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Mekong is the 12th longest river in the world and one of the most important rivers in south-east Asia.
Take a two-three day tour from Ho Chi Minh City, drive along the rivers by boat and see how the locals live in the countryside.
The tours include visits to local food producers and a memorable early morning boat ride to the famous floating market.
All the tour agencies in Ho Chi Minh City can arrange the tours. Accommodation and foods are included.
If you really want to experience Vietnam and all of its beauty and glory, I recommend doing it on a motorbike.
I have made three such journeys (I'm 61 years old) and look forward to yet another tour with this group.
While on the surface it appears to be a bit pricey, when you consider that the tour is all-inclusive it makes really good sense.
The guides are all extremely well acquainted with the country and its people. You will see a Vietnam seldom experienced by the routine traveller. The food, rooms, equipment and companionship are incredible.
Trips ranges from just a couple of days to 21 days depending on where you want to go. The northern part of the country should not be missed.
From easy riding to the adventuresome rough roads, there is something for all levels of riders (my wife journeyed down the Ho Chi Minh Trail with me last year).
It's a trip you will remember the rest of your life.
Tour the city for 2 days then hire a car and visit the Cotes du Rhon vineyards, the Vaucluse area, and the village of Bedoin on Mondays for a market to adore.
Cotes du Rhon, Vaucluse and Bedoin
Take the Fat Tire Bike Tour around the city. Ride a fantastic American-style cruiser bike, see all the sights and finish on the beach for drinks by the sea. It's safe, not too strenous and really good fun! We loved it.
Take a free tour with these guys - www.newamsterdamtours.com. It's free, so great if you're on a budget, and even if you're not the guides are great and you'll learn tonnes and have a good walk at the same time! They do a bunch of other European cities too, including Paris.
Go to the old Heineken brewery early and book yourself on the second tour of the day, the entrance fee for which goes to charity.
You have time for breakfast in a local bar before the tour. Your visit goes through the stainless steel fermentation tanks to the top of the building, where you'll discover the best view of Amsterdam, and ends in the hospitality lounge.
Prove it’s your birthday and you are presented with a Delft tankard!! Afterwards, stroll to the Albert Cuypstraat market, enjoy the street-life and pick up supplies for a picnic lunch in Sarphatipark.
Forget organised tours around the city, rent a boat and go around the canals in style and comfort. It also works out quite cheap (around £15pp for 2hrs), especially if you're a large group of people!
When in Lima I can recommend a tour guide named Cinthya. She is very knowledgeable and her English is excellent.
She does not offer a fixed itinerary or fixed fee. She allows you to choose what you wish to see and after completion she leaves it up to you to decide how much to pay her.
Her e-mail address is cinandb@hotmail.com
I’m sure that most people see the London Underground as purely functional; a means of getting to one’s intended destination with the minimum of fuss, and passing the journey engrossed in a newspaper or audio entertainment, paying little regard to the world outside their carriage.
However, I suggest that one short stretch of the network is an attraction in its own right. In fact, a journey awash with history and all available to enjoy without ever having to depart outside the stations.
Harrow & Wealdstone to Queens Park on the Bakerloo line is unique in being the only significant stretch of the London Underground which runs parallel to the National Rail network.
Harrow & Wealdstone has two station entrances. Before boarding your train, it’s worth contemplating the memorial plaque outside the main entrance. This commemorates the UK’s second worst rail disaster which occurred in October 1952, loss of life exceeding 100 people.
The newish blocks of flats at the back of the station may look prosaic, but they’ve been built on the site of rock and roll history. It is generally accepted that one of the finest bands this country has ever produced were “discovered” at the Railway Hotel, which formerly occupied this site. Who are we talking about? The Who, of course. Listen very carefully and you may hear the ghost of Pete Townshend mashing up his guitar. Take a walk round the complex and note that the flats have been named after two of the band members.
At South Kenton station facing backwards and looking out to your left, admire the Betjemanesque view of Metroland. The spire belongs to the 900 year old St. Mary’s church on Harrow-on-the-Hill.
Wembley Central station has recently had a makeover to get it looking up to scratch for the new stadium. The line now dives under the national rail network, and it’s at Stonebridge Park, facing backwards and looking out to your right that affords you a fine view of the edifice. Here you can dream for a few moments that one day your team might contest a cup final here.
Just after Stonebridge Park, you travel over the busy North Circular Road; on a winter’s evening in rush hour, the vehicle light trails can look impressive.
By the way, the tube map is misleading from here on. You train is travelling in a west to east direction, and not north to south as depicted by the map. Why? I don’t know. Send a polite enquiring email to the Transport For London people.
Approaching Harlesden, facing forward, sitting on your left, but looking out to the right, you may just see the blue corrugated biscuit factory. When independent local radio first took to the air in the 1970’s, it was to the United Biscuit Network that the stations looked to for many of their presenters and DJs, and a few later-to-become household names learned their trade at this factory.
