Borneo River Travel

Borneo conjures up romantic images of wild tropical jungle and rightly so. Fortunately, you can very easily get deep into its wilderness. A perfect trip to include on any Southeast Asia travel is a river journey to visit the endangered orangutans of the Indonesian side of Borneo, called Kalimantan. The orangutan tour was the highlight of our travel in Indonesia and many friends have said it was one of the best experiences of their lives. It is a trip that is difficult to beat.

The journey began with a short flight from Jakarta into Kalimantan where we were met on the tarmac by our guide. He checked with us to make sure that the menu was to our liking and picked up some additional supplies that we requested. We then launched onto the water aboard a klotok, a small Borneo river boat.

We lived on the klotok for four days. We slept under the mosquito net, in the open air. At night we watched the stars and listened to the sounds of the jungle. During the days we would watch for monkeys congregating in the trees beside the river as we slowly glided past. Each day we stopped at a nature reserve or an orangutan rehabilitation centre where we could wander jungle paths and visit with these fascinating creatures.

On the third day we visited the famous "Camp Leakey" which was founded by Dr. Birute Galdikas and is an active orangutan research centre. There we received an educational tour about the efforts to protect the orangutans. We also met many of the orangutans featured in Dr. Galdikas' book Reflections of Eden. We read her book during the trip and it made the visit that much richer.

The trip was very affordable and was completely organised by Adventure Indonesia. A professional company that can even arrange your flights. We were very pleased with their service. It would have been hard to beat their prices even if we had arranged everything ourselves on the ground. The guides and staff were polite and helpful and made an effort to meet all our needs, though it was hard to find cold beer once we were in the jungle.

This is a trip that we hope to do again with children. It is safe, easy, fascinating and memorable.

Travel is the Perfect Gift

We used to buy each other gifts. Every Christmas, every birthday we would shop for presents that the other might not really want. I am not sure how much we used to spend on this futile exercise, but we have since given it up. Now we do trips as gifts.

It started in India. We were traveling there for Christmas. Rather than buy gifts when we were going to be going on an expensive trip, we decided to make the trip our gift to each other. We have maintained the practice for five years now. Five years with only the perfect gifts that we both really want.

Overall we think we have actually come out ahead as we would have undertaken many of the trips regardless of the present policy. Although extra little indulgences while on vacation are guilt free as we skipped the presents.

Really Escaping: A Good Travel Site

Wandering through Jaisalmer, Rajasthan we stumbled upon the most atmospheric little place. We were very lucky that they had a cancelation on the day we showed up as this hotel had been recommended by i-escape. All the people staying there knew the hotel as they had been coming to Rajasthan for years or else they were part of that savvy set of travelers that use i-escape. It was the first time I had heard of this brilliant site and I am now a believer.

The i-escape team describes their recommendations as hip hideaways and stylish places to stay. They have won a number of awards for their site and it is no wonder why. We have stayed at a few places based on i-escape recommendations and every time the accommodation has become the centre of the experience.

The reviews are well written and the information is comprehensive, but that is not why it is such a good site. It is the quality of the selections. A place has to pretty special to make it onto the i-escape list.

My complaints with the site are that the photos are small and few, that the prices tend to be high and that they do not have extensive coverage. However, the information is useful and it is great for inspiring day dreams. Even when I have not booked accommodation through i-escape, I have followed their suggestions for activities and restaurants in the areas we are visiting.

Some of my favourite i-escape finds were:

1. Hotel Periscope in Athens, Greece (the photo above was our private deck).

2. The Aspara Hotel in Luang Prabang, Laos.

3. Il Ritrovo restaurant in Amalfi Coast, Italy.

When planning any trip I visit i-escape to scope out the destination. I also just browse the site for inspiration.

Finding Villas

The best tool for finding a villa anywhere in the world is HomeAway. A friend of mine recommended it to me years ago and we have used it to book private accommodation in Turkey (above photo of private garden), Barbados (above photo of private pool), Mexico, Canada and Italy. We have always been pleased with the service and have never had a problem.

