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!!
Posts Tagged ‘travel’
Sri Lankan airlines to increase its direct flights from London to Colombo
A Year in Vietnam
Coming up next week is one of the most important festivals in the Vietnamese calendar: Tet, or Vietnamese New Year. Tet marks the beginning of spring, and heralds the coming of a new zodiac animal sign for the year. It is a fresh beginning for Vietnamese people and the traditions carried out at this time reflect these beliefs. After taking up a degree in Vietnamese language at the School of Oriental and African Studies, University of London, Seb Rumsby spent a year in Vietnam from September 2008 to 2009 to help his understanding of both Vietnamese culture and language. Experience Travel talks to Seb about his year and his experiences during Tet. (more…)
Two new restaurant options in Danang
Word reaches of two interesting sounding restaurant openings in Hoi An/Danang – already something of a foodie mecca.
First is the Waterfront Restaurant in Danang – from the owners of the FANTASTIC Red Bridge Restaurant and Cooking School in Hoi An. We can easily incorporate lunch here into one of trips to My Son, the Marble Mountains or a the trip to the’wonderful Cham Museum in Danang. (more…)
The Mekong Delta: Phnom Penh to Saigon
The Mekong River is one of Asia’s great waterways -a powerful, mesmerising and life-giving force that careers from the icy mountains of Tibet to the humid rice fields of southern Vietnam. Along its journey the river blesses Tibet, China, Burma, Thailand, Laos, Cambodia and Vietnam with its bounty of food and transportation opportunities and is the lifeblood of thousands of people who live along its banks and survive from its fish and the irrigation opportunities it presents to otherwise remote rural areas.
A family travelling through the waterways
I have explored and journeyed along the river at various points of its path through south east Asia. On my first trip to the region as a young backpacker in the late 1990s I took a slow boat from Huay Xai (the border town in the north of Thailand and Laos) to Luang Prabang, and from this time onward I have been fascinated by exploring the Mekong and its tributaries. I have been fortunate to travel down and stay alongside the river in Thailand, Laos and Cambodia. However, the so-called ‘Mekong Delta’ region of Vietnam had eluded me on my travels until recently, and what a treat I had been missing! (more…)
Seatbelts Arrive in Ceylon!
Visitors to the Sri Lanka are frequently astounded by some of the driving manoeuvres they witness and the apparent lack of rules on the road. I myself have frequently wondered why, for a nation that rarely rushes for anything, is driving done in such a hurried fashion? However, what often surprises people most is not just the way people here drive, but how it is extremely rare to see drivers (or passengers for that matter) wearing seatbelts. (more…)
Travel tip for first time Thailand visitors…
The Skyrail
It is best to get around in Bangkok on the skyrail and metro if you can; they are really pleasant very easy and cheaper than a tuk tuk or taxi.
