 |
|||
Welcome to the Bales blog, where we get a chance to share our thoughts, experiences and future plans with you and hopefully provide you with an interesting insight into what goes on ‘behind the scenes’ at Bales Worldwide.Happy Reading! |
|||
'Sugar Loaf Mountain at sunset and a perfectly clear evening gives the most wonderful views over Rio' MANDY NICKERSON, MD UPDATE
I would be really interested to know from you, the reader, what you think of our new diary. We think it is a great way of introducing you to various members of our team at Bales. Reading through it I would understand if you wondered if our head office was ever manned as it may seem that we are constantly travelling. Let me assure you that we spend the majority of our time at the office, but it is vitally important to enable all staff that are talking to you, to thoroughly know the destinations. That way you can be assured that we will arrange you the right holiday to suit your needs and you are assured of our expertise and inside track knowing that we have ‘walked the walk’. Well, I too have been away, but for pure leisure. We chose as a family to go to Brazil. After over half my life at Bales, I feel ashamed to say that it was my first time visiting this amazing land of contrasts. There were 8 of us that travelled, Steve my husband, the four children and the two eldest brought their partners. The children all said that it was a typical Bales journey as we tried to encapsulate many different experiences into the trip and in a country that is so vast this meant that we had some internal flights of 2- 4 hours – 6 of them to be precise! We started in Salvador and went onto Saipe which is a beach area 1 hours drive north of Salvador. This was to ensure we had some rest and relaxation on a most amazing coast with all of the facilities you could want to have, for a few days in the sun. To many of you it may seem odd that we did this at the beginning, but it was logical to me and anyway you can hardly call a trip like this hard work and there were many opportunities to relax. We continued to Rio, wow, it took our breath away. I have to say that I do believe it is the most wonderful city I have ever been to. The vibrancy of the people, the setting amidst mountains and sea and the spectacular peninsular. We were unanimously so excited to be here. We did go up to Christ the Redeemer on Corcovado and I was surprised how moved I was. Sugar Loaf – well we took the easy way by cable car, but we did see people climbing up the mountain to get to the top and I must admit I would have been tempted to have had a go if time had allowed. Sugar Loaf Mountain at sunset and a perfectly clear evening gives the most wonderful views over Rio. I have another restaurant to add to the finest I have ever been and this was for us a unique experience. They are commonly known as barbeques. What happens is that you take your choice from a never ending and lavish buffet area and the waiters come around with giant skewers of some of the best beef I have ever tasted. They have sausages, chicken, lamb, salmon and king sized prawns all delicious. Our guide commented on special steaks and cuts – but to us everything was really special. Whilst there are other barbeque restaurants that we visited I definitely would say this particular restaurant was our best food experience in Brazil. We were lucky enough to go and see a championship game at the Maracana Stadium – there are games most Wednesday nights and usually you can get tickets. The Iguassu Falls were next for us – and yet more ’wow’ moments. I think we did every walk way we could do, I went cycling and kayaking with our youngest James, and saw it every which way including from a helicopter. The place has a hypnotic draw and I could have stayed there for much longer, but time was moving on and we went to do the final part of our adventure by going to the Pantanal the wetlands. It was truly wonderful after over four hours of flying, three hours on dirt track road to do the final part of our journey to the lodge by boat. It was the reality of the remoteness and the quiet, well not quiet but rather than traffic noises it was noises of the wildlife and birds. The lodge is fantastic, and I realise that many of you would have been there with us and would echo this. For ornithologists I think it must be a paradise, but even then we are not familiar with birds but the excitement of seeing them and the knowledge and great enthusiasm of the guide is infectious and we just fell in love with such a tropical paradise. The holiday as always was over too quickly, but as with all memorable holidays we have a lifetime of memories to treasure. Don’t you find it amazing when you look back at some of your Bales holidays you have done so much and whilst it may have been only two weeks in some ways you cannot believe the variety of experiences and activities you have done with the time. So much so that you think you will return home to a lot of changes and have surprise that everything seems the same. I am excited about being back as there is so much going on and the first of our 7 brochures was launched – India and the sub continent. We have taken on the various comments you may have given us and I think the result is that these will be the best brochures you have seen and offers such an extensive range of product in each area that I do feel there is something for everyone. I am not being conceited when I say how proud I am of such fine brochures, as I have not personally done the work of producing them. I am merely trying to emphasise that it is with the tremendous feedback we get from you it has helped us to ensure we provide you with what you want. Thank you so much and please keep your comments coming- we can take constructive criticism, you can heap on the praise but more importantly if the brochures have inspired you to travel with us either for the first time or as a repeat Bales client it is because we have listened to you and care very much that we do provide what you ask for. Will catch up again with you soon and in the meantime I look forward to some more feedback. Mandy |
|
||
