Archive for 'Southeast Asia'

Update: Paya Ngoto School in Burma

Children playing in their rebuilt playground

Children playing in their rebuilt playground

Back in May 2008, Audley staff decided to raise money to rebuild Paya Ngoto School in Burma, after it was badly damaged by Cyclone Nargis. Now one of our Burma specialists updates us on the final stages of the project.
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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

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 »

Paya Ngoto School in Burma reopens

Children of Paya Ngoto School in Burma

Children of Paya Ngoto School in Burma

Back in May 2008 Audley held a staff fundraising event to raise money to rebuild a primary school in Paya Ngoto, Burma, after its destruction by Cyclone Nargis. By the end of the year we had raised a total of £11,000.

Now, nearly a year later I’ve just received (via one of our Burma specialists) an Audley client’s first-hand account of the finished project after a recent visit. Continue reading »

World Land Trust Save Animal Corridor in Borneo

Pygmy Elephant in the Kinebatangan River areaOne of the charities Audley are supporting in Southeast Asia, the World Land Trust has been campaigning to save enough money to buy a tract of land in Borneo that is a very important wildlife corridor. Sid checked back with them in January and had some very positive feedback.

Since July 2008, World Land Trust have raised £331,379.14 which has enabled them to make a down payment on the initial tract of forest that they wanted to save in the Kinabatangan River area, ensuring that it is not sold as a palm oil concession and therefore preserving all the flora & fauna found there and ensuring free movement of migrating animals.

As a consequence, the World Land Trust will continue to raise money for new critical wildlife corridors that the LEAP Conservancy are identifying at the moment. Audley will continue to support this charity through 2009.

 

Burma article in The Saturday Telegraph

We were very pleased to hear from one of our regular clients, Philip Johnston, that an article he had written had appeared in a recent Saturday Daily Telegraph supplement. His piece, entitled “Swept away by the Ayeyarwaddy” is a wonderfully enchanting description of a moment in Burma. If you missed it, he has given us kind permission to republish it here. Continue reading »

‘Explore’ on BBC2 – new four part series on Sundays at 9pm

Perito Moreno glacier, Argentina

Perito Moreno glacier, Argentina

Don’t miss the BBC’s new programme, ‘Explore’ on Sundays at 9pm. Last night was the first programme in an exciting and enlightening new four part series. It is led by Simon Reeve, author and presenter (Tropic of Capricorn and Equator) and a team of reporters, who travel on spectacular journeys of discovery to diverse parts of the world.

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New Southeast Asia brochure launched!

Southeast Asia brochureThere has been a buzz of excitement around the office this week with the launch of the new Southeast Asia brochure being the main topic of conversation. With the company’s roots lying in this area of the world (our very first tour took place in Vietnam in 1996) it’s always exciting to be able to highlight all of our new discoveries in this region as well as presenting some old favourites in a new way!

With the Southeast Asia team spending the last 12 months researching the area, there’s a lot to see in the new brochure. Discoveries include eco-lodges such as the Kingfisher Ecolodge in Champasak and La Folie Lodge in Don Daeng, cruises including Komodo Private Boats in Indonesia and the R/V Orient Pandaw in Borneo, as well as HaGiang in Vietnam and Isaan in Thailand amongst the new places to explore.

To order a new Southeast Asia brochure click here »

To view the brochure online click here »

Audley voted “Top Thailand Tour Operator 2008″

Collecting Audley\'s Friends of Thailand 2008 Award
Collecting Audley’s Friends of Thailand 2008 Award

We were thrilled to win the “Friends of Thailand” Award for Top Tour Operator 2008. These were the seventh Thailand Tourism Awards and the ceremony was held in Bangkok on 27th September 2008. Our Regional Manager for Thailand, Kate Dicks, went to collect the award. Continue reading »

Fundraising tops £10,000 – our Burma school opens!

Audley raises £10,000 to help open new school in Burma
Audley raises £10,000 to help open new school in Burma

A very big thank you to everyone who bought raffle tickets and purchased photographs from our online exhibition. We managed to raise over £10,000 towards the school building in Burma, well over our £8,000 target, which means that as well as building the school itself we were able to buy school furniture and some stationery. Continue reading »

Enter the Burma fund-raising prize draw

As you may have seen, Audley is raising funds to help with the re-build of the primary school at Paya Ngoto (North) Village which was completely destroyed by cyclone Nargis.

If you would like to help with our fundraising efforts please purchase a ticket for entry into our prize draw. There are some fabulous prizes to win all kindly donated by some of our suppliers and the families and friends of Audley staff. The prize draw takes place on the 15th October 2008.

Prize draw tickets can be purchased by downloading the Order Form or calling 01993 838 105.

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