Amboseli Serena Safari Lodge, Amboseli

Amboseli Serena is located in the middle of the Amboseli National Park, so it has deer, zebras and occasionally elephants coming so close to the outdoor seating areas that you could reach out and touch them.

The staff is great, friendly and helpful without being overly intrusive. The food was good. The rooms were very cosy and comfortable. We really enjoyed our stay at the Amboseli Serena.

Siana Springs, Masai Mara

We absolutely loved our stay at Siana Springs, Intrepids. The staff are all very helpful and efficient. When they ask about how your safari was, they truly are interested in hearing your answer, its not just a rhetorical question.

Although, the accomodation is tented, you do not want for anything. There is a WC cubicle and a shower cubicle with running hot water. We did not have any creepy crawlies inside the tent. And as long as you are conscientious about keeping the tent zipped, you will not have a problem with flying insects either.

Since they generate their own electricity, power is on for a few hours in the morning and in the evening (when you need to be awake and there isn't enough natural light) These hours were enough for us to keep our 3 cameras, 3 cell phones and 1 laptop charged daily (2 plug points in the double room)

Tents cannot be locked, so if you are carrying valuables and want to be carfeul, carry locks for your suitcases, but the place seemed very secure.

Every morning and evening, we relaxed outside our tent watching the bush deer which came right up to the tents, the vervet monkeys, who wait for an opportunity to pounce on the food of an unsuspecting victim, or to get into your tent to search for goodies, the hyrax - which is a cute tiny animal who makes the loudest sound in the middle of the night and the family of 10 Columbus monkeys on the grounds.

The food here was tastier than our other hotels in Kenya on this trip. The packed lunch on our whole day game drive was simple, but tasty. Prices for additional beverages are reasonable. I think it was around 100Kshg for a 1 liter bottle of water. Complimentary tea, coffee and hot chocolate are available throughout the day.

I'd highly recommend the Cultural talk given by the Masai every afternoon between 2:15 and 3:15pm. The masai conducting the talk speak fluent English and can really answer any questions you may have. They have an adventurers club for kids which most of the kids around seemed really happy with. This was the only place, we saw on this trip that made an extra effort to keep kids productively and interestingly occupied.

There is a massage room on site, in case the road is too bumpy and you need to ease your pains gently. Didn't try it so can't comment on how good it is.

The hot water bottles in our bed were an absolutely wonderful and extremely welcome touch at the end of the day.

The only downside is that it is a half an hour drive away from the Masai Mara reserve gate. So if you plan to do 2 game drives (morning, evening) in a day, then you spend 2 hours on a very bumpy road viewing mostly cows and goats.

Retracing Vasco da Gama's footsteps

Retracing Vasco da Gama's footsteps

The India International Boat Show (IIBS) 2006, being organised by Kerala Tourism, is all set to be unique with history being recreated. Coinciding with the boat show, the tourism department is organising a 'Vasco da Gama Yacht Rally' that will traverse Vasco da Gama's route when he first set foot here, and culminate near the boat show venue in Kochi. According to Kerala minister for tourism Kodiyeri Balakrishnan and tourism director B Suman, a rally comprising 16 yachts, which have set sail from Greece, would anchor off the Bolghatty Island in Kochi when the IIBS 2006 is on.

Billed as India's premier recreational boating and marine equipment show and south Asia's definitive boat show, IIBS 2006 will be kicked off on October 20 at the Le Meridian in Kochi. The three-day event will showcase the latest technology as well as some of the leading names in the marine industry.

Formatted as a business expo, IIBS 2006 will have special segments in leisure boating, marine equipment, marine engines, and navigational and telecommunication aids, Balakrishnan said. Among the 60-odd exhibitors at the show will be global boating brands like Bayliner, Trophy, Feretti, Walker Bay and Regal. These apart, marine equipment market leaders such as Garmin, Lalizas, Plastimo, Vetus and Volvo Penta will showcase their ware.

The Indian participation will be ensured by boatbuilders Praga Marine, Seaspray Aluminium Boats, Hunter marine, Aries Marine and Alcock Ashdown.

The exhibition comprises 550-sq ft of air-conditioned space at the Le Meridien, 7,000-sq ft of product display space and 10 on--the-water displays.

According to Suman, a special spotlight on the traditional boating sector of Kerala will mark IIBS 2006 and a major attraction will be the display of traditional boat-building and fishing equipment. As many as 25 traditional boat builders will put on show their skills at the expo. IIBS 2006, which will extend till October 22, is expected to provide a one-stop platform for exhibitors and 400-plus buyers from India and overseas. The event is also tipped to be a perfect platform for them to meet potential partners, one-to-one meetings and explore growth horizons. As part of IIBS 2006, a seminar on the potential prospects for marine tourism in India will also be organised on October 21.

The show will be inaugurated by tourism Minister Kodiyeri Balakrishnan.

For all ye trobeglotters

There's Simply No Excuse for Being Bored on a Trip

by JOHN HEATON

Published: October 10, 2006

FROM time to time, I hear business travelers complain about how unexciting their trips are. This is nonsense, for the most part. Business travel can be great adventure if you're curious.

Catherine Docter, via John Heaton

John Heaton is an artist, entrepreneur and the host of Quinta Maconda, a 16th-century residence in Antigua, Guatemala.