'Relaxing into Egypt time' LIZZIE EXPERIENCED THE TREASURES OF THE NILE ON A FAMILIARISATION TRIP TO EGYPT
Bales has been taking clients to Egypt for 60 years and I was lucky enough to go on one of our tours, The Treasures of the Nile, to experience this land of contrasts first hand. With the ancient Pyramids of Giza fitting snugly into the mirage of modern Cairo’s horizon, and the total peace and tranquillity of drifting down the Nile after negotiating the hectic, horn-blaring, ‘whoever is biggest wins’ attitude of Cairo’s roads, I was immediately enthralled by this Land of the Pharaohs. So much so the baking 55 degree heat of the summer could do nothing to deaden this experience! My trip took me firstly to Cairo, followed by a cruise down the Nile from Luxor to Aswan on one of Bales’ favourite cruise boats, The Nile Beauty. Waking up every morning to the sight of rural Egypt’s swaying palm trees framed by the towering sand dunes behind, and the wonderfully friendly crew who made it their personal goal to make me feel at home, I found myself helplessly relaxing into ‘Egypt time’. The highlight of the trip has to have been watching the dawn illuminating Luxor from my floating perch beneath a hot air balloon. Enthralled we watched silently as the orange ball of the sun reflected in the Nile and the light flooded the valley, as the Nile once had, displaying the endless desert filled with the tombs of long dead Pharaohs and the striking greenery of the irrigated fields below. I found the tour to be an unforgettable and endlessly enlightening way to discover Egypt, as our wonderful Tour Manager kept us entertained with fantastic tales of the ancients. I can honestly say I have never felt so knowledgeable and filled with wonder about a country! |
|
||
'An intense mix of old and new' STEVE WENT ON A FAMILIARISATION TRIP TO CHINA
I was lucky enough to go on an escorted trip, the “Yangtze Splendour”. 17 days of experiencing everything that China had to throw at me. From the booming cities of Beijing and Shanghai to the rapidly changing Yangtze River. From start to finish China was an education, an intense mixture of the old and the new. Whilst in Beijing the clock erected in Tiananmen Square announced that there were 365 days to go before the Olympics in 2008. Will us Brits be so exited a year before 2012 I wonder? China cannot wait to show the World how it has developed. Fortunately I was able to get a glimpse before most people will… Beijing was taking it easy in the hutongs where we explored by pedicab. The locals played mahjong in the streets and sat and chatted outside their houses. Elsewhere in the night market all nature of animals were been fried and eaten to keep the tourists stomachs happy. For the Westerners a cold drink and noodles were available of course! In Xi´an the thousands of Terracotta Warriors were still standing guard. A few were being prepared for transport to the British Museum for the forthcoming exhibition. Each one with a unique expression, armour and hairstyle! Next three full days on the world´s third longest river, the Yangtze. It was hard to imagine how the area had been flooded yet there was still so much to see along the misty canyons. The incredible drop of 80m over 4 locks at the Three Gorges Dam is a masterpiece of modern day technology. Shanghai did not disappoint. Huge shopping malls, the busy “Bund” and skyscrapers competing to be the tallest. Quite the opposite on the Li River between Guilin and Yangshuo where the limestone cliffs were a backdrop to the traditional river life that went on regardless of the attention of tourists on boats passing through. Finally Hong Kong and 10 years after handing back control to the Chinese the city still has a very western feel. I think Hong Kong will always be different to mainland China. That´s a good thing as China proper will always remain a fascinating place with a rich cultural heritage. You won´t be able to avoid China over the coming months so now is a great time to explore. |
|
||
Lights, Camera, Action…! CAMILLA WENT TO EGYPT TO FILM THE NOSTALGIC NILE
Capturing the beauty of the dahabiyyas, as well as the pace of life on board the boat was the brief- and we were not leaving Egypt without it..! But with the subject as glorious as this one- it never failed to let us down… sails flapping in the wind with blue skies and sunshine, picturesque moorings on private islands set away from everything and brilliant sunsets that brought to life the magnificence of the Nile. Everything ran really smoothly but could not have been achieved without the marvellous crew onboard- who were more than happy to be ‘film stars’ for the day and help us with all of our different shots that we were determined to get! The hardest bit of all was condensing a 10 day trip- down to a mere 6 minutes- and much to my relief the onboard Yoga class that I had taken part in (one of our customers was a Yoga teacher and kindly ran a daily yoga class for fellow passengers)- had to be cut- what a pity!! |
|
||
'Polar Bear Capital of the World' DAVE WENT ON A FAMILIARISATION TRIP TO MANITOBA, CANADA
My recent educational trip to Canada was to the lesser-known province of Manitoba, bang in the centre of the country, stretching up from Winnipeg to the Hudson Bay. Winnipeg is a quiet city on the banks of two rivers – the Red and the Assiniboine, and an easy place to get to from Toronto. A few hours’ drive northwest of the city however, and you reach Riding Mountain National Park – a area of lakes and forest, home to moose, elk, bison and around 850 black bears. A great place to enjoy some gentle hiking and biking! We also visited the town of Churchill, perhaps Manitoba’s most famed destination – known as the ‘Polar Bear Capital of the World,’ due to the high numbers of these exotic creatures which present themselves each October. It had long been a dream of mine to see one of these magnificent animals in the wild – and one that came true during our helicopter ride over the Bay! Even from the dizzying heights of the ‘chopper,’ she was an incredibly impressive sight. Just as impressive were the several hundred beluga whales we saw from far closer quarters in a boat the same day… |
|
||
