No worry, chicken curry!

Follow the adventures of the Whittle family in India

I have just read the wonderful and inspiring story of the Whittle family, Geoff and Cherie, James (9) and Olly (11), who rather radically decided to leave their home, family and friends in the UK to live in India to help save the tiger.

After a tough time in the UK, with rising debts and a failing business, they decided to make a radical change to their lives and move to India where they spent a total of seven years, set up two charities and dedicated themselves to helping to save the tiger.

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Top 10 website features for travel inspiration

Our website is a great source of inspiration as much as a guide to all of the countries that Audley offers. I thought it would be interesting to share with you the top 10, most-visited inspirational sections of our site. Continue reading »

Wear It Pink Day at Audley

Wear It Pink Day

Today was “Wear It Pink” day at Audley and we had a great support from everyone who made a great effort and dug deep into their pockets for this very worthwhile cause.

Thanks to the efforts of Catherine in our Southeast Asia team, almost everyone turned up in some sort of pink attire and with more money raised through a pink cake sale, we managed to raise £205!

Well done all!

Ever played a tune to a whale?

Play a love song to a whale

Every now and again I find a website that really stands out. I stumbled across  this one today from an Australian business consultancy called Opus. Not a lot to do with Audley I hear you say, as this website is all about how they produced their new TV advert.
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Lost Land of the Volcano on BBC1

Lost Land of the Volcano on BBC1

Last night, many of us at Audley watched this new series on BBC 1. In Lost Land of the Volcano, an international team of scientists, cavers and wildlife filmmakers travel into the heart of Papua New Guinea to explore Mount Bosavi – a giant extinct volcano.

Some of the species they filmed include a giant rat the size of a cat and the world’s smallest parrot.

It was a great start to an interesting series with new species of wildlife being discovered literally at every turn. If you missed the first episode, it’s available on iPlayer (UK only). The rest of the series continues next week.

If this series has whetted your appetite for a (slightly less adventurous) trip to Papua New Guinea, then find out more on our tailor-made Papua New Guinea tours.

Changing times for Burma?

The Shwedagon Pagoda in Yangon, Burma

We were pleased to see reports this week that Aung San Suu Kyi, Burma opposition leader, has changed her views on tourism to her country.

Aung San Suu Kyi

Last week she was reported to have said that she now believes tourism should be welcomed and encouraged as long as it is run through private operations and not through the government.

We will be watching this story with interest as we have always had a very close affinity to the Burmese people. We believe that our clients themselves should be the ones to make an informed decision as to whether or not to travel there.

If this recent change of heart has encouraged you to find out more about Burma and the arguments for and against travel there, try the “Visit Burma” section of our website.

A new look for our Home Page

The new Audley Travel Home Page

I was looking at our Home Page yesterday and realised that it was about time we gave it a “lick of paint”. It’s not that there was anything inherently wrong with it, but, as they say, a change is as good as a rest. Plus there are plenty of new sections we have added to the site since we designed it, which needed promoting a bit more heavily to all our visitors.
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Road trip round Northern Thailand

Nick and Charlie pause for a break to take in the view on their Northern Thailand tour

Charlie and Nick, two of our Thailand specialists, recently returned from a great trip by car around Northern Thailand. I caught up with them today to see how it went, where they ended up and find out what they thought.

When telling people I was about to embark on a self drive trip with my colleague Charlie around the north of Thailand I was met with a mixture of interest and concern. “Have you seen how they drive in Bangkok?” But driving in Thailand outside the frenetic capital is a very relaxing experience due to the quiet, spacious roads and fabulous scenery. Having the independence to stop wherever you like is a great way to interact with the locals and adapt your pace of travel. Continue reading »

Audley wins an ULTRA!

Audley staff celebrate the ULTRAs win with a champagne breakfast

Today we had a wonderful surprise when we arrived at work to be welcomed by a Champagne Breakfast – along with more croissants, pastries and pain au chocolat than we could possibly eat (the local branch of  Sainsbury’s didn’t know what had hit them!)

The cause for all this celebration? We won ‘Best Small Tour Operator 2009‘ at the Telegraph’s Ultratravel Awards – known as the ULTRAs which we are, of course, absolutely delighted with.

The Audley ULTRA Award

The ULTRAs (Ultimate Luxury Travel Related Awards) is a highly prestigious award, voted for by readers of the Telegraph which means a lot to us.

So thank you so much if you voted for us – now I must dash back for another glass of champagne.

Carnival time on The Big Picture

The Big Picture - Carnival time

As always, the The Big Picture blog lives up to its excellent reputation with a new set of amazing photos.

It’s Carnival Season in many countries across the world; from the Mardi Gras in New Orleans to the Carnival in Brazil. View the Carnival photo set here.

If this gets you in the mood for visiting the Brazil Carnival yourself, avoid the crowds (and higher prices) by visiting during Rio’s Winners’ Parade (a week after the main Carnival). Better value and equally extravagant! Speak to the Brazil specialists