One of the great travails of being a tour operator that specialises in Sri Lanka has been the constantly fiddling of dates involved in making sure that ‘flying direct’ with Sri Lankan airlines actually meant flying direct. Until now, the daily London to Colombo (and vice versa) flight with good times has touched down in The Maldives on 4 days of the week, adding two hours to the overall flying time. While there has always been an additional direct flight on all of these days, they have been at very unsociable hours, either arriving into or departing from Colombo in the middle of the night. This has led to a constant struggle to fit in all the conflicting requirements of the clients with the reality of the dates and times. To the great relief of everyone here at Experience Travel this problem is no more!!
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Sri Lankan airlines to increase its direct flights from London to Colombo
Sunrise from the top of magical Borobudur temple, Central Java
After a night at Losari Coffee Plantation – a wellness retreat surrounded by 8 of central Java’s dramatic volcanoes – our exploration of Java continued with three nights in the historic province of Yogyakarta to the south. After an early morning rise for an hour long yoga session (who knew that stretching could be so tiring?) and a tour of the working coffee estate, we first made our way north to the small Hindu temple complex of Gadung Songo, some 1,300 meters above sea level. We explored the site and yet more stunning vistas on horseback, before getting drenched in a downpour. After the two hour drive south it was starting to get dark by the time we reached, tired and slightly disheveled, the luxury surroundings of Amanjiwo.
I always feel a little embarrassed turning up at such places after a day’s ‘hard work’ – I’m not renowned for my ‘luxury’ appearance at the best of times – and having both changed into our tracksuits to get warm in the car this was no exception! However, it was not long before I relaxed and was marvelling at the tranquil setting and style of the hotel. The circular lobby is designed in such a way that as you approach you are presented with a view that leads through the hotel and down to the magnificent Borobudur temple some 2.5 km away. It was not until the light of the following day that I could truly appreciate this, the four volcanoes climbing into the horizon from the flat plains below and the lush green hill that towers above the hotel from behind. That evening, with the prospect of a 4.30am wake up call so that we could climb the temple for the sunrise, I was more concerned with enjoying the luxury that the suites provided and the grilled salmon in the restaurant!
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Train Ride through Java’s volcanoes and paddy fields
In an effort to improve and expand our Indonesian product, particularly outside of Bali and Lombok, I am spending two weeks travelling across some of the country’s 17,000 thousand islands. While it is not possible to see and cover them all, this trip to Java, Borneo, Bali, Flores and Komodo will allow us to provide a similar service and product knowledge to that currently offered in Bali, Lombok a
nd the other countries we specialise in across Asia.
For this trip I have managed to persuade Doruk, an old school friend in between jobs, to come along for the ride. I sold him with the idea of exotic sites, top level hotels and idyllic beaches. I failed to mention that we would be moving around so much that we would not have time to fully enjoy any of these! I will be posting a series of blogs as we travel through this fascinating country, and here follows the first:
After two nights in West Java it was time to head east towards the more traditional tourist areas on the island. A night each in Jakarta and Bandung is not enough to experience what West Java has to offer but that is the downside of a research trip! The upside is that it’s a fair bit more exciting (and warmer) than being sat in the London office and of course it means you’ll all have a better experience on your future holidays to Indonesia with Experience Travel!!
Holidays to Southern Sri Lanka increase as the sea plane affect kicks in
Since the re-launch of the twice daily Sri Lankan airlines air taxi service from Colombo International Airport to Koggala (Galle) and Dickwella (Tangalle) the options for
tailor-made holidays to Sri Lanka, and particularly those in the south, have increased dramatically. Connecting with the International flights between London and Colombo, it is now possible to avoid the 5 hour drive along the overcrowded Galle Road and instead take to the skies. On the hour-long flight you can look down with pity on the buses, cars and tuk-tuks battling it out on the streets below, while enjoying the stunning views of the western coastline on one side and the hills rising majestically on the other. Providing you include the air taxi with International flights with Sri Lankan airlines, the cost of the flights for two people also works out a similar rate to a transfer to the Galle/Tangalle region.
To improve the situation further, Sri Lankan airlines have improved their flight schedule between London and Colombo so it is now possible to fly 5 times a week (Mon-Fri) from London to Koggala/Tangalle, with only a relatively short stop over in Colombo. They have also recently altered the times of the sea plane so that you can leave the South Coast after breakfast and be back in London by 20:15 every day of the week, although on 4 days a week this involves a touchdown in Male on the international flight. Please speak to one of our consultants to decide dates that suit you.
The hidden Gem of Cambodia’s North East
Following on from a recent article in the travel section of the Guardian newspaper, What’s New in Cambodia?, we at Experience Travel have produced a new itinerary entitled Cambodia’s North East, a tour which offers the more adventurous traveller a fantastic opportunity to explore this hidden gem.
Close to the Laos border, Ratanakiri is a beautifully remote and untouched region of South East Asia, a million miles from the tourists at Angkor Wat and the noise and pollution of Bangkok.
The tour starts with a couple of days touring the spectacular Angkor temples. From there you get completely off the tourist trail, visiting pre-Angkorian ruins in Kampong Thom and Kampong Cham, taking a boat trip to spot Irrawaddy dolphins in the Mekong River, before spending a few nights in the remote market town of Ban Lung in the forests of Ratanakiri. (more…)
