S2 07 | Timbuktu — a true story

In 1962 all eyes were on Seattle for the World Fair. It was the height of the space race between the U.S and the USSR — the city’s landmark Space Needle and monorail are relics of that time.  Fast forward 60 odd years and Seattle will soon be the world’s focus once again, this time for the 2026 FIFA World Cup. But a very different Seattle will be on display.  While Seattle has produced numerous global exports such as Jimi Hendrix, Nirvana, Starbucks and Boeing, we don’t often hear much about what makes this Pacific Northwest city so special and unique, beyond the weather! So, we’ve enlisted some amazing local guides to show us around.  Come fly with us as we head to Seattle to hear how the cultural milieu of the city is changing and what that means for its identity.  

When you read the world Dublin, it’s hard to escape the romantic literary associations that James Joyce’s Ulysses kicked off a century ago. Central Dublin still bears the traces of Joyce, Beckett, and Wilde — Dubliners who left the city to write about it. But the contemporary Irish capital is a world away from Joyce's literary portrait.  Today, Dublin is among the world’s most expensive cities on the planet, resembling more of a tech hub than a lit hub. And yet, many are still drawn to Dublin’s literary possibilities, despite its challenges. It’s made space for Rooney, Enright, and a slew of diverse writers. So just what is it about Dublin and the written word?  

Fiji has certainly come a long way since television was first introduced in 1991.Back then, a rugby-mad nation had its first taste of screen for the World Cup. Today, Fiji is fast-becoming one of the world's top filming destinations for a range of screen productions, from reality tv to big Hollywood blockbusters.But has this interest from the screen industries translated into more Fijian stories getting told? And what's the reality of life for Fiji… beyond the tourist-facing tales of tropical escape?

When you think about Rio de Janeiro, what comes to mind? Beautiful beaches, parties, Carnival and music? It's all of those things, but it's a little more complicated than that too. Inequality, inadequate public infrastructure and violence are also persistent issues that plague the city. So come fly with us as Jonathan Green meets some wonderful guides who give us a local's sense of this marvellous and complex city.

Indonesia's award-winning poet Goenawan Mohamad once said that Jakarta has a congenital disease. It's a capital that was never seriously planned for… simply an accumulation of growth that became a city. And we know the symptoms: Jakarta's polluted, congested, and thirsty.But despite all of this, some 30 million people have put their faith in this Asian megacity by choosing to make it their home. So what role does faith have in defining Jakarta, and perhaps, what it could be?

It's one of the world's most notorious tax havens that houses the permanent addresses of oligarchs, tennis pros, and entire Formula 1 teams.There's also no such thing as income tax here.But to live in Monaco, you have to pay to play… you'll need at least 500,000 euros in the bank, and afford to buy or rent property in one of the most expensive places on earth.So what's there to discover if you lived like a local just for one night… ?

We're back! Where do you want to go?Here at Return Ticket — RN's seasonal travel show — no money or passports are required. We just need a curious mind and your time.In season three, we'll venture to Monaco, Jakarta, Rio de Janeiro, Fiji, Seattle and Dublin — searching for what the tourist doesn't see. Come fly with us, we've saved a seat just for you.

Iceland's capital Reykjavik is a place where people navigate geographic isolation, long periods of light and dark, unforgiving weather… and the intermittent threat of earthquakes and volcanic eruptions.Put together, this perhaps has led to a portrait of Iceland being an intrepid, exotic place — a place where visitors want to live out their Game of Thrones fantasies.But in actuality, daily life is — as many things are in the Nordics — beautifully pragmatic.

Its name is a byword for remote obscurity and intrepid adventure, a medieval trade centre and cradle of African scholarship perched on the edge of the Sahara. But those historical perceptions are so far removed from the reality of the Malian city's current predicament. A place worn down by a decade of conflict, desertification, and sheer isolation. So, what's the truth about Timbuktu?

It was Columbia Pictures President Harry Cohn who once said, "If you must get in trouble, do it at the Chateau Marmont" — and trouble they had.In uncovering the razzle-dazzle of Hollywood, we track the 95-year history of the Chateau, from its beginnings as onion fields, to its rise as a place of decadence, scandal, fame and murder.Plus, how did the palm tree become an emblem of LA, and could Marilyn Monroe really act?