Journeys - April 2009

April 2009 - There's no financial crisis in the Jungle No doubt about; many people are really hurting in the current financial situation. Maybe it's time to get back to basics - to the jungle or the bush or the hinterland - where life proceeds at a more orderly pace, and the world of derivatives and money manipulations seems very far away.
-= J O U R N E Y S =- Cook Islands : E Coast Malaysia: KwaZulu-Natal : Mauritius : Assam: Falklands: Shetlands Crossing the island of Rarotonga: Fiona Harper reports that all is well in the Cook Islands, a little outpost of Polynesia far off the money-market radar screen.	The GTW Team Fiona Harper Glenn A. Baker Graham Simmons Karen Halabi Philip Game Sally Hammond Sheriden Rhodes Thomas E. King Tricia Welsh Motto of the month: Travel is a way of getting rid of your excess baggage. EMAIL
Jungle Train: To travel on Malaysia's East Coast Railway is more important than to arrive, as Philip Game learns the hard way.
Phinda Bush Skills Adventure: Tricia Welsh finds that an innovative four-day bush skills adventure on Phinda Private Game Reserve in KwaZulu-Natal (South Africa) is a real exercise in getting back to basics.
Delicious Mauritius: Thomas E. King goes island hopping through the land of the (extinct) dodo and the (lively) sega and finds that culturally diverse Mauritius offers stunning scenery, great golf, fascinating history and splendid spas where the emphasis is on total relaxation.
Africa in widescreen: Karen Halabi recommends escaping the economic crisis in a country that doesn't even have an economy - in Zimbabwe's Hwange National Park.
Exploring Assam: Graham Simmons goes exploring the remote Indian state of Assam, finding that it provides much more than just tea and syncopy.
Hawaii of the Orient: Sheriden Rhodes finds escape on China's Hainan Island, which surprisingly offers white sandy beaches, warm languid waters and tall swaying coconut trees... an anomaly in this fast-moving nation.
Far-flung to the Falklands: Glenn A Baker visits the Falkland Islands, a country at the very bottom of the world financial ladder.
Castaway Islands: Sally Hammond checks out another outpost - Scotland's Shetland Islands, where the islanders regard themselves as more Scandinavian than Scottish.
For more stories see: Global Travel Writers When we're not travelling or working to your deadlines, you'll find us here: Facebook : MySpace : Blogger : Subscribe to RSS Feed:

Fishing for tiger

If you don’t spot a tiger in India’s Corbett Tiger Reserve, at least the fish are biting, finds Philip Game.

Tiger is giving us dodge,” declares wildlife guide Hem Bahuguna, calling a halt near some tell-tale pug marks (pawprints) and scrapings. As the engine cools, then stills, we hear only the birds, the soft breeze and the distant chattering of monkeys. From time to time, another jeep materialises, stopping to exchange a few words. Otherwise, here in India, most crowded of nations, there is perfect peace.

Corbett is India’s first, perhaps finest, Tiger Reserve and is buffered by surrounding tracts of country. You can spend days chasing tigers or cast a line to tempt the golden mahseer. The Ramganga Reservoir provides year-round water for the animals and spawning grounds for the golden mahseer, which migrates upstream.