The Grasshopper Crew
Meet the people that make it all happen...
Jason - Grasshopper Master...
Company founder Jason Williams has a long association with cycling having fallen off his first bike at age 4. It wasn't until after university that Jason finally managed to leave his homeland of Australia to explore the world on two wheels. He has since ridden tens of thousands of kilometres, mostly in Asia, the place he now calls home.
Fed up with the same same of tourism Jason started Grasshopper Adventures in 2004 to be able to run the tours that he wanted to operate. Little did he know that starting a tour company would take over his life and see him having to balance being office bound and out leading tours. If you have any contact with Grasshopper Adventures, chances are you'll come across Jason.
Adam - from banking to bicycle...
Adam Platt-Hepworth first started as a customer of Grasshopper but it soon become apparent that Adam was concentrating more on his next biking trip rather than his banking job. So he threw in the cushy lifestyle in Melbourne, sold his car and moved over to Thailand with his bike to be in a place that suits him much better than a bank.
Adam now leads many of our South East Asia bike trips including the Lakes of Kanchanaburi which is a trip he designed. Adam also maintains a very entertaining blog, "My Life As A Grasshopper." If you ever wanted to know what it is really like to move over to Asia and lead tours check it out!
Read Adam's Blog
Lakes of Kanchanaburi | 6 day Bike Tour in Thailand
Ewen - photo man...
Photographer Ewen Bell is addicted to travel. Anyone who receives emails from him will notice that they come from all over the world - one week Greece, the next Japan. Sometimes he even manages to go home to Melbourne, Australia to repack.
Ewen is the backbone of our Photography Tours filling the instructor role on all our tours in this range. A widely published photographer and writer, Ewen has also worked in a wide range of jobs in the toursim industry so he brings a wealth of knowledge to our tours. In 2007 Ewen was awarded the Australian Travel Photographer of the Year title by the Australian Travel Writers Association.
China Photography Tour | 14 day Photo Tour in China
Checkout Ewen's website
Simon and Tot - Everything China...
Simon Foster first started tour leading in the Middle East in 1997 and has subsequently led groups in India and China. He is also a travel writer for the Rough Guide and Frommer’s and has just completed his first solo guidebook to China. He has lived in China for two years and Taiwan for three and when he’s not leading tours he writes for local travel magazines which allows him the excuse he needs to search out every last nook of this diminutive but diverse island. Simon first met Tot whilst they were both tour leading in India and subsequently they have worked together on tours and guidebooks in Asia, Europe and Australia. When she's not leading tours or taking photos, Tot loves to learn more about Taiwan's unique cuisine.
Simon's personal website
Simon's China Guidebook
The Other China | 15 day Adventure Travel Tour in Taiwan
Silk Road Photography Tour | 15 day Photo Tour in China
Nok - Jack of all trades...
Nok, a native of Thailand, works in our office providing operations support for all the tours. You have probably already received an email from her. Nok has also travelled extensively internationally and used to escort Thai groups to Australia. But now Nok is an accredited Thai tour guide and will be your escort on the Bangkok Urban Active tour. Nok has lived in Bangkok for more than 20 years so I guess you could say she knows it fairly well. If you want to make her really happy bring along a sample of your country's sweets - you'll have a friend for life!
Nok manages and guides our new Bangkok Urban Active tour.
Bangkok Urban Active | 4 day Urban Active Tour in Bangkok, Thailand
Karyn and Sengaloune - Lao Grasshoppers
Karyn Joyce has been travelling for more years than she wishes to count! Originally from New Zealand, her initial short venture from home turned into 5 years backpacking all around the world. She then returned home and worked as a travel agent for 6 years. However, the itchy feet returned and she packed up and went to work as a tour leader in Asia for a while, before deciding that the old Lao royal capital of Luang Prabang was where she would happily live. She has now been living and working in Luang Prabang for over 7 years.
Sengaloune Vicith is a Luang Prabang native. After obtaining a degree in English from the National University of Laos, Sengaloune's first job was in the tourism industry and like so many of us, he now has the tourism "bug". He is excited to be able to show off his beautiful home city while helping his less fortunate Lao neighbours.
Karyn and Sengaloune manage the Laos Volunteer Adventure and other special projects in Laos.
Laos Volunteer Adventure | 8 day Volunteer Tour in Luang Prabang, Laos
Sam - The Mountain Man in his own words...
I was born and raised in Bruges, Belgium. A chess champion at the age of seven, joined the Belgian Navy at 18 (yes we do have one, well we did) and owned my own bar at age 23. After my mama passed away at a way too young age I decided to leave Belgium and go exploring the world. "Live your life" she told me, "be happy and go out there, do what you really want to do with your life." I went traveling around the world for a year and soon realized that this was it, the freedom, the cultures, its people. This was living!
So I radically changed my life and started working as a tour leader/trekking guide to make a living out of my passion. I love the mountains and have lead trekking tours in the most beautiful places, such as Peru, Bolivia, Argentinean and Chilean Patagonia, the Tibetan and Nepali Himalayas but also the Alps in Europe with the magnificent Mont Blanc.
Its been an amazing six years since I left Belgium. I have worked, lived and embraced local cultures in over 30 countries, traveled in over 50. A question people always ask me is what are your favorites so far - not easy to answer and it doesn’t really do the other countries justice but on top of my list there are two: Peru and Nepal both for its people and the mountains.
I came up with the idea of running my own tours a while ago and now partnering up with Grasshopper finally gives me the ultimate opportunity to do so. I would love to show you why Nepal is so high on the list.
Sam manages and leads our Nepal trekking tours.
Embrace Nepal | 15 day Trekking Tour to Annapurna, Nepal
Mera Expedition | 21 day Trekking Tour in Nepal