Bird-eating frog discovered

New to science: a bird-eating fog.

With the world population approaching 7 billion, you’d think us humans would have found by now just about every land-based life-form bigger than say, your average insect – but not so it seems. 

In the Greater Mekong region of Southeast Asia, a new bird-eating frog has been discovered, along with several other interesting species, such as a leopard striped gecko, a tube nosed bat and a bird called the Nonggang babbler.

This news comes on top of a recent BBC expedition - and subsequent TV programme called Lost Land of the Volcano - to Papua New Guinea, which found newly identified species like rats as big as cats and tree-climbing teddy bear-like marsupials.

The world is indeed stranger than we thought!

‘Last Chance to See’ on BBC2

'Last Chance to See' on BBC2

Have you been watching the BBC’s news series ‘Last Chance to See’ which began on 6th September? Presented by Stephen Fry, the programme is a remake of a radio series from 1985 and book of the same name, released in 1990 as a companion to the radio series.

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BBC2s ‘By Any Means 2′

Charley leaving Sydney with a huge biker escort on the first leg of his trip to Tokyo.

Just a reminder that Charley Boorman has embarked on his second series of By Any Means, this time starting his adventure in Sydney and travelling to Tokyo.

This latest series, if you’ve never seen it, features Charley Boorman (son of famous film director John Boorman) travelling on any type of transport he can he can get his hands on, through several countries within the Asia Pacific Rim.

So, if you’re thinking of travelling with Audley to Australia, Papua New Guinea, Indonesia, Philippines or Japan, then you’ll get just a small flavour of what to expect by following his progress.

You can see Charley’s next adventure, through Indonesia, on BBC 2 at 9pm on Sunday 18th October.

PS. Don’t forget that you can watch previous episodes online for a limited period via the BBC iPlayer.

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.

Rick Stein’s Far Eastern Odyssey on BBC2

Rick Stein in the Far East

Tonight at 8pm on BBC2 is the first in a series of programmes which sees the chef Rick Stein undertake an epic culinary journey by river, sea and overland to discover the diverse food cultures of the Far East.

“I’m here to discover not just the food,” Stein promises, “but what makes places like Cambodia, Thailand and Vietnam tick. What’s so special about Bali, Sri Lanka, Malaysia or Bangladesh? Well – the food of course. But beyond that it’s the people. People talking about food…”.

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Update: Paya Ngoto School in Burma

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

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

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

One 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 »