Middle East Cultural, religious historic sites Trips

This is a fabulous trip, perfect if you only have a week. Lots of variety and jam-packed. I really felt we made the most of every day. Our tour leader, Viraj, was excellent, and gave us so much insight into the country, as well as being super organised, fun and caring. He arranged a few extra visits, a highlight was the optional elephant safari in the evening, which was also great for birds.

Flew from Edinburgh via Doha and Bangkok to Chang Mai. Timings a bit tight but we got there and bags a few hours later. Met by the guide (Witt)- great guy and really helpful. Itinerary was great, stayed in some top places and saw a great number of temples etc. Food ideas were always top notch and well thought out. All very good quality food and usually cheap. The home stay in Nanton Chan was exceptional and the friendliness and acceptance of us by the people was great. The tour meanders down to Bangkok where it finishes and we really enjoyed. Also the people who seem to book via Explore are great bunch and very friendly so everyone fits in. The driving was full on but comfortable and our drivers were exceptional. If you are into full on temples and Thai culture this is an excellent break. Flying back to Edinburgh was tight so probably leave longer gaps between connections.

It was a fabulous group of people. The leader of the group was amazing. Unfortunately, we had to leave the trip early because my mother passed away while we were in India. I hope to finish the trip someday.

We had a wonderful tour leader caller Yasser who had an excellent knowledge of egyptology. We learned so much and had an enjoyable, intetesting and varied holiday. There was a good balance between scheduled activities/visits and optional ones.

I'm not sure why we didn't visit Mamallapuram enroute to Pondicherry in the morning of the first day of group travel. We could then have spent two nights in Pondicherry giving us more time to explore the city. The last two nights could have been spent in Chennai making the journey to the airport easier tham from Mamallapuram. Overall though the trip was excellently lead by our guide Shree. The itinery was generally very good. The hotel in Mamallapuram was disappointing. The hotel in Chennai though was excellent. Overall a very good trip.

Great sight seeing tour of Phnom Penh and Siem Reap- all the mainsights ticked off including lots of temples. What made the tour for us was our guide Tra who's lived experience, of himself and his family, through the Pol Pot regime and beyond and his willingness to share these experiences with the group really bought it to life and helped us appreciate not only the horrendous history and suffering of Cambodia but how far it has come since independence. Likewise Tra's knowledge of Cambodia's complex religious beliefs and influences was so informative and interesting Due to current conflict with Thailand we couldn't visit Battenbam but we always felt completely safe and I would urge people not to be put off by the conflict.