Combining culinary adventures with your travel journeys is a must, especially in Japan where you can enjoy the freshest sushi, be tempted by tempura and even design your own okonomiyaki! And this is where delicious (and healthy) fast food meets super-fast local transport, as Aaron Davis explains…
“Part of the enjoyment of travel is getting from place to place. What can seem a chore in many countries is an enjoyable, speedy and sociable treat in Japan.
More than 100 Intrepid travellers have been quick to join the special club of early visitors to the young nation of Timor-Leste. Act fast and you too could enjoy the unique experience on our trip departing 15 July, 2012, when we have a handful of discounted places available. This is a wonderful time of year to go – the rains have mostly cleared but the hills are still green and spectacular, making every bend in the road open out to a magnificent vista.
Jane Crouch was Intrepid’s first group leader in Timor-Leste and she now has a longstanding and close association with this remarkable country. Jane recently caught up with our latest group and discovered that this new nation continues to captivate and charm its visitors…
Ask a photographer what they never have enough of, and they are sure to say “time”! We put world-renowned photographer Steve Davey on the spot and asked how to get the most out of your photos in minimum time…
“Time is short. We all get precious little time off and need to make the most of every minute of it. For many people the short city break is the perfect way to do this. A chance to spend a few days in a new city to explore, eat and of course party! But how do you square getting the best pictures of your city break with trying to get the most enjoyment and relaxation out of your trip?
It started with a tweet from Sherry Ott, asking if anyone was interested in doing the Mongol Rally. Pamela MacNaughtan (a.k.a. @spunkygirllogue) thought about that tweet for about 2 minutes, then responded, “I’m in”, the next thing she knew Sherry was connecting her with Charlie Grosso, a photographer from New York, who was looking for a teammate…
“Spanning 1/3 of the world, from London to Ulaan Bataar, the Mongol Rally is 10,000 miles of intense driving, through sand, over mountains, on gravel, through rivers large and small. It’s pure adventure. The route is not set, and support is non-existent. If the car breaks down, then the team needs to figure out how to get it fixed. If there is a border crossing delay, then the team needs to figure out how to deal with it.
Like so many girls living in rural poverty in Cambodia, Wattana was forced to leave school in grade six to help support the nine people in her family. To make money, she cut wood for a pittance in a nearby forest. Wattana always knew she was capable of much more. So, when she heard that a Plan partner in a nearby town offered restaurant and tourism training, she decided it was precisely the opportunity she needed.
The course provided young people like her with hands-on training in restaurant and housekeeping services, and included office and English skills to help them get jobs in the Sala Bai tourist industry. However, the training involved an intensive, 12-month course away from home, and her mother believed this to be inappropriate, given Wattana’s gender. She thought her daughter should remain in the village like the other girls, cutting wood and getting married and raising children.
Sadly the local hero of the Galapagos Islands, known fondly as ‘Lonesome George’, was found dead on Sunday, 24 June, 2012. George was a Galapagos tortoise and tragically it seems likely that his death marks the end of the Pinta Island subspecies.
It was hoped that he had many good breeding years in him yet, as he was thought to be a sprightly 100 and they often live close to 200 years, but there’s been no romance for George in a long time and attempts to produce George Juniors or little Georginas have all failed. George lived at the Charles Darwin Research Station, where he had become a symbol for the Galapagos Islands and pin-up boy for endangered species.
On August 18, 1984, Courtney Gilmour was born in Sarnia, Ontario. Her right arm ends just above the wrist, and her left arm ends immediately below the elbow. She has one fully functional leg; her other leg ends mid femur. She uses a prosthetic to assist in walking. To complete tasks, she uses only the ‘nubs’ at the end of her arms. Today, Courtney lives in Toronto and is a writer for several online publications and a sketch writer for the famous comedy school Second City.
Through a short and powerful video by Eric Kruszewski you can learn more about Courtney’s story. Eric has made it his goal to bring awareness to the abnormal health effects caused by industry pollutants…
“No pain no gain” they say, but is it really worth the sweat and tears to steam yourself in a sauna, sizzle in a solarium or dirt-up for a mud bath? All Denise Ellson really wanted was a hot bath, but she got more than she bargained for in Turkey…
“Going to Turkey and not having a Turkish Bath is like going to Sydney and not seeing the Opera House. Or so I was told, as I steadfastly refused to even contemplate the idea of being bathed by someone else. I had never felt comfortable having a massage – in fact I had never had one, and having some complete stranger give me a scrub did not sound like something I simply had to have.
What do the Bondeni Project, Rafiki Club and the Granny Club have in common? They are all projects of The Intrepid Foundation’s newest beneficiary organisation: the Saidia Children’s Home.
Saidia is based in Gilgil, north west of Nairobi in the Rift Valley of Kenya. Extended family networks are very strong in Kenya and orphaned children are usually taken in by their relatives. But a sad reality is that in this region many families have lost the entire parent generation to HIV/Aids.
