THE WORLD IS MORE THAN ENOUGH
By Natasha Preston
After 50 glorious years of 007 heaven, Skyfall is hotly tipped to be the best one yet. As the latest Bond blockbuster hits the big screen, we’ve been reminiscing over the secret agent’s enviable travel portfolio…
From exotic to iconic, the remote to the metropolitan, we’ve seen the world’s most famous spy travel far and wide to protect Queen and country. He’s played for high stakes in Monaco, chased a metal-mouth baddy through Egypt’s ancient wonders and dangled from an airship over the Golden Gate Bridge.
James Bond has clocked up a fair few Air Miles over half a century, here we look at some of his most memorable movie moments...
The Place: Istanbul, Turkey
The Films: From Russia with Love (1963), Skyfall (2012)
A city icon pierces the skyline with its quartet of minarets; Hagia Sophia is the designated meeting point where Soviet turncoat, Tatiana Romanova, hopes to give blueprints to Mr Bond. Inevitably things don’t quite go to plan, and the couple are soon escaping Istanbul on the Orient Express!
The Trip: Highlights of Turkey
The Place: Baja, Mexico
The Film: Diamonds Are Forever (1971)
Classic Bond at its purist; an unflappable Sean Connery foils a diamond heist despite spending an awful lot of time charming the ladies! The final show down takes place off Mexico’s shores, where 007 takes out archetypal super villain, Blofeld. However, these waters are home to more than just Blofeld and his fluffy Turkish cat; they harbour whales, sea lions, dolphins and turtles.
The Trip: Baja Wildlife Discoverer
The Place: Egypt
The Film: The Spy Who Loved Me (1977)
Sent on a mission to track down submarine tracking blueprints, Bond finds himself amidst the ancient wonders of Egypt. During a dazzling lightshow around the Great Pyramids of Giza, 007 pursues arch enemy Jaws to no avail, before escaping by boat along the Nile the next day.
The Trips: Egypt
The Place: Sugarloaf Mountain & Iguassu Falls, Brazil
The Film: Moonraker (1979)
A truly iconic Bond sequence; the leading ladies man grapples with metal mouth villain - Jaws, atop the cable cars heading to Sugarloaf Mountain high over Guanabara Bay, before hand-gliding over Iguassu Falls on the Argentine border.
The Trips: Rio to Buenos Aires - Fitzroy & Paine
The Place: Udaipur, India
The Film: Octopussy (1983)
In Udaipur, Bond infiltrates the city’s fairlytale floating palace by disguising himself as a crocodile and swimming across Lake Pichola. The ‘City of Lakes’ is still celebrating its 007 fame today!
The Trips: Colours of Rajasthan - North India Explored - Classic Rajasthan - Cycling Through Rajasthan
The Place: San Francisco, USA
The Film: A View to a Kill (1985)
The final dramatic scenes are the film’s signature sequence with Bond dangling from an airship flying over San Francisco before fighting Zorin precariously atop the Golden Gate Bridge.
The Trips: Yosemite And The Canyonlands - National Parks of the West - Cycling The Vineyards of California
The Place: Ice Palace, Iceland
The Film: Die Another Day (2002)
Ok, so technically the Ice Palace scenes in Brosnan’s final instalment were actually filmed in Iceland, but as it was carved specifically for the filming of 20th Bond movie, the closest you can get to it is Sweden’s IceHotel. The traditional tipple may be a shot of Swedish vodka, but we’re sure they’ll knock you up a martini in the hotel bar – shaken, not stirred, of course.
The Trip: Lapland Adventure And The Icehotel
The Place: Madagascar
The Film: Casino Royale (2006)
No-one could forget Daniel Craig’s hard-hitting debut as the new-generation Bond with that high-octane, fleet-footed parkour chase over a building site in Madagascar as the opening scene.
The Trips: Madagascar
The Place: Shanghai
The Film: Skyfall (2012)
As Daniel Craig thunders onto the big screen this week, the franchise’s 23rd instalment looks set to continue the suave international man of mystery’s jet-set lifestyle in Shanghai, China. Expect big budget aerial cinematography of Shanghai and plenty of adrenaline-fuelled action… we can’t wait!
The Trips: China
