India Moves To Ban Tiger Safari Tours

This week, India’s National Tiger Conservation Authority has called for a total ban on ‘tiger tourism’ and plans to phase out all 37 tiger reserves in India in hopes of stemming the decline of the endangered tiger populations.  For centuries global explorers and nature enthusiasts have roamed the jungles of India in hopes of spotting a Bengal tiger in the wild.  The population estimated at 40,000 in the early 1900′s has now dwindled to just 1,350, and is in danger of falling below a sustainable population.

Authorized Tiger Tours have failed to protect the population of tigers while attempting to bring tourists ever closer to their natural habitat.  Safari lodges have been built in Eco sensitive areas and some block the tiger’s traditional migratory routes.  Ever growing numbers of tours have resulted in tigers being herded by elephants to parade in front of a traffic jams of jeeps piled high with photo snapping tourists.  Worst of all, poachers have continually raided and killed tigers, which today almost guarantees the eventual extinction of tigers in India.

It is hoped that by taking the drastic measure of banning tiger sightseeing tours, the majestic Indian tiger will be able to repopulate their habitat undisturbed and rebuild their population.  What remains unknown, is whether the poachers will be able proliferate once attention is taken away from the tiger’s territory.  Many worry about what will become of the dozens of tour companies and their employees who live near the tiger reserves.  Will the tigers be left in peace to flourish, or without the spotlight of tourism will poachers thin the population to tragic levels?  This is indeed a very tentative and dangerous time for India’s tiger population.  Here’s hoping India can stabilize the population and prevent the eventuality when the only tigers that can be seen are in a zoo!

The Ultimate Slumber Party – Sleep ON The Great Wall Of China!

A journey to China is filled with dozens of unique travel experiences for first time visitors. The miles of neatly parked black bicycles, the first time you’re offered a “1000″ year old egg to eat, the brightly painted Ming Dynasty temples, the sheer size and breadth of the highways and public squares, and the pace of new construction, all create a juxtaposition that is staggering.  At the top of most traveler’s sightseeing list is a visit to The Great Wall, located about 3 hours outside of Beijing.  What a shame it would be to travel all the way to China, and all the way to The Great Wall only to be herded like lemmings onto a restored section of the wall with hundreds (maybe thousands) of other sightseers.  Forget about jogging on The Great Wall… you’ll be lucky to find a spot to peep over the parapets and glimpse the countryside beyond.  If you’re like me, there will be way too many heads and necks in your view!  And don’t spend too much time walking along the wall, for you’ll surely want to visit the gift shops and purchase your requisite “I Climbed The Great Wall” t-shirt before the bus leaves.  The picture above was shot on May Day with a few of my fellow sightseers!!!  Fortunately there’s another way….

The folks at TheChinaGuide.com (an American managed/Beijing based travel company) offer a unique and intriguing tour to The Great Wall that includes a “Sleep On The Wall” experience.  (Less adventurous travelers can opt to stay in a traditional courtyard hotel at the base of the wall instead.)  The tour visits a section of the wall that is less frequented by tour buses, so you will have plenty of opportunity to roam.  Following dinner in the village and an evening hike along the wall, tour participants who opt to ‘sleep on the wall’ climb to a watchtower along with their guide, and bed down in a cozy sleeping bag with sleeping mat.  After a night of imagining you’re a trusty tower scout watching for an invading Mongol army, breakfast arrives (hot coffee, muesli and fruit) and it’s off for a 6 mile walk to discover more mysteries of the wall along with your guides.  Imagine the stories you’ll have to tell when you return home.  “I not only climbed the wall, I lived on it like Chinese soldiers did thousands of years ago”!  Here’s a link that will bring you to a full description of this unique Sleep On The Wall tour.  You might also like to read the trip report and watch a video by a Toronto Star reporter.

Now for the rest of us who are not entertaining a trip to China in the near future…. TheChinaGuide website has an outstanding feature -   360 degree panorama videos of  major sights in and around Beijing including The Great Wall,  Summer Palace, Temple of Heaven, The Forbidden City, and Olympic stadiums – you’ll almost feel like you’re there.   Enjoy this virtual tour of Beijing!

ps – the photos in the article were not taken on The China Guide tour – they are my photos from a previous visit to China.

See 2 Countries for 1 Price – 6 Great Multi-Country Deals

Flying has become such a hassle these days, why not take in two countries on your next trip instead of one?  You’ll reduce the stress of a long flight by tucking in two destinations into one journey.  Here are some terrific two-fer offers that have come across our desks:

1) Cook Islands and New Zealand - Explore two exotic destinations with Goway Tours‘ Super Special.  The 15 day adventure includes roundtrip airfare with Air New Zealand from LAX, 9 nights lodging in the Cook Islands, 3 day car or scooter rental, 3 nights lodging in Auckland (NZ), airport transfers and lots more for $1,759 per person (including the fuel surcharge).

2) Singapore Airlines Vacations have a whole host of offers for amazing journeys which combine breathtaking Far East capitals including Singapore + Bangkok for $1,145 pp, Singapore & Phuket for $1,488 pp, Singapore & Bali for $1,182 pp, or Singapore and Hanoi for $1,290 pp.  Packages include roundtrip flights, deluxe hotel accommodation, city tours and more. Read more

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