Colourful journeys
The first colour travelogue film was made in the mid-1920s by Claude Friese-Greene, a pioneer of colour film and the son of William Friese-Greene, whom some credit with inventing moving pictures. The former spent several years travelling around Britain with his homemade camera and experimental 'natural colour' film process, visiting holiday-resort towns and other scenic locations. He planned to create 24 episodes under the banner The Open Road, to be shown weekly in cinemas, to inspire people to explore the country. The United States and other locations were also to have been target markets for what would have been a pioneering promotional vehicle for attracting overseas tourists. For reasons not entirely clear, the pre-Technicolor films never went on general release and remained locked away until recently, when the British Film Institute (BFI) restored them to their original glory and made a television series featuring the original footage and interviews with some of the elderly people, then children, who appeared in the film.
Making amends
Perhaps mindful of its position as the publisher that turned the travel world on its head and unleashed millions of backpackers on an unsuspecting, unspoiled world, guide-book publisher Lonely Planet is now turning its attentions to eco travel, with a volume titled Code Green: Trips of a Lifetime That Won't Cost the Earth. Describing itself, ironically some may feel, as 'alert to the need for change in the way we travel', this 220-page book highlights 'almost 100 responsible travel experiences from across the planet, from budget backpacking to serious luxury'. Oddly, many of the destinations featured seem to be places that could well do without visitors, such as Antarctica and other pristine wilderness locations, even if the accent is on responsible travel, positive contributions and the like. Code Green is available from Paddyfield.com for $156 and can be browsed in part at
www.lonelyplanet.com.
Out of the box
Low-cost accommodation in Japan, at least that offered by Hong Kong travel agents, usually means a claustrophobic box room at some late-night salaryman bolt-hole in Tokyo's Shinjuku district, such as the Washington or the Prince. For those seeking something a little more traditional, especially ryokan and onsen, website Japanese Guest Houses has listings and information on cheap, small properties from Tokyo down to Okinawa and up to the wilds of Hokkaido. Rates in the lowest pricing tier start at about $480 a night and often include breakfast and access to hot springs. Interactive maps, user reviews, photo galleries and online reservations make this a good place to start researching a self-organised trip to the country, or an extension to a regular travel package. See
www.japaneseguesthouses.com for further details.