Archive for August, 2009

A Solar Eciplse from Sri Lanka

27 August 2009 by

Exciting news that on January 15th 2010 you will be able to experience a solar eclipse from northern Sri Lanka. Apparently it will be an annular eclipse, so the Sun and Moon are exactly in line, but the Sun will appear as a very bright ring, or annulus, surrounding the outline of the Moon.

I cannot glean much information on this as yet, but it seems that it will start from East Africa before moving towards northern Sri Lanka and Tamil Nadu, before passing Bangladesh, Burma and China. From what I can tell the best place to view it from Sri Lanka will be Anuradhapura to Jaffna. Anuradhapura would be a magic place to view it from I’d think. Contact us at Experience Sri Lanka to arrange a tour around this.

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Rick Stein’s Far Eastern Odyssey – a review:

25 August 2009 by

Rick Stein did us a massive favour by doing a programme that focused, almost exclusively, on the area that we specialise in. Apart from Laos, all our bases were covered – Sri Lanka, Vietnam, Cambodia and of course, Thailand. A big ‘thank you’ to Rick then, as we saw a definite increase in inquiries from the sort of people keen to do something a little different and sample the true flavours of the region – something which we can deliver!

I also think we are well placed to review the show and watched it with great interest. Not only do we know the countries very well, but we are all fairly greedy and get thoroughly over-excited by the thought of South East Asian food. We also know a few of the characters featured in the programme and all of the hotels featured.

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Asia Wishlist – No. 1 Knai Bang Chatt

17 August 2009 by

Stuck in my office in Wandsworth putting together tours for people in Vietnam is a decent way to make a living. My thoughts do wander sometimes though, to the places I am working on, and where i would like to go next.
Knai Bang Chatt
With 2 small children, much of this is purely a pipedream, but number 1 on the list has to be Kep in Cambodia and Knai Bang Chatt in particular.

My colleague, who visited recently, came back raving about the laid back charms of Kep, the delicious buckets of Kampot Pepper Crab available in the markets at a dollar a throw, the hike up Bokor mountain to see the ethereal abandoned hilltop colonial resort up there and dreamy boat trips out to empty paradise islands. Having loved the rest of Cambodia, but missed Kep on previous visits, I am most keen to get back.

He also said that Knai Bang Chatt was the best hotel he had ever stayed in. That would all depend on what you’re looking for, but personally, the converted villas sound fantastic, and the thought of the food – a cunning French and Khmer fusion, too good to be true. (more…)

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Sri Lanka Government offended by Small Miracles

4 August 2009 by

In a hilarious (if you don’t work in the travel industry that is!) and spectacular u-turn the Government of Sri Lanka has intervened and cancelled the new marketing campaign devised by the Sri Lanka Tourism Promotion Board. Sri Lanka recently re-branded itself from ‘A Land Like No Other’, to ‘Sri Lanka, Small Miracle’, in a mass-budget and multi-pronged campaign designed to boost tourism in the country following the end of the three decade old civil war. We reported the move in this blog and said, like most people who we spoke to, that we actually thought it was pretty good and appropriate. (more…)

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Experience Travel take part in Jubilee Debt Campaign film

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Experience Travel were privileged to be involved in a new short video for the Jubilee Debt Campaign.

Parts of the video were filmed in and around our office and one of our team also appeared in the film. The film was made to kick start a campaign that was launched at the Glastonbury festival.

Working, as we do, in countries saddled by debt it is an issue we feel quite strongly about and we were very pleased to be able to add our support.

The Jubilee Debt Campaign website has much more detailed information about their philosophies and activities.

Experience Travel are committed to responsibly managed tourism that benefits the countries we work in and actively support people and places that are taking a lead in progressive working environments and practices.

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