DESTINATIONS

Things to know about Patagonia.

Patagonia is a massive chunk of land on the tip of the America continent split between Chile and Argentina. It has a variety of landscapes ranging from the Andes mountain, desert, grasslands and ocean, making it perfect for adventure travellers. We spent a month travelling across this vast region and have set out our 5 highlights and interesting facts about Patagonia from our experience.

5 THINGS TO KNOW

LGBT people under attack in the UK.

The number of attacks on lesbian, gay and bisexual people in the UK has soared by nearly 80 per cent in the past four years, new data shows. More than one in five LGBT people have experienced a hate crime or incident due to their sexual orientation or gender identity in the last 12 months, compared with 16 per cent in 2013.

DESTINATIONS

LGBT hate crimes in Scotland double in four years.

HATE crimes against gay and bisexual people in Scotland has almost doubled in four years, shock stats show. A hard-hitting survey by a charity revealed almost one fifth of those who took part had suffered homophobic abuse this year compared with just 9% in 2013.

DESTINATIONS

Greece is on the gay travel radar.

Gay Star News, the biggest Gay Media in the United Kingdom, with more than 1.000.000 monthly visitors, recommends Greece as the ideal destination for gay holidays in September, Greek Reporter writes. The initiative is part of Travel by Interest’s international campaign, “September in Greece.” In collaboration with the Editors of Gay Star News, Travel by Interest’s Hotel Experts have selected 10 ideal destinations for Gay Holidays in September.

DESTINATIONS

More pressure on the LGBT community in Indonesia.

Twelve women have been evicted from their home in the conservative Indonesian province of West Java amid renewed fears of crackdown on sexual diversity. The group had been renting a shared house in the village of Tugu Jaya, where their cohabitation and “unfeminine” appearance had unsettled conservatives. Responding to a complaint from religious leaders and an Islamic youth group that the women’s living arrangements was “against the teaching of Islam”, police raided the women’s home last Saturday, giving them three days notice to leave.

5 THINGS TO KNOW

Rainbow lifeguard tower to become ‘monument of acceptance’.

A Venice Beach lifeguard tower gets to keep its gay pride rainbow stripes after the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors voted unanimously Tuesday to rescue it from getting repainted to the iconic blue. “We received 11,000 signatures on a petition from that area, saying no no, we love it, we’d really like to keep it,” said Supervisor Sheila Kuehl, who introduced the motion to let the stripes stand.

5 THINGS TO KNOW

Southern Decadence takes flight in New Orleans.

Sporting a large white mohawk, wearing a neon green tank top and carrying a purple, pink and blue sign bearing the words “Love is Love,” Dave Watt was all smiles. It was his first time leading New Orleans’ annual Southern Decadence parade, and he was spreading the message that anyone who has HIV should be allowed to live stigma-free. Watt, the leader of the HIV-awareness group Mr Friendly, said he landed the coveted spot in the parade because one of the grand marshals was so enthralled by his organization’s message.