Well-known for its iconic dishes like Peking Duck or Roast Suckling Pig and equally famous for using peculiar ingredients, China is a continuous feast for any food lover. Intrepid’s Grand China trip gives you a real taste of the Middle Kingdom, as Cheryl Amos discovered…
“Chinese cuisine is fascinating. It all seems to be good, but we find ourselves eating unusual things. Most often, we have no idea what it contains. If the menu has English translations we see assorted animal parts and such. Our favourite so far is the crunchy frog (the bones are left in). In England, that’s a Monty Python sketch; in China, it’s dinner.
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Megan Hinge recommends a book that challenges us to look inwards, at the same time as considering the lives of those around us…
“Take Me With You: A Round-the-World Journey to Invite a Stranger Home, by Brad Newsham. This was a book I could not put down. As well as being an amazing true story, the book is also packed full with inspiring travel quotes to ponder.
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The Lost City of the Incas was an immediate best-seller upon publication in 1948 and its author, Hiram Bingham, is credited with bringing Machu Picchu to the attention of the world. He was absolutely thrilled to rediscover the Inca city on 24 July, 1911, and one hundred years on the marvelous Machu Picchu holds just as much fascination, as Susie Elwood explains…
“It was one of those take-your-breath-away travel moments – trudging along the Inca Trail for days, then reaching the Sun Gate in time to see the light of day illuminate Machu Picchu. I’ve seen pyramids, the Great Wall, Angkor Wat and other iconic sites, but there is something about this place that is much more riveting.
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Read Mike Collin’s autobiography, A Few Steps Too Far, and it strikes you that this is one man who has left his indelible footprint on the world. His adventures at home have been many and he’s sought out incredible experiences in a lifetime’s worth of travels. And not one to slow down, in his 78th year it was a combination of good writing and good fortune that led him to an Intrepid Nepal trip. Would this be 3rd time lucky for his attempt at Everest Base Camp?…
“In late 2008 I entered a competition set by the magazine of the Royal Geographic Society to write a five hundred word essay on “That Special Moment” – something that had been a life-changing experience. I have been lucky enough to have several special moments, but the one that really meant something was meeting the elderly Monk in the hills above Taunggi while I was working in Burma. I have tried to portray this meeting in the section above describing my International Red Cross employment. Making something readable and sensible in only 500 words was the challenge of course, but in February ‘09 we were very surprised to hear that I had won the “Mountain” category. The prize was two-fold – an excellent Gore-tex Arc’teryx climbing jacket and a highly subsidised trek to Everest Base Camp and an ascent of Kala Patthar for the incomparable view. – Decision time!
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“To inspire others, through writing, to experience the magic of global travel.” That was Brad Newsham’s self-assigned mission back in 1983 and he’s followed through. Newsham has written numerous articles plus two great round-the-world memoirs since then, and it was one of his novels that inspired Sally Arnold to pack herself off to the Philippines…
“The Philippines was a place I’d never really thought about as a holiday destination. I knew very little about it except stories of the Marcos years and of course Imelda’s shoe collection. That was until I read Take Me with You, by Brad Newsham.
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Kyoto is a city replete with ancient treasures and cultural delights. It’s also the setting for Arthur Golden’s famous Memoirs of a Geisha, a powerful pre-WWII story of two abandoned sisters, one of whom becomes a protege of the most successful geisha in Kyoto’s Gion district. The book comes to life as you stroll along the banks of the Kamo River to Hanami-koji and Chotie Moloney couldn’t imagine a better way to spend her last days in Japan…
“I was walking through the pages of the book, imagining what life was like for Sayuri and the other geisha; dressed in their magnificent silk kimono, the cherry blossom gently dancing in their hair as they walked along the footpaths of Shijo Avenue, teetering on their okobo. Imagining sounds of traditional shamisen strings and their melodic voices. And after sunset, when the red lanterns glow, seeing visions of these poised performers outside the doorways of the ochaya, local tea houses.
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It’s always so encouraging to hear how support from Intrepid travellers and The Intrepid Foundation has been making a positive difference. In the Sacred Valley area of Peru we’ve helped provide health and nutritional support for disadvantaged communities via the terrific organisation, Living Heart. Sonia Newhouse, Founder and President of Living Heart, has recently shared lots of positive news…
“Just seeing the energy of these previously lethargic kids when they run circles around you in the playground is enough to fire us up to more action. This month we plan to provide hot breakfasts to yet another community, on top of our 4 communities that currently receive 2 meals a day. We’re currently making the first tentative steps towards what we hope will be a large-scale greenhouse project in the communities to grow more fresh produce. We are also on the lookout for a donation of contraceptive injections to re-start our widely-requested birth control project.
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What is it they say about a silver lining? When Sherrie Fahmi’s travel plans suddenly changed, she ended up on an exciting adventure to who knows where…
“When I travel I enjoy discovering the unknown – whether it be a painting to rival the Mona Lisa, a sculpture, fantastic people, incredible architecture, unusual shopping experiences or delicious food. Below are examples of amazing adventures that I have been blessed to have experienced…so far!
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Bolivia boasts surreal moon valley landscapes, whitewashed colonial buildings and a city that was once one of the richest in the world. So what did Ben Holland pick as his favourite real life experiences on his Explore Bolivia and Argentina trip?…
“Besides the dust and the bouts of altitude sickness, I have been lucky to have some great experiences and see some amazing landscapes. Here are my Bolivia Top 5:
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