eScape - Grasshopper Adventures eNewsletter
July 2008
In this issue:
- Introduction
- 20% Off Nepal Treks
- Slide Night in Sydney 18 July
- Ewen's New Book
- Itinerary Updates
- Extending Your Holiday
- Finding Flights
- Guaranteed Departures
Introduction
I spent a couple of weeks in England recently and was amazed to see how much cycling has really taken off there. It seemed that in London there was a bike shop on every street corner. And these weren't bike shops for the lycra clad roadies who have always been dedicated to the sport. The shops were filled with communter bikes, fantastic folding models, mountain bikes and everything in between.
Of course the increasing interest in bikes and move away from car travel is an obvious result of the increasing oil prices. But whatever the reason, more people cycling can only make the world a better place. If you are complaining about the cost of running a car there is a solution - don't drive so much! Grab your bike and ride to the shop. And yes after a little bit of regular riding your bum won't hurt anymore :)
Jason Williams
Managing Director
Grasshopper Adventures
20% Off Nepal Treks
In case you didn't hear the news, Grasshopper Adventures now offer two fantastic trekking tours to Nepal. Developed by mountaineer Sam Hoys these treks will get you high up into the Himalaya to some of the most awe inspiring scenery in the world.
To celebrate the launch of these tours and to help motivate you to book we are offering 20% off the price to the first 3 people who book on the September-October tours. Yes, this is a kind of race - if you are the 4th person there ain't no discount so get in quick before your neighbours do!
Embrace Nepal | 15 day trekking tour to Annapurna Base Camp | 20 Sep - 4 Oct 2008
Mera Peak Expedition | 21 day trekking tour to Mera Peak | 5 - 25 Oct 2008
Slide Night in Sydney 18 July
Adam Platt-Hepworth is making the long trip back to Australia this month and has lined up a slide night in Sydney on 18 July. Adam specialises in cycling tours in South East Asia so he will be focusing on this region and will answer all those questions about what it's like riding on one of our tours.
If you have already travelled with us and just want to catch up or are still trying to work out what your first bike tour will be then come along to Goldbean Cafe, 66 Goulburn St, Sydney at 6pm. The cafe is BYO so if you want to enjoy a glass of wine feel free to bring a bottle.
Ewen's New Book
Ewen Bell, Grasshopper's photographer extrordinaire, has been busy again, this time writing and publishing his first book "Photography For Travellers".
In Ewen's words, "the book was written to inspire, inform and encourage creativity with your camera. Along with techniques and themes to discuss on pratice on a journey the book includes a wealth of images and stories from my recent adventures."
We will now be giving away this book FREE to anyone booking on any of our photography tours! The book will provide the perfect accompaniment to you as you travel with Ewen photographing Asia.
Preview or buy "Photography For Travellers" here
Itinerary Updates
Always looking to improve our tours we have and are about to make some changes to a few of our itineries.
Karma Cambodia | 13 day bike tour in Cambodia
From December we are including a new town on the tour. The town of Kep was a renowned seaside town for the French during the colonial period. Following the Frech departure from Asia the town fell on hard times and became something of a ghost town. A small revivial is now occuring which gives the town a surreal mix of old French buildings mostly in ruins alongside the new developing town.
Hanoi to Saigon | 15 day bike tour in Vietnam
The new improved Vietnam trip will mean no more transferring in a bus. If you love bike touring that is all on bike and not half on a bus this will be the tour for you. We will start in Hanoi, fly to Hue and then cycle all the way to Quy Nhon on the south-central coast before flying down to Saigon. The entire ride will be hotel to hotel almost entirely on quiet back roads, avoiding Highway One but still exploring the beautiful Vietnam coastline. Jason is going to be researching the route in the next few weeks so all changes will be online soon.
Secret South | 13 day bike tour in Thailand
Thailand's beautiful southern bike tour is now a 13 day expeience combining the best of the two trips that we used to operate. First of the new trips will run in Jan 2009 - perfect time of year for the beach!
India Photography Tour | 14 day photo tour in India
We have taken the success and this year's India Photography Tour and made it even better. We've added the exciting city of Mumbai as a starting point, the beautiful lakeside town of Udaipur and a few other surprises to the tour. And we still fit in the surreal experience of sunrise at the Taj Mahal, camel riding in the desert and a finish in the eclectic capital Delhi to make this the once in a life trip to India (even if you're not a photographer!).
Extending Your Holiday
We often receive request from clients who are looking for some additions to their Grasshopper Adventure - maybe a few extra nights in a hotel or a trip out to a place that is not covered on our tour. So to make life easier for you all and to offer a few ideas we are now adding "Extend Your Holiday" ideas to each tour.
The are many ways to extend a tour, maybe take a trip out to Halong Bay after cycling the Northern Indochina Trail or before cycling Hanoi to Saigon. What about a Thailand beach break after an adventurous ride through Laos? Need help getting home after travelling the Silk Road? These extension tours are not operated by Grasshopper Adventures - instead we book you with tour operators who specialise in their particular region. And if there is something else you want to do by all means let us know. We have contacts all over Asia and can help arrange just about anything!
You'll find the "Extend Your Holiday" suggestions on the right hand side of each tour page. Here's a few ideas to get you started:
Halong Bay Cruise | 2 or 3 day extension tour in Vietnam
Cu Chi Tunnels | half day extension tour in Vietnam
Mekong River Cruise | 2 day extension tour in Laos
Finding Flights
Ever tried to find out which airlines fly to or from an airport? We have found a good solution: Wikipedia. If you type in the name of the town or city followed by the word "airport" you should come up with a wiki for the airport you need. One of the first items you'll find in the information is a list of airlines and when they fly to. You can then go check out the airline website to see timestables and prices. Easy!
We tested this idea on a few airports and it seems to work. A small airport like Bagdogra in West Bengal, India listed all the airlines flying there (and most of the airlines have an on-line booking process). At the opposite end of the airport spectrum we searched for Bangkok Airport and sure enough a huge list of all the airlines and where they fly from are listed. We can't say for sure if the wiki details are 100% correct but so far it seems like an easy way to find a flight.
Wikipedia Website
Guaranteed Departures
The following tours are guaranteed to depart so if you are looking for a bit of guaranteed adventure take a look at these tasty offerings:
China Photography Tour | Sep 14-27 (fully booked) & Nov 2-15 | 14 day Photo Tour in China
Karma Cambodia | Nov 15-27 | 13 day Bike Tour in Cambodia
Lao Lao | Nov 3-14 & Dec 21-Jan 1 | 12 day Bike Tour in Laos
Northern Indochina Trail | Aug 22-Sep 3 | 12 day Bike Tour in Laos & Vietnam
Myanmar Magic | Nov 10-22 | 13 day Bike Tour in Myanmar (Burma)
Silk Road Photography Tour | Oct 14-27 | 14 day Photography Tour in China
Trail of the Dragon | Aug 30-Sep 13 & Oct 11-25 | 15 day Bike Tour in Guangxi, China
Wild Mongolia (with Nadaam Festival) | Jul 10-25 & Jul 26-Aug 9 | 16 day Bike Tour in Mongolia
Yunnan - Tiger Leaping Gorge | Aug 26-Sep 9 | 15 day Bike Tour in Yunnan, China