Reviews

Most Inspirational Moment

To walk among the highest mountains in the world to reach Everest Base Camp. Also to sit with a holy man on the flight to Lukla, a peaceful yet inspiring moment.

Thoughts on Group Leader

Tenzi was absolutly the best we could have had. We ran in to bad weather coming out of Lukla and could not fly he got us all organised smoothly to get off in a helicopter. Tenzi made sure we were all sure of what we were doing, when we were doing it and how. Always smiling and laughing yet solicitous to our every concern. Truly could not have had a better leader.

Advice for Potential Travellers

Train for it, it is tough.... but thoroughly enjoyable. Pack layers, it does get cold especially at night. Take wet wipes because no one wants to have a cold shower in freezing conditions! Enjoy it, it is a once in a lifetime experience.

Advice for Potential Travellers

If you are used to track skiing, the trip may be quite a bit less active than you're expecting. The nature of skiing over ungroomed variable terrain, combined with the focus on enjoying the beautiful landscape and improving your skill, mean that the pace can be quite gentle. However, the hotel has a nice trail network right outside the door, so you can go out again after the day's tour (or before breakfast) to stretch your legs a bit.

Most Inspirational Moment

Cycling through rice fields in Hoi An. Visiting a floating village in Siem Reap.

Thoughts on Group Leader

Thanh in Vietnam was simply the best. He had a clear passion for his country and guided us with humour and honesty through cities, towns, menus!, as well as not always easy historical sites. He was knowledgeable, approachable, and clearly dedicated to his craft. On a cycling trip he guarded us with his own bike and a tiny frame against traffic, which was so considerate (we had to cycle through few streets before we got to the countryside).

Advice for Potential Travellers

Pack some warm clothes for Ha Long Bay. Bring warm socks and a fleece. Do not be fooled that it is only one day and 16C. Do not expect 4-star, western-standard accommodation. Arrive a day early to visit Hanoi. We only had time to see the Old-Quarter as part of the trip.

Most Inspirational Moment

I feel that I should say the elephant safari or the white-water rafting (which were both thrilling), or the iconic train ride through the tea plantations, but my favourite experiences were when we seemed to be in the middle of nowhere, with hardly any other tourists around, enjoying the birdsong and the beauty of the landscape.

Thoughts on Group Leader

Mahen was great - he was always smiling and doing his best to make the tour as enjoyable as possible (even if that meant moving the schedule around in view of weather conditions and people's personal preferences). He clearly loves his country and wanted us to love it too - his enthusiasm was infectious.

Advice for Potential Travellers

Pack a decent breathable waterproof and sliders/crocs, whatever the season! We went in what should have been dry season but got thoroughly soaked on more than one occasion. Most people on our tour wore trainers, which were fine but sometimes took over a day to dry out and weren't easy to take on and off when entering temples (especially when wet). Although it is not a physically demanding tour, it is busy and we were glad to have extended our trip by three days on the coast (near Galle). With the benefit of hindsight, I wish I had tacked on an extra day before the tour to rest (having not got much sleep on our overnight flight from London) and acclimatise to the heat.

Most Inspirational Moment

So many but in particular the walk through the spectacular tea plantations and the visit to the inspirational Charitable trust Srishti. The dawn walk through Madurai is not to be missed and neither is the boat trip through Manjira village, both of which give a real flavour of the way many local people still lead their lives.

Thoughts on Group Leader

Biju is an inspiration . I have been on several trips with Exodus and have always rated my guides as excellent but Biju is in a category on his own - he is simply outstanding. Nothing was too much trouble for him and everything was always done with a beautiful smile. He took us to local restaurants thereby introducing us to to the local food; he explained so much about the Indian culture and religion and took a great delight in the fact that our group wanted to try everything that was on offer. Together with the driver Vinod they make a great team.