We have just been amazed at how superior villa rentals are compared to hotels. The cost is typically much lower for a fabulous villa than a standard hotel. There is always so much more space. The experience is richer as you are not just staying in another hotel room. You have the option of shopping at local markets and cooking up your own food. There is more privacy. All around, villas are the way to go.

What makes the HomeAway site particularly useful is how easy it is to navigate. In just a few easy clicks you can find exactly the property you are looking for, in the price range you want, with the facilities you need, in the location you desire, with the availability you request. It takes less than a minute to find all of this.

The photos and the comments section give you a good sense of the place you are considering renting. I found the reviewers from past renters particularly helpful and would recommend that everyone completes this section for the benefit of others. (Although I have yet to complete one myself).

I have tried searching for other sites and have not found another that is as easy to navigate or that has as good a selection. I would highly recommend checking out HomeAway next time you are considering a vacation.

Mexican Villa Vacation

It was the first time we visited Mexico since the days of backpacking. It made me realise how much more I enjoy traveling when I can afford a proper escape. We chose Puerto Vallarta because there were direct flights from home, the city is known for maintaining traditional character, the weather is pleasant and there were a number of good villa options. It was definitely the right choice.

The weather could not have been nicer. There were nice sunny days for swimming and beach play. There were cloudy days for hiking and baby adventures. The temperature ranged from high teens to high twenties. Never too hot, never too cold. I was surprised that many of the pools are heated and if you are looking for a villa in Vallarta, find one that is heated as otherwise your dips will be chilly.

The city is one of the nicest I have visited in Mexico. Cobblestone streets, houses on the hills, clean beach front and rivers, and a lovely boardwalk for wandering. There are plenty of wonderful restaurants to suit any tastes. Our favourites were 1. "Choza de Tona" in Mismaloya which offered the best pina coladas with delicious steak and seafood all for under $100 for five hungry adults, 2. Le Kliff, the dramatic view was worth the price and the food was good, and 3. the home cooked meals we had at the villa.

The villa was located in the mountain side of Mismaloya, a small village 20 minutes south of Vallarta. It had 5 bedrooms and four full bathrooms for $250 a night. The pool was a little chilly and there was plenty of danger for the baby, but it was excellent value. The staff were lovely and served a four course breakfast every morning which was included in the price.

Overall, a great trip with plenty of reasons to return again.

X-country Skiing in Quebec

One of the best wintertime long weekend trips from Ottawa is an over night ski trip in Papineau-Labelle nature reserve. Less than two hours away from Ottawa, the reserve has over 120 km of ungroomed marked trails. Winding through the forest and along icy creeks, the trails are a true delight. To make the adventure even more enjoyable, the park provides a baggage transportation service for a fee.

We spent four days in the reserve, skiing from hut to hut. When we arrived at each hut our luggage was there and a warm fire was burning in the wood stove, making the hut nice and toasty which is exactly what we were craving after a full day of skiing. There is something truly delightful about coming across a warmly lit hut buried in fluffy white snow when you are cold and tired.

Having the luggage delivered meant that we could bring champagne to celebrate our anniversary on New Year's Eve. It also meant that on the day that there was a bad storm and I got sick, I could hitch a ride with them to the next hut.

We chose a looped trail that was overly ambitious, but there were enough options that we were able to take shortcuts. The landscape was mostly beautiful, though there was an ugly stretch through a logging area. The huts had all amenities but were simple. At one we had to get water from a hole in the iced over lake which was a fun part of the experience. The cold trek to the outhouse also felt adventurous.

The cost to stay at the huts was about $40 a night for the two of us and the price for the luggage delivery was $20 per person with a minimum of four people. We just decided to pay the rate for four people as the trip was our anniversary/Christmas present to each other.

We will definitely visit the park again. Next time we will take the little one and just ski in to one hut and stay a couple of days in one location just snowshoeing and playing around. It would also be a great option for meeting up with a large groups of friends and everyone could sky in from different directions. There are plenty of options with the extensive network of trails and huts.