salvage car auction portal to view vehicles, review condition reports, or arrange physical surveys, and then start bidding for motors they plan to restore or harvest for parts.
Physical salvage car auctions are a common method for insurers around the world to move on heavily damaged vehicles, but AWNIC is one of the few UAE insurers to offer such services online.
For cars and less sizeable items such as bicycles and furniture, Dubizzle is arguably the best-known marketplace for pre-loved.
Founded in 2005, in recent years it has been joined by a plethora of Facebook community pages for shifting used goods, including Abu Dhabi Marketplace, Flea Market UAE and Arabian Ranches Souq Market while sites such as The Luxury Closet and Riot deal largely in second-hand fashion.
At the high-end of the pre-used spectrum, resellers such as Timepiece360.ae, WatchBox Middle East and Watches Market Dubai deal in authenticated second-hand luxury timepieces from brands such as Rolex, Hublot and Tag Heuer, with a warranty.
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
Labour dispute
The insured employee may still file an ILOE claim even if a labour dispute is ongoing post termination, but the insurer may suspend or reject payment, until the courts resolve the dispute, especially if the reason for termination is contested. The outcome of the labour court proceedings can directly affect eligibility.
- Abdullah Ishnaneh, Partner, BSA Law
Our legal columnist
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Advocate at Al Bahar & Associate Advocates and Legal Consultants, established in 1994
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UAE v Gibraltar
What: International friendly
When: 7pm kick off
Where: Rugby Park, Dubai Sports City
Admission: Free
Online: The match will be broadcast live on Dubai Exiles’ Facebook page
UAE squad: Lucas Waddington (Dubai Exiles), Gio Fourie (Exiles), Craig Nutt (Abu Dhabi Harlequins), Phil Brady (Harlequins), Daniel Perry (Dubai Hurricanes), Esekaia Dranibota (Harlequins), Matt Mills (Exiles), Jaen Botes (Exiles), Kristian Stinson (Exiles), Murray Reason (Abu Dhabi Saracens), Dave Knight (Hurricanes), Ross Samson (Jebel Ali Dragons), DuRandt Gerber (Exiles), Saki Naisau (Dragons), Andrew Powell (Hurricanes), Emosi Vacanau (Harlequins), Niko Volavola (Dragons), Matt Richards (Dragons), Luke Stevenson (Harlequins), Josh Ives (Dubai Sports City Eagles), Sean Stevens (Saracens), Thinus Steyn (Exiles)
Coal Black Mornings
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Killing of Qassem Suleimani
The burning issue
The internal combustion engine is facing a watershed moment – major manufacturer Volvo is to stop producing petroleum-powered vehicles by 2021 and countries in Europe, including the UK, have vowed to ban their sale before 2040. The National takes a look at the story of one of the most successful technologies of the last 100 years and how it has impacted life in the UAE.
Read part four: an affection for classic cars lives on
Read part three: the age of the electric vehicle begins
Read part one: how cars came to the UAE