Advice for Potential Travellers

Don't leave it too late to get your visa. Take a plug for the sink as none of the hotels had one. Don't worry about changing money, there are plenty of ATM's or money changers where you can exchange either dollars or sterling for rupees. Everything was ridiculously cheap - we had some lunches for eq£1 including a tip!! Biju collected money at the start , in sterling or dollars, to cover tips for various guides, coffee stops and the driver which made things much simpler and quicker as we went along. Biju suggested that we saw the Kathakali dance in Kochi on day 2 rather than waiting until day 8 in Periyar and he was right as there are plenty of other things to do there. You need to be aware that the Sri Meenakshi Temple is being repainted and so the towers are covered in scaffolding and should remain like that for the rest of the year . This was a big disappointment but Biju made sure that we stopped at a much smaller but beautifully painted temple on another day.

Most Inspirational Moment

Sunrise at Angkor Wat.

Thoughts on Group Leader

Thanh in Vietnam and PJ in Cambodia.

Advice for Potential Travellers

Don’t miss the Cham ruins (optional tour) in Vietnam.

Most Inspirational Moment

As previous reviews have stated there are far too many memorable moments to list that it is difficult to pin down one or two. However, the camping / walking, houseboat on the backwaters, street food tour and a home cooking evening with an Indian family were our highlights.

Thoughts on Group Leader

Santhosh Kumar was our Group Leader for the entire 2 weeks. His efforts, energy, organisational skills and enthusiasm kept the itinerary moving along and made the trip so much more enjoyable. He is a great ambassador for all things India and this shone through throughout.

Advice for Potential Travellers

Try to get used to the slower Indian pace of life as soon as possible. It will make the trip so much more enjoyable. As previously, GBP & USD money can be changed on the way to the first hotel (and many other places during the trip except the camping part). Warm, layered clothes for the (camping) are only needed after sunset and before sunrise in late February as the day soon warms up. Walks can be quite up & down on the camping part so bear this in mind when taking in conjunction with the distance and potential weather conditions. However, walks were well paced and you have plenty of opportunities to stop for water & short rests.

Most Inspirational Moment

Difficult to choose one from so many….but I think the experiences in Hoi An were amazing; cycling through the countryside and seeing the lanterns at night

Thoughts on Group Leader

Huyen was perfect in every way. We all adored her. She was exceptionally well organised, generous with her time, nothing was too much trouble, knowledgeable, empathetic to our needs, funny and just a beautiful person.

Advice for Potential Travellers

We were glad we took thin blow up mattresses for the train. Getting VND currency was no problem from ATMs.

Most Inspirational Moment

Difficult to choose one from so many….but I think the experiences in Hoi An were amazing; cycling through the countryside and seeing the lanterns at night

Thoughts on Group Leader

Huyen was perfect in every way. We all adored her. She was exceptionally well organised, generous with her time, nothing was too much trouble, knowledgeable, empathetic to our needs, funny and just a beautiful person.

Advice for Potential Travellers

We were glad we took thin blow up mattresses for the train. Getting VND currency was no problem from ATMs.

Most Inspirational Moment

For both of us it would be the impromptu visit to a junior school. The staff and children were so happy and made us very welcome. My husband would say the cycle up Ooty was his favourite ride but mine was the ride across the rolling Nilgiri Hills and the dramatic descent through the hills and tea-covered slopes of the Western Ghats and tropical rainforest on day 6. Also seeing a tiger in Bandipur National Park.

Thoughts on Group Leader

Safi our group leader along with Vineeth and Arun were all excellent guides. They kept us safe through some busy areas and fed and watered to keep up our energy levels, as well as being friendly and spoke excellent English. We enjoyed the food at all the cafes and restaurants safi took us too and my favourite was the seafood one by the sea on our last ride.

Advice for Potential Travellers

Some of the road surfaces and speed bumps are horrendous, traffic manic in the cities and the heat makes even the flat rides tiring but keep hydrated, follow the guide, take care and you will love it.