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Dear Reader, What is your idea of a perfect holiday? White water rafting in Victoria Falls, a scenic tour of New Zealand or a beach holiday in Bali? These are some common options for holiday makers. However, nowadays, a growing number of people are choosing to have not-so-common holidays. Some people prefer a culinary tour that takes them to food places in the country they opt to visit. In such a tour, the focus is on food and drinks, and the tourists do food sampling (of course!) and even join a cooking or baking class (The World’s Kitchens, page 21). Some others, especially young people or families with young children, opt to be voluntourists – tourists who travel to countries with the sole purpose of volunteering. In such a holiday, the tourists…

“Just slowly put your head underwater and breathe through your mouth.” My reassuring scuba instructor made everything sound effortless. I was standing chestdeep in water in the Tulamben Dive Resort swimming pool and wearing full scuba gear for the first time. My heart raced with 1trepidation. “Here goes nothing!” I thought, as I shut my eyes tightly and submerged my head into the water. I felt the water rise over my head as I took my first 2tentative sip of air through my regulator. I was breathing underwater! I quickly exhaled and a small cloud of bubbles rose like a halo around my head. My instructor made a circle with his index finger and thumb, the scuba diver ’s hand signal for “OK?” I returned the signal with 3gusto. I felt invincible…

Travelling is a wonderful thing, in so many aspects. When 1wanderlust grips us, we yearn for more destinations to visit, cultures to experience, food to eat and people to meet. Indeed, there are many benefits to travelling. Travelling exposes us to more new people, cultures and lifestyles than those we encounter in our homeland. It opens our minds to new 2insights and ways of seeing the world. Travelling also broadens our perspectives and we may even discover a new purpose in life and direction for ourselves, making us more inspired and 3rejuvenated to attend to our everyday routines once we return home. When we travel, especially in a place 4devoid of the regular creature comforts of home, we become more aware and appreciative of the things we have back at home…

EVER TRIED TREKKING IN NEPAL? 1 A cold wind blew, sending chills through her body. Each step got heavier and heavier as Tess 1trudged up the steps that were slowly disappearing below a slope of dense snow. Colourful flags hung above her, floating to the tune of the wind, as if to cheer her on. Tess paused to catch her bated breath and clutched her knees because they started to ache. She turned back to look at the long descent that seemed to stretch on endlessly before her eyes. Tess was proud of her 2feat so far but at the same time, she was feeling 3apprehensive because of the 4tenable possibility of slipping and tumbling all the way back down. 2 “This is where it starts to get difficult.” The aSherpa15 2 guiding her…

YOU CAN NOW BE A VOLUNTOURIST – TRAVEL TO A COUNTRY WITH THE SOLE PURPOSE OF VOLUNTEERING. HOWEVER, IS IT AS ROSY AS IT IS THOUGHT TO BE? Combine the non-profit sector and the tourism industry and you get ‘voluntourism’ – a booming multibillion-dollar industry linked with ‘doing good’ while travelling. Essentially, voluntourists travel to another country to serve the local community by providing medical care, food, tutoring and the like. Although well-intentioned, these humanitarian efforts are increasingly criticised and may not be as helpful as they are made out to be. NON-ORPHANS IN ‘ORPHANAGES’ As one of the fastest growing trends in the tourism industry, voluntourism has attracted many who would jump at the opportunity to profit from this enterprise. This has 1prompted calls for tighter controls with concerns about exposing vulnerable…

Travelling is something many of us look forward to. However, there are many questions that you have to answer even after you decide on your travel destination. Some people like to travel with a large group of people, while some prefer smaller groups, or even travelling alone. There are those who like to book package tours from tour agencies while others would rather travel free and easy. Read about how these three people like to travel. SUGANYA PILLAY, 19 The best way to travel is with close friends or family. To me, travelling is about making memories, and I want to make memories with those whom I care about. On that same note, I wouldn’t want to go on a group tour with strangers as that would not give meaning to my travelling…