And we’ll scream, throw tantrums and hold our breath until you swear to read our magazine – but given the choice, we’d just rather draw you in with another year of poking around the world’s most intriguing places. We’d rather help you plan another year’s worth of holidays you’ll remember forever, and give you plenty of armchair travel to help you dream while you’re stuck at work. We’d rather bring the world to you the way we’ve promised and hope you’ll love us just for that – but you have been warned. Love us or face the wrath of a two-year-old. To help sweeten the deal, we’ve come out with The Hot List 2012, which we believe is our most diverse and packed issue yet, and we’ve really gone a bit crazy this time. Crazy enough to visit the craziest bits of an already-insane Japan, and finding the serious, shockingly beautiful country that hides behind the manga-decked façade. Yes, it is very much safe to go, and

complicated and fascinating enough to spend years getting to know.

It’s coming up to summer, of course, so we have a lot of holiday travel planned. First, there’s Europe, but not the Europe you’d expect. There’s a hidden side of Scotland, with castles and lake monsters and Italian chapels (yes, in Scotland), all liberally doused with whisky. Then there’s Budapest, smallest and wildest of the great Central European cities, where the bars make you sit in bathtubs.

Don’t like cities? Heck, head to Kenya, where gazelles trot stupidly towards lurking cheetahs, where elephants have the right of way, and where even the house cats are special. Or, go a step beyond the delights of Singapore, and land up on the Riau archipelago of Indonesia – beautiful islands that don’t need a visa.

We haven’t forgotten our home, either: we’ve gone and analysed the great tiger sanctuaries of Central India. Which one gives you the most diverse wildlife? The prettiest forest? The best accommodation? It’s all here. And then we have

a list of wonderful, characterful and often luxurious hotels – all for less than ` 5,000 a day. And to top it off, we make a pilgrimage. To Uluru, a big rock in the middle of Australia that makes you weep. Yes, a rock. Which makes you weep because it is so incredibly special.

Like I said, we’re doing our bit. You’d better love us. Or else.