Explore Blogs

In case you didn’t know our Eclipse programme is up on the Explore.co.uk website.

Eclipse chasing is apparently very popular, and given the relatively remote location of the best viewing in August 2008 (West of Mongolia, NW China and Siberia), its worth booking as soon as possible. If you’re interested in seeing the Moon blot out the Sun, that is!

Totality - the Moon eclipses the Sun

There are also a couple of other tours which are focused on other astronomical phenomena: a total eclipse of the Moon in Cuba in 2008 and a viewing of the Perseid Meteor shower in the Azores in August 2007.

Hopefully we can get an interview and a little more detail about these tours for April.

Jo Baldwin, an Explore tour leader, talked to Alastair at the Destinations travel show, in London, about tour leading in India. Jo describes herself as a one woman Indian tourist board and her enthusiasm certainly shines through. You might also have seen Jo at one of our recent Evening of Adventures where she was presenting with Kate who we featured previously (have a read here).

Kate Plummer (left) and Jo Baldwin (right).

 

 Jo Baldwin on Tour leading and Kerala [3:49m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download (2223)

Earlier this week I spotted a very interesting blog by Jane Tomlinson called “Sightlines“. In the about section she has a lovely sentence about what she does:

“I try to make lively, colourful images to excite the eye and feed the soul.”

And I think I would agree.

Jane has been on several Explore trips, however her most recent to South West Africa was what initially caught my eye. These pictures of Antelope (taken by her and her husband Moth Clark) and her drawings and sketches are lovely. Her writing also conveys what it feels like to be in a place and how she reacts to a variety of different sights, smells and sounds around her.

Jane’s sketches from Etosha National Park, Namibia

You can see more of Jane’s sketches in her gallery.

Gemsbok, Namibia

Puku in Chobe National Park, Botswana

Jane has an exhibition of her work in May and June 2007 - I think I may take a visit.

All images © Jane Tomlinson 2007

Well, I’m not the only one in the office to have visited India recently. My colleague, Chris Stephens who is our Photo guru (or more correctly Image Executive) travelled to Kerala on one of Explore’s cycling trips: Backwaters of Kerala at the tail end of 2006. If you take a look in our 2007 Cycling brochure you will find some of Chris’ photos. I’ve also found a few others which illustrate the interview are well, even if I do say so myself.

Cycling near Mancombu

Fish and Chips?

Picking the tea leaves

A working elephant

Happy listening and if you have any comments, questions or suggestions, do leave a comment! Hopefully we’ll have another interview with Chris soon about photography and being an image executive.

 

 Chris Stephens talks about the Backroads of Kerala: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download (2009)

I wanted to share with you some pictures taken by a fellow passenger on my recent trip to India.

John Patterson took the following wonderful shots on the extended version of the tour I went on, which also includes Moghul Highlights as well as Rajasthan.

John and his wife Kay are extremely keen walkers, and John even leads walking tours in the UK. He has a great eye for ‘photos’ and he kindly sent me through these great pictures.

The Amber Fort, Jaipur

Also the Amber Fort, Jaipur

Meherangarh Fort in Jodhpur

Jain Temple at Ranakpur

Traditional Cattle powered pump for irrigating the crops.

Gateway to the Fort at Kumbalgarh

All photos © John Patterson 2007.

This is the second part of my interview with Ramesh and I decided to talk about one of my favourite topics: Food and drink!

Now, I’m a great lover of Indian food in the UK. As are most Britons, considering Chicken Tikka Masal was voted the nation’s favourite dish! India though, is a bit different, so this is intended as a an introduction, particularly to Rajasthan. Now, by no means is this comprehensive, so there is one thing I would add, try a little of everything, most food in restaturants is very good, especially those frequented by the locals!

The interview, as before, was recorded in the gardens of the City Palace in Udaipur, so apologies for the background noise, but you can tell it was recorded in India!

Any additional advice on Indian cuisine, let us know. I’m off to make some Masala Chai for the team.

 

 Interview with Ramesh Koul about Food and Drink of Rajasthan [6:01m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download (3438)

I’ve recently returned from Rajasthan after being on a training trip on one of Explore’s “In Style” trips: Rajasthan - Land of the Maharajahs. To say it was an amazing experience is not to do it justice at all, and I am still coming to terms with how different my universe seems having been to the World’s largest democracy. It was timely too, given the celebrations this year marking India’s 60th year in 2007.

Whilst there, my tour leader was Ramesh Koul, who looked after us very well. He kindly agreed to be interviewed in the gardens of Udaipur’s City Palace, whilst drinking some Masala Chai (that’s spicy ginger tea). I’m afraid there’s a bit of background noise but then as Ramesh commented several times, “if it isn’t noisy, it isn’t the real India.”

I’ll have some more posts and podcasts on India this week, so if you have anything to tell us about India just leave a comment!

 

 Interview with Ramesh Koul, Tour leader, India [5:20m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download (1935)

We thought we needed some of our classic images in the header so, we got our friend, Danny Wilkins, to put something together that shows a little bit of what we are all about.

What do you think?

And now there is an interesting Sahara audio slide show up on the Guardian Unlimited site. Some very good photos - particularly like the sunrise and the pot in a corner.

A while ago we ran a competition with the Guardian, for 6 places on a trip to Morocco - our Short breaks Saharan Escape tour. The people who won and the Guardian Unlimited’s Anna Pickard are blogging about the trip at the Guardian’s travel blog: Travelog.

Most of the people, including Anna, are new to small group travel and adventure holidays. It is very interesting to read their perspectives, which are similar to my own before going on an Explore trip. Gerald Wills comments (emphasis is mine):

It’s not the kind of holiday we normally go on at all. Normally we go away about three, four times a year, but it’s always the beach. We’re realising now, we never really see the other side of the country, outside the resorts. This year, we’ll have the city breaks during the winter but again that’s just people-watching, and that’s brilliant. But this? This is awesome.

Anna Pickard talks about group travel in a similar vein:

Group travel - something I’d never even considered before, fearing it would be non-stop small talk and enforced jollity, impatience with people wanting to move at different speeds, wanting to see different things, and seeing the very same things in different ways.

But it’s amazing how fast the sense of camaraderie builds up, you are, after all, a set of excited people, all seeing something new for the first time. Information feeds through the group - “Did you see THAT?!”, “Oh! I’ve read about this!” And because no one’s having to concentrate on what we have to do next - which way, which meal, which camp - it seems that everyone relaxes quicker.

It’s a fascinating read about the tour from different perspectives - I’d highly recommend going and reading it.