Top Travel Leads

Don’t bring too much! When packing, I make a pile then eliminate, and I always discard any packaging at home rather than carrying trash into areas where it could pose a problem. I also consider the locals and what they need in their remote high-altitude world where weather and environment are challenging.

My pack always contains adequate clothing for fast-changing conditions. I also carry hard candy to ward off the coughing that leads to high-altitude pulmonary edema–enough candy to share with porters who do double duty carrying huge loads. I do not distribute candy (or pens) randomly in villages, a practice which can cultivate begging and worse, a riot if you run out before everyone receives something.

Pens and candy are not what villagers need. Clothing, hats, gloves and socks help them survive and perform physically-demanding jobs. Water bottles that tolerate high temperatures are another thing I leave behind because they allow locals to have and carry their own supply of water purified by boiling. Whatever keep everyone well can ensure the success of any trip.

The extreme light at high altitude and on snow can cause temporary blindness, as in snow blindness, or lead to long-term damage. For the past twenty years I’ve given high-quality sun glasses to village elders and porters, guides and animal herders. They are always appreciated.

Under the British Raj you could had ridden a train into India from Lahore in present day Pakistan. Since India’s independence you have to walk across the Wagha border between Pakistan and India, take bus to Amritsar and ride all over India from there. But now, Indian Railways has announced that it plans to establish rail links with Nepal, Bhutan and apparently concrete plans have been also drawn to connect the Indian rail network all the way with the Chinese railways.
With trade and tourism having reached large scale proportions in Kunming and Yunnan province of south-western China, the Chinese have already connected its rail system with that of Myanmar and plans are underway to extend it from there to Bangladesh with Dhaka being only a step from Kolkata, the eastern gateway to India. Once the network is fully in place and operational you’ll be able to tour Assam and Meghalaya from Kolkata and continue all the way to tour Yunnan in China.

With now being able to ride the iron rooster across China to Lhasa in Tibet, Chinese already started on extending the line across the High Himalaya down to Kathmandu in Nepal. Thus obviously after China you’ll be able to tour Nepal and then hop on a train and ride down into the plains of India. Of course this line will cost pretty penny as the road down from Kathmandu to Indian border is not an easy ride but the Chinese engineers have already blasted their way through much worse in Sichuan.

The third route in the works is to link southern Xinjiang Province of Western China with Pakistan. There is indeed another major obstacle in the way there and that’s the Karakoram. But never mind, just imagine, you could ride a train along the legendary Silk Road from Beijing via Kashgar over Kunjerab Pass, and along Karakoram Highway all the way to Deli and Mumbai!

Few years ago this Italian tourist asked me if I could arrange for her to take a taxi from Kathmandu to Mount Everest Base Camp! Now I wonder how soon will this really become possible.

On June 28th President Zelaya was expelled from the country by the Honduran military, backed by the Honduran Congress and Supreme Court. Congress President, Roberto Micheletti, has been sworn in as the interim President. Military personnel have been deployed on the streets of Tegucigalpa, and a temporary curfew is currently in place running from 10:00pm - 5:00am, though this may change at short notice. Demonstrations continue to occur throughout the country, and have been accompanied by sporadic incidents of violence and roadblocks.

The US government issued a Travel Alert on June 29th, recommending that American citizens defer all non-essential travel to Honduras until further notice.

The British government is not advising against travel to Honduras, but is advising all British nationals in Honduras to exercise extreme caution, to stay away from large gatherings and places of public protest.

Roatan, La Ceiba and San Pedro Sula Airports remain open and flights are operating normally. Tegucigalpa’s Toncontin Airport is closed for 48 hours effective today Monday, July 6th. Those travelers with flights scheduled with American Airlines may wish to call +(504) 216-4800 (Honduras) or 1-800-433-7300 (United States). Those traveling with Delta Airlines may wish to call 1-800-791-9000 (United States and Central America) or +(504) 550-1616 (San Pedro Sula). Those with flights scheduled with Continental Airlines may wish to call +(504) 220-0999 (Tegucigalpa), +(504) 557-4141 (San Pedro Sula), or 1-800-231-0856 (United States). Taca Airlines and its affiliates have cancelled domestic flights for the past week for reasons unrelated to the political unrest.

Our contacts in Honduras assure us that all tourist services in destinations outside Tegucigalpa continue to operate normally and remain unaffected by the political situation. The borders remain open.

At this time our partners have not taken the decision to cancel tour services in Honduras, but are leaving the decision to each traveler.

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Many of you have heard, the president of Honduras was removed in a coup over the weekend, and is currently in exile in Costa Rica. We are monitoring the situation closely. Currently there has been no disruption of normal tourist services. In the capital city, Tegucigalpa, there are small protests by the ousted president’s supporters, and some road blocks have been set up near the presidential palace. A curfew remains in effect for the next 48 hours in Tegucigalpa.

Tours and tourist services in the rest of the country continue to remain unaffected. Should any change to this status occur, we will notify you.