Wild Frontiers Blog

Below you find on-the-road blog entries from our intrepid staff and tour leaders. This exciting, new idea will give you day-to-day updates on everything from best hotel bedrooms, eclipses in Mongolia to life on the streets of Pakistan and Tibet! So read, enjoy and be inspired to join them...

Displaying blog entries 1 to 5 of 92

Hello blog readers
 
Wild Frontiers’ man in Africa Stanley here, currently down here in Burkina Faso’s delightfully named capital Ouagadougou. I am waiting for the arrival of my group of hearty travellers as I prepare for a 2 week adventure to Mali’s Famous Festival au Desert.

This trip is going to be a cracker: a boat trip on the Niger to the fabled city of Timbuktu, trekking the Bandiagara escarpment in a land entwined with the ancient traditions and rites of the Dogon and culminating in the excitement of Africa’s premiere music festival.   
 
What has this got to do with an airsickness bag I hear you ask? Well I got myself in a bit of a pickle on the way out here because I managed to leave my Yellow Fever vaccination certificate (mandatory for entry into Burkina Faso) on my desk at home so as you can imagine, as my flight approached Ouaga I was wondering how to get out of this one. Spotting the yellow air sick bag tucked into the seatback in front of me I thought how similar its yellow was to that of the actual certificate so tucking it into my passport I confidently walked through the Medical Control waving my passport with the half-hidden airsickness bag, a smile, and a cheerful Bonsoir and with that it was Bienvenu a Burkina Faso.
 
Until next time
 
Stanley

Wonderful to be back at Castle Bijaipur again. We arrived last night after a problem-free journey down from Delhi. For a pleasant change at this time of year the skies over the Indian capital were clear of fog and our plane to Udaipur departed on time. It took three hours from there to drive to this little rural village in the heart of the Arivelli hills, where the battlements and turrets of the castle were lit up against the dark night like a medieval fairytale. A welcoming band - complete with bag piper, lantern carrier and ceremonial camel - greeted us and led us into the ancient fortress like some important visiting dignitaries. Champagne and music followed in the castle courtyard, after which we had dinner by the pool. All the group were much impressed. It's now eight in the morning with a cool velvet mist hanging low across the valley. The fast rising sun will soon put pay to that and a glorious day of horse rides, cycle trips and jeep safaris beckons. Group doing yoga on the roof as I write... All is good with the world.

I am a little late in updating about the Libya tour as I sit here in Fulham 2 weeks after having returned from the Land of the Big 'G'.  The tour continued brilliantly through the Sahara, searching out millennia old rock art and exploring the Acacus mountains before heading towards the Ubari lakes.  Driving through pristine dunes, across seemingly untouched landscapes while camping under the stars, meant that it was saddening to have to then leave after 4 nights there and return to the capital.  Some brief shopping time then in Tripoli and our short break in the amazing country of Libya had come to an end.  We all boarded the flight home and arrived safely with bags of sand in tow.  So now its back to the grindstone...well to the keyboard anyway as I try to adapt to office life and the confines of four walls.

I also need to thank all of you who sponsored me for running my half marathon for 'No More Landmines' a charity that speaks for itself in the work that it does.  I was due to run the London half marathon in October but was delayed in India with a wonderful tour in Rajasthan. Anyway i finally organised myself and ran one last weekend in Norwich.  Luckily not the week before as they'd had snow at the weekend.  So I ran on a rather bleak Sunday with 2000 other runners and impressed myself by completing it in 1hr 32mins, which rather surprised me.  But hey, thanks again and if you want to donate because it passed you by before then go to www.justgiving.co.uk/skipwithtom...be quick the page will disappear soon.  Thanks again and hope you all have a festive time and Happy New Year. 

I write this while sitting in the Saharan back of beyond under a nearly full moon.  Now day four and we’ve already seen some magical sites having just flown down from Tripoli last night.  Leptis Magna – the best preserved Roman city outside of Rome – provided a mesmerising insight into the lavish lifestyles of those commanding an empire. Then we headed off to the second of the three ancient cities Sabratha, well known for its intricate mosaics.  After various outings into the souq of the old city, searching for Gaddafi posters and the less interesting Libyan flag, we flew last night down to the southern town of Sebha.  While travelling, we quickly realised the big ‘G’ didn’t write a chapter on airport efficiency in his Green Book – written to aid the command of any socialist empire.  We have now set up camp, are sitting around in our Tuareg dress – Ashuersh head dresses looking a little more like a turban with a chin strap – waiting for our presumed Libyan dinner of local soup, meat with couscous and fruit salad.  There are excited whisperings from the group as rumours circulate that dinner will follow the same format as all our other meals.  Food is being delivered as the temperature drops and I need to get more clothes.  Soon I have the luxury of snuggling up under the stars next to Stanley.  Fortunately there’s lots of space, as those who know Stan would realise.  Updates shall follow, adventures in the Sahara still to come. 

Well, It's all happening here!

Having flown past the panarama of the Himalayan snowline and then weaved our way in through the mountains to touch down at Paro Airport, we made straight for Thimpu, the capital, to catch the last day of the young King's coronation celebrations and were rewarded with a wonderfully colourful display of masked dancing and other displays in the new stadium built for the occasion. The performances were rounded off with the Labay Labay dance, the arena filled with hundreds of beautifully clothed Bhutanese chanting, stepping and swaying to this very atmospheric traditional ending of festivities, the newly crowned King amongst them as well as the magnificently attired ladies of the royal household.  Then there was archery to watch, the teams competing  with both traditional cane and extremely modern high tech bows, and again the very handsome and charismatic young King was present.  So one way and another everyone in our group ended up with a photo of the world's youngest monarch.

The next excitement was tackling the climb up to the famous Tiger's Nest monastery perched on it's precarious rock face; the weather was wonderful and the photos should be brilliant.  We were a very happy band of Wild Frontiersmen-and-women that evening, some surpassing all their expectations by making it to the top.

And today we are back in Thimpu, again surrounded by colour and festivities to celebrate the 5th King's birthday.  Visiting the Dechenphodrung monastery this morning (where Wild Frontiers helped the Shuxiong Tibetan Schools Fund to clothe and robe 500 little monks) we spent some time in the temple attending the annual service held on this day.  It was again a  highly colourful occasion, the monks wearing their festive orange robes, chanting to the background sound of the great horns, trumpets and bell-ringing.

The nights are chilly, the mornings glistening with frost which rapidly melts in the glorious hot sunshine, not a cloud in the sky.  It was interesting to note the amazement of other travellers, whilst talking to them up at the Tiger's Nest, when they discovered that we travel all the way through Bhutan; it seems that Wild Frontiers are still pretty much ahead of the game out here!

So onwards tomorrow to Punakha, crossing over the Dochu la Pass where we have every chance of seeing the snow capped Himalayan range in this beautiful clear air.  Almost too good to be true!  Thanks for making it possible.