Ultimate Vacation Spots

posted by Travel Cat on Mar 3

I knew the minute I started this blog, that one of the first companies that would have it’s praises sung by me would be Discover Adventure - a UK-based active holiday organisation.

They specialise in activity holidays to suit all types from walking through England, to trekking through Patagonia, from a 10 day Mongolian Horse Ride to climbing up to the top of Mount Kilimanjaro.

However, these trips are all for charity, and that’s what make them even more worthwhile.

Basically, Charities approach them to organise a trip, and then the Charity advertise the dates and you sign up on them. You get tips on how to get fit, all the essential kit to bring, and ideas to help raise the necessary money; do your sponsored swim, sell cookies at a fete or bathe in baked beans. You hand over the money by a certain date, then all you have to do is meet them at the airport (or the destination hotel by special arrangement).

I’d never heard of Discover Adventure until I got to the hotel, after booking a charity trek through Action Medical Research. They had everything organised from flights, transfers, accommodation, food and drink, guides, local porters and there were even 2 doctors on the trek too, just in case.

From the moment they introduced themselves at the welcome talk, they made me relaxed. There was no need to ask questions or check times or other little details as they covered it all with what they said, offering written information as necessary. But, it was to get even better.

Of course you are all wrapped up in the new culture, the new faces and trying to remember everyone else name to notice the behind the scenes activities, but it was beyond my expectations, by far. Even the practice walk the day before we hit the mountains, they were checking out our fitness and who we made friends with to help organise sleeping and eating arrangements. The walk ended with us being led into a very well prepared picnic area - benches, sun covers, washing facilities and toilets, and a local band! It was only then that we saw the huge food buffet awaiting us over to one side!

It was like this the whole time. We would get up to a fantastic hot and cold breakfast in long tents and pack our bags, then we would just start walking. The porters would pack up the tents and carry these, our bags and all the supplies up ahead. Lunch was waiting when we got there, ready to serve - and 4 courses at that! Something for everyone from veggie burgers, to soup, to desert, with all necessary facilities.

We would then carry on walking through cloud-forests or steep passes with guides pointing out everything of interest, and identifying plants and birds when questioned, only to get to the campsite at the end with all our bags in the right tents and a hot evening meal awaiting us.

You couldn’t have asked for a better service - especially as it was a camping holiday. You don’t tend to expect much on these and it can put a lot of people off such a trip (only 3 nights were in tents). Apart from the braying donkey waking us up on the first morning, and camping on a bit of a slope one night, I didn’t find it too bad, and no-one else had much complaining to do either.

We had a day off after getting back to civilization to visit the local town and see some sights before the final night and the flights back home. Some people had booked to stay on rather than return home, so they had added a few extra nights on to their package from the start. We had a last night celebration meal laid on, with prizes given for different things both serious and silly, and we all drank the night away in a local bar!

The whole trip was recorded by a separate company, so you would see this man moving along the group asking questions or filming people walking over bridges and down steps, etc. As a result you could put in your order for a copy of the DVD and they would post your your own memory of the whole trip, all the people you went with and the places you visited.

I’ve still got mine, and the more times I watch it the more I see and remember. I’m still in contact with the lady I shared my tent with on that trip many years ago, and I know of a few others who went on to do other treks with Discover Adventure. I still have my eye on a few, just waiting for the right opportunity……

Maybe see you on the next one??

posted by Travel Cat on Feb 13

We all know the basics of polite society, yet sometimes we fail to apply them when on vacation in a foreign country. What we need to remember is that we are only visiting these places because we think they are better than a vacation at home, so why would we think it a good idea to overwhelm these destinations with our western ways and assume that 1) they can cope, and 2) they will stay the same for the next time we visit!

I know it might not seem so bad to drop that little tissue down to toilets (even though the locals use a bin) or to leave your empty plastic cosmetic bottles at the hotel, but multiply that by the 1000’s of visitors to that one resort, who all just do ‘one little thing’ wrong. The sewers will block up or spew metres of waste material into local rivers, and a small town may have 3000 plastic bottles to landfill. I can’t even begin to frighten you with the math if every holiday resort in developing countries have this mess to clean up. It can’t leave the locals to pleased either!

So, follow these simple steps to keep your destination friendly, clean and somewhere for other people to visit in years to come.

1) Research your destination before you go.
Make sure you know local customs and appropriate language and dress for your visit. Be aware of your presence in public places and during festivals, etc.

2) Learn the language.
Even if it’s just a basic grasp, you will find that not only will you enjoy your stay more, but communication with people there will be easier. Even if they speak English and you are taking for ever to order a drink, they may still appreciate your efforts enough to break the ice.

3) Don’t litter. Ever.

4) Buy local produce from locals.
If you are bothering to travel to a certain town, you obviously like what it has to offer, so buy something from there. Mingle with the locals and barter for a gift you know is keeping that town on the map.

5) Use local services.
Why book with a hotel chain when you could stay with some locals? Why book a room with a company that takes your money back to the U.S or UK rather than re-investing it back into the community you are in? Think of your local grocer being out-competed by a supermarket.

6) Check credentials for tours and trips.
Make sure that if you are relying on someone to take you through the local environment or a distant mountain or jungle, that they are responsible. Not only in terms of limiting damage to flora and fauna, but also that they are well known in the area and can offer you safe, reliable and community friendly travel.

7) Tip where you can.
Make sure that if a guide, waiter or porter is offering a better than average service and have made whatever you were trying to do effort free and worth that bit extra, make sure you tip them well. Not only will it make their efforts worth while, but it will encourage this high service to all the travellers who follow you there!

Respect people.
Don’t expect everyone you meet on your travels to have to like you and offer you a service or their time. They are also not part of the landscape, so make sure you check if they want you to take their photo while they sit on a bench, or tend to their land.

9) Don’t encourage the killing of endangered animals or delicate environments.
If you buy a piece of coral or a highly carved piece of turtle shell or ivory - where do you think they are going to get more from? If no-one buys a product, regardless of what it is, shops will stop selling it. This is what makes it all the more sad to see these products readily available in tourist destinations - someone is still buying them…….

10) Wash with piece of mind.
Use showers where ever possible to save water and the heating of it. In addition, try to travel with bio-degradable toiletries like shampoo, suncream and soap powder. They all wash off of us and our clothes into streams and rivers, so make sure they don’t stay there too long. Supplies of these are readily available in our stores and at a similar cost to regular products. Why not protect your own environment and use these at home too!

In fact all of these tips can help our own environment and cultures; use local services rather than chain stores, respect other people, use less water and don’t pollute what you do use. Also, why pay to be disappointed? Make sure you only pay for services that are safe, respect the environment where possible and offer a better than average service.

Congratulations, you have now become a responsible tourist!