Bangladesh

If you are inspired to spend time in Bangladesh, Explore are one of the few tour operators in the UK market that visit this remarkable country. Visiting Dhaka and the Ganges Delta in Bangladesh, through the tea plantations of Darjeeling and mystical mountain state of Sikkim to the magical Himalayan kingdom of Bhutan, our unique journey ‘Inside the Hidden Kingdoms’ gets you off the tourist trail like never before.

Laos & Vietnam
In the final episode of this epic journey, Simon Reeve follows the Tropic of Cancer through the remote northern region of Laos just to the south of the tropic (due to the Chinese authorities not allowing him and his crew a visa). But his disappointment is short lived, as Simon discovers the treasures of a little country ravaged over the years by war. Even this remote jungle covered area is not immune to the effects of globalisation, as he stumbles upon a massive building project funded by the Chinese. A ‘Vegas’ style casino and hotel resort in the middle of the jungle! (Watch this episode on iPlayer if you missed it. http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/b00s7glt/Tropic_of_Cancer_Laos_to_Hawaii/ )

You can practically follow in Simon’s footsteps from the romantic city of Luang Prabang nestled on the banks of the Mekong, stop off at friendly hillside villages in northern Laos, pass through National parks and a primate sanctuary in Vietnam on the way  to the iconic Ha Long bay in Vietnam on our ‘Bangkok to Hanoi’ tour.

Follow in Simon’s footsteps on a trip across Thailand, Laos & Vietnam

Starting off in the Rann of Kutch, he goes in search of the shy Indian Wild Ass. You can explore much of this region on our Village India tour where you get to discover much of tribal Gujerat.

Gujarat Crafts

Simon then takes time to consider the decline of the tiger situation and also spends time with a beautiful Indian elephant. You could encounter both magnificent creatures in parks nearby to the one Simon visited (Satpura). Our Tiger Trails & Temples Tour visits Ranthambore, Bandhavgargh and Kanha National parks – all classic ‘Kipling’ country.

Tiger spotting

Lastly, Simon spends time in fantastic yet often misunderstood Calcutta (aka Kolkata). You can find out for yourself what it is like on the tours ‘Kolkata to Amritsar’, ‘Bengal to the Malabar Coast’, ‘Sikkim & Singalila Trek’ and ‘Inside Hidden Kingdoms’, journeys which promise to show you much more than the usual tourist highlights of Inda…

Kolkata

Last night’s episode saw Simon rejoin the Tropic of Cancer in Egypt and follow it through to Oman. (View it on the BBC iPlayer here).

In Southern Egypt, next to the ancient temple of Abu Simbel, Simon met Nubians struggling to maintain their culture following the damming of the Nile. He also spent time diving in the pristine reefs of the Red Sea before watching as rare baby green giant turtles started their own epic journeys as they headed into the Arabian Sea from the beaches of Oman.

If Simon’s adventure has inspired you to see the real Egypt, we have many tours to this beautifully diverse country. Experiencing the Nubian lifestyle depicted on the show is part of what makes our trips to Egypt so unique, a point made by one of tour leaders in a recent interview about our Nile cruises. Read what he had to say about what makes the tour so special.

We also have several options in Oman, including the option of getting out onto the Arabian Sea on our Arabian Seatrek tour.

This week Simon Reeve follows the Tropic of Cancer across the Sahara Desert and through Southern Libya. (Catch up on BBC iPlayer here )

During the show, you will have caught glimpses of the enormous sand dunes and classic Saharan landscape of southern Libya, as well as the surreal Dawada desert lakes. You have the chance to experience these for yourself on our Libyan Sahara tour   as well as camping out in the dunes of the Ubari Sand Sea.

Libya; Akakus Mountains

We also have exciting news that our Product department are currently working on two tours in Algeria. You could tell that Simon’s guide (an ex tour leader) in Algeria was anxious to get Algeria back on the tourist map – despite the un-stability of the country.

The Tipaza Basilica: Algeria

Closely following Foreign Office advice and working closely with local contacts to monitor the situation on the ground, we are hoping to offer a Short city break to Algiers and nearby historical sites of Tipaza and Cherchell and a Sahara Desert crossing, covering Tassili Plateau and Hoggar Mountains.

We will give you more news of this when it becomes available.

Starting in Baja, Mexico and making his way to Cuba and then the Bahamas, he uncovers the culture of countries living in the shadow of the United States and the effect this has had on the people living there.

If you were inspired to travel to Mexico by this episode, you can visit Baja and the iconic Copper Canyon on the Copper Canyon & Tequila Express & Baja California Extension or try  ‘Copper Canyon & Tequila Express’  for a slightly shorter tour.

Or, if you were seduced by Havana and want to find out more about Cuba, try one of our Cuban adventures, which include holidays for families, holidays for families with teenagers and an in-depth history tour.

]]> http://www.exploreblogs.co.uk/2010/03/16/tropic-of-cancer-mexico-cuba/feed/ 0