If you’re a trainspotting enthusiast, then all along this stretch now, you’ll note plenty of activity involving shunting locomotives and their carriages. At Willesden Junction, it’s worth breaking your journey and climbing the steps to the overhead North London line, where on a clear day, good views may be afforded to the east and west, including a large car breaking plant. You can also watch the mainline trains speed on their way north to such places as Holyhead and the connecting ferries to Ireland, the picturesque Lake District, and bonnie Scotland.
It’s not really possible to see Kensal Green cemetery from the train, so here we break the rules and alight at Kensal Green station for a wander round London’s first commercial burial ground. Hopefully you’ll locate the final resting places of some famous people from the past, but one person you’ll not find is Louie The Ring.
Who’s Louie The Ring ? He got his own episode in that excellent 1970s drama Budgie, entitled: Louie The Ring Is Dead and Buried in Kensal Green Cemetery.
As the train trundles into Queens Park station via the train sheds, our journey is at an end, and you have a choice. Stay on the train which now descends into tube, and in 20 minutes you’ll be seeing the bright lights at Piccadilly Circus. Or you could cross over the platform and make the return journey and enjoy any bits you may have missed.
Guided city walks with focus on shopping, culture and architecture.
They promise no more monuments and museums. Instead you'll see the trendy shops, secret backyards, cool cafés and hot spots of Copenhagen.
A newly established British-run ground operator in tourism.
We went on their glass bottom boat out to the Islands off Muscat for snorkelling.
It was awesome. The sea was so clear, there were dolphins everywhere and whales too.
The staff were really friendly and professional, and we even got snacks as we sailed!!!!
Perfect day on the Arabian Ocean.
There is a very interesting and innovative tour in Seville. It is a GPS audio/visual tour guide system.
You carry a handheld GPS with you as you walk anywhere. It shows you where you are and what is exciting and interesting near your location.
It is tailored to individual visitors. You are free to create your own GPS tour without the aid of an escorted guide.
Now that you cannot go up the Statue of Liberty, we found the ferry tour to the island a bit of a waste of time. The line is very long (it took us over an hour).
To skip the queues go to the Staten Island ferry terminal and head to the back of the boat. You'll get exactly the same view of the Lady, without having to queue up. I think its a better view and quicker.
Check out my NYC guide here:
www.alib.co.uk/guides/index.htm
A friend of mine and I decided to book travel in Italy through our local tourist agency here in France. Probably this web agency had been helped by an Italian local tour operator that arranged us the whole trip.
Services and hotel were provided by them: we enjoyed Rome and our stay in Italy very much. If you are a group of people and you need help in finding a hotel or a special itinerary, just contact them via mail or by phone call.
Last, but not least, their website is absolutely amazing!
Missing Italia | Local Tour Operator
www.missingitalia.com
Take a tour on one of these restored WW2 amphbibious landing craft - a bit cheesy but a great way of seeing the city's best sites, both on land and water. Some of the tour guides seem to be better than others, but ours was a gem of a local!
Tour starts at the science park.
A bit twee (you travel on a miniature train, there is a mouse trained to run up a ladder and drink sherry ...) but worth a trip. Jerez is a town entirely founded on sherry exports so it's good to come here and understand what it's all about. The tasting certainly challenges any preconceptions of sherry you may have had - it's not like granny's Christmas tipple. A glass of fino and a plate of tapas is your reward at the end of an interesting tour around the estate.
As well as the over visited mountain gorillas at Virunga Volcanoes on the Uganda/Congo border, which are magical, there's Africa’s largest unspoilt and beautiful mountain forest at Nyungwe, with gruelling treks with local guides to see all manner of wildlife including marauding chimps.
Bansko is a popular ski resort in the winter but in the summer it's even better. As well as a fantastic jazz festival, you can get out of the town and explore stunning countryside.
We will never forget standing on a remote hillside in the evening sun at the Belitsa Bear Park, where rescued dancing bears are able to live in semi-wild enclosures.
One way of accessing such sites in spite of the different alphabet and uncertain public transport is through Jordan Pankov who grew up in the area and oozes knowledge about local culture and nature. He runs day trips for small groups that you can tailor to suit you.
Check out the tour pages on banskoservices.moonfruit.com
Horseback riding tour in Mongolia. Genuine meeting with locals far from the tourist spot, great service and friendly staff, great materials, included European trekking saddles and amazing food served duing the trip (yes, in Mongolia !)
This is a 3-day sailing cruise around the Whitsunday Islands on a 135ft schooner. The rooms are all private, en-suite, A/C. Food is really high quality and there is plenty of it. The crew are fantastic. It includes snorkelling, diving (at an extra cost), glass bottom boat. An excellent trip.
1 The esplanade, Airlie Beach or book through any tourist info centre
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