It’s hard to top the experience of wandering along a wall that stretches for 6000 km (3700 miles) and has sections over 2500 years old. Standing tall atop this magnificent structure was Shelley Seale, who enjoyed getting well off the regular tourist route in China…
“I hiked slowly through the fall foliage in the woods surrounding the Shuiguan Mountains, about an hour outside Beijing. Vivid orange and yellow leaves swayed with the breeze in the branches around me as I picked my way carefully along the rocky path. My footsteps were the only sound I could hear. Suddenly, there it was. Emerging through the trees was a rock wall just in front of me. I peered up at the top of it, 30 feet (9 metres) above my head.
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Here’s a top Christmas gift idea! Forget about boring socks and handkerchiefs, give a gift this year that will make you feel great and is guaranteed to change someone’s life.
From as little as $10, you can give Intrepid Foundation Global Gifts that go towards helping fantastic grassroots projects. Choose from feeding endangered green peafowls in Cambodia, providing Braille reading kits for kids in Tibet, buying footwear for Nepalese porters, enabling disabled kids in India get to school and more!
Intrepid Travel will match your donation – so for every gift you purchase, we will buy another. Plus, ask your friends and family to also buy Global Gifts. Then everyone gets to feel good about helping others at this special time of year!
In 2004, Benj Binks started working for Intrepid as a group leader on the Trans-Siberian Railway. He soon found himself in Mongolia and was caught off guard by the bustling modern city of Ulaanbaatar, with its cafes, trendy youth and hip hop. Mongolia soon became a highlight of his 3-week trips, and Benj fell in love with the country’s culture, people and music.
After leaving Intrepid, Benj pursued a career in filmmaking and returned to Mongolia to make his first documentary. Mongolian Bling delves into the world of Mongolian hip hop and explores how the youth are identifying with its beats and rhymes, whilst reconnecting with their ancient music. The film is in its final stages of production, but it’s now ‘all or nothing’. If $50k is not raised by Tuesday, 29 November, Benj and his team will receive nothing. If you want to help bring Mongolian Bling to the big screen, please make your pledge via Kickstarter today!
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For most people choosing to travel to Africa means carefully planning the adventure of a lifetime. For lucky Express reader Barbara Reid that wasn’t quite how her Kenya safari came about, but she enjoyed it so much that it’s almost as if Africa chose her…
“To quote Little Miss Sunshine – “I won, I won, I won!” I received an email informing me I’d won a Kenya Wildlife Safari. After entering competitions for a very long time – it was my turn!
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There are many inspirations to be found in this great trekking tale by Deborah Kahn, but two things stand out: 1. if you are thinking of Nepal, travel responsibly, and 2. enter our weekly competitions, because people really do WIN…
“Speechless does not come easy to me. However, that’s exactly what I was when I opened the email telling me that I had won the ‘Win-a-trip’ Annapurna Sanctuary competition. So much to organise, my life turned into a whirlpool, but once in Nepal it was all worth it.
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Winning an Intrepid Lima to Cuzco trip for himself and 10 friends was the beginning of a once-in-a-lifetime adventure for Joseph Wee. With flights and transfers included as a part of their Facebook prize, Joseph and his posse touched down in the Peruvian capital, ready and raring to go for eight days of exploration and fun…
“Day 1: The fatigue and tiredness after 40 hours of travelling disappeared almost instantly when I landed in Lima. Each friend that I’ve chosen to join me comes with a different purpose. As for me: it will be the greatest reunion and adventure of all time.
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Many Intrepid travellers have been introduced to the dining delights of KOTO Hanoi. Now such culinary pleasures, while supporting deserving young people, can also be had in Ho Chi Minh City (HCMC)!
Established in 1999, KOTO has grown from a small sandwich shop in Hanoi to an internationally accredited hospitality program. In January 2010, KOTO was able to replicate its successful Hanoi model with the opening of KOTO Saigon training centre and has recently celebrated the opening of a restaurant in HCMC. Same great service from trainees who prepare and serve the food. Plus a menu that celebrates local ingredients and utilises the international culinary techniques the trainees are learning, resulting in an array of innovative fusion dishes.
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Staycations, babymoons, mancations. It seems a holiday just can’t be a holiday these days without jargon tagging along as a travelling companion! In defiance of the trend to er… create travel trends, Intrepid Travel has released a list of travel trends that we hope don’t enter the urban dictionary in 2012.
A vacation is awesome just by virtue of being time spent relaxing, exploring new sites and cultures and spending time with friends. No matter what you do, we don’t think it needs to be dressed up with a fancy name…
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Every week your Intrepid Express editor gets the fun job of telling someone they have won a trip! Can you imagine how excited you’d be if you received an email saying that you are a winner? No wonder Matt Bowman had to pinch himself when he found out he was off on a Kenya Wildlife Safari…
“I couldn’t believe it, there I was in a very comfortable hotel near the centre of Nairobi, ready to meet our expedition companions for the first time. Everyone was really friendly and ages ranged from about 20-40 years. That evening was our chance to get to know the group and explore the nightlife of Kenya’s great capital city together.
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