Maybe I inherited my inquisitiveness. My ancestors' tall ships plied the waters between Connecticut and Shanghai in the 18th and early 19th centuries. Each trip was a perilous and hopeful journey for commerce, and according to them, there was always something interesting along the way.

I've made several trips to Asia to buy antique furniture, and while I'm there I absorb as much of the local culture as possible. I avoid large Western hotels. I go to the local outdoor markets. I buy and wear what the locals wear. I bring my video camera and interview waiters and taxi drivers. I make a point of exploring an area unknown to me.

Some years ago, on my way to Bali, I made a stopover in Biak, in the Indonesia province of Irian Jaya. At the hotel, I spotted a fellow in khakis sitting at the bar, sipping a warm beer.

"Do you speak English?" I asked.

He did. In fact, he had just finished guiding a National Geographic expedition through Irian Jaya and the Moluccas, and was on his way back to Vancouver.

Sensing a golden opportunity, I asked if he would tell me about his journey. "Keep the beers flowing, and I'll fill you in," he replied.

For the next two hours, as we pored over maps, he told me tales of the archipelago and uncontacted tribes. His stories were so compelling that I decided to change my travel plans. For the next two months, I crisscrossed the islands, hardly seeing another white face. The highlight of my trip was being the only outsider to attend the funeral of an important Dani chief. What started as a business trip ended in a real adventure.

Just a month before the Soviet Union disintegrated, I flew to Siberia. Cold and boring, right? Wrong. In Ulan-Ude, the capital of the Buryat Republic, I met up with Francesca Thyssen-Bornemisza, the Habsburg archduchess of Austria. She was documenting the Dalai Lama's historic visit and the Buddhist revival in that region.

Near the Mongolian border some of us rented horses and galloped across the steppes. We had a close encounter with authorities and nearly ended up being thrown into jail. But most important, we were witness to a defining moment in the history of the Soviet Union, if not also for Buddhism.

I find that some business travelers are numb to the portals through which they pass, focusing only on the destination. I think they're missing a lot. Something as mundane as an airport stopover can be fascinating. On a flight from Bali to Madras, India, I had a seven-hour wait at Changi International Airport in Singapore. Instead of sitting around like many of the other passengers, I made a room in the airport hotel my temporary headquarters and went exploring. Changi has a fabulous bookstore, a health spa, great restaurants and a permanent orchid show. It became a destination unto itself for me.

That's when it occurred to me that there is no such thing as a boring place. Only boring travelers.

By John Heaton, as told to Christopher Elliott.

Email: elliottc@nytimes.com

Some Must Visit Blogs of fellow travellers

As you know,
I'm one of the finalists for the travel contest.

Still waiting anxiously for the results, in the meanwhile I browsed some blogs of my fellow Contestants and each one of them has some really interesting work posted. Either travel descriptions or breathtaking photographs.

So here go some links to their blogs, in no particular order.

# I've been a fan of Akshay's work since a long time. I've linked to his photo features on my Whazzupmumbai blog very often.

# Harshad runs his own trekking company & has covered a lot of Shivaji's forts around Bombay and Pune. I don't understand most of the technical specs of cameras that he talks about, but his photographs are BRILLIANT. Some of his pictures of butterflies (if you have ever tried to photograph even one, you will know how difficult it is) are going to be published in books written by naturalists Isaac Kehimkar & Krushnamegh Kunte
Browse through Harshads blogs :
Through His ViewFinder
Trek blogs of his various outings in the Sahyadris and Himalayas, along with photographs

# Sahil's picture on the site, doesn't do him justice. He hardly uses any words on his Blog : Myopic Endeavour preferring his pictures to do the talking. He's a really interesting person & so much fun to talk to.

# Mridula has been travelling & blogging about her travels since over a year. On her blog, she says "For me travel is a form of escape, from my daily routine" I think she has put so eloquently, what we all feel. She is a consistent trekker and her blog has lots of stories, tips & pictures which tell the tale. Wish I could have met her, but that will have to wait till I take a trip to Delhi.

# Altaf has a different take on life ...the way he sees it. He's currently in Kaintholi on a Global Xchange program & living like a local so he has some really interesting stories to tell.

# Sheetal blogs on Of shoes -- and ships -- and sealing-wax where she blogs about the happenings in the twin cities of Hyderabad & Secunderabad. My Ex-City

# Divya blogs at Chronicus Skepticus Currently a Visual Merchandiser, who's also been a copywriter, a visualiser (at the same time), a web-designer, an editor, and a (garment) production manager.

# Rahul is the poetic soul among the finalists. Do visit his blog to read some of his original works of fiction.

# Apurv is the current editor of PaGaLGuY.com, a highly popular website most MBA aspirants would be aware of. Read his take on things at What Blog Men!

Gautam & Simona do not have blogs that I know of.

It was fun meeting 8 of the other contestants. (2 from Delhi & 1 came in later that evening) There were some excellent & passionate photographers amongst the group and when Harshad, Sahil, Akshay & Gautham spoke about lenses it was a foreign language to the rest of us. But we did share a lot of interesting stories about unusual places to travel, great photo ops, where & what to eat & a lot of other stuff like that. Most of us met each other for the first time, but we all had fun because of the kindred fellowship of travellers.

We ended with a fun lunch at Kobe's on Hill Road

Now all fingers crossed for the results. May the best man/woman win.