Winter Fun Kicksparking

Winter Fun Kicksled on Ice Soomaa

To find out how it’s done and for more local travel advice on Estonia contact, Aivar, Tripbod in Estonia. Or call us on +44 208 144 9021 or email info@tripbod.com

Dreamy untouched beach in thailand

If you’re looking for authentic travel in Thailand, there is a quiet little town right at the ocean, with a long stretch of golden sandy beaches and a gorgeous backdrop of limestone mountains. Tourism hasn’t taken over yet, so life remains pretty much the way it used to be. You still see fishermen bringing their catch in and drying at on the beach. Many coconut groves make this place additionally beautiful. The nearby National Park is truly amazing – people can discover  stunning caves, hidden beaches, islands they can kayak too, and a quite astonishing wild life.

To find out where this beach is and to get much more local information from Poramin, go to http://www.tripbod.com/expert-263-Thailand.aspx

Or call +44 208 144 9021 for more information

Our Tripbods in Moscow can give you the local travel advice that will make your stay in Moscow everything that you want it to be. What do they like doing most in the summer Moscow months?

Diyar likes to visit the city parks and Tolstoy's House

Diyar: “Moscow is wonderful in the Summer. I spend my summer days in the huge city parks, cooling off in the majestic fountains, lounging by an outdoor pool or taking trips to the countryside. Tolstoy’s House, Yasnaya Polyana, is just one of the great places to visit”

Ilana can advise you on the best roof top spots in Moscow

Ilana: “The best thing about Moscow in the summer time is the roof top bar culture. Partying until the early hours in one of Moscow’s top night spots is like nothing else in the world. Watch the sun rise over red square as you sip your vodka or champagne”

Baira can give you local advice on summer music festivals in Moscow

Baira: “My friends and I like to go to the music festivals during the summer. Last year I went to the Afisha Picnic, a weekend event with several music stages, only a 20 minute tube ride from the centre. I also went to the summer Jazz festival at one of Moscow’s finest palaces, where we took a picnic and listened to Jazz in to the warm evening. I went to an all-night opening of Vinzavod (the most exciting art gallery in Moscow) featuring live music and dance performances”.

To plan your trip to Moscow, contact one of our Moscow Tripbods… http://www.tripbod.com/destination-37-Russia.aspx or email call us on (+44) 208 144 9021.

You can tailor your holiday to your wishes without breaking the bank or tearing your hair out. All you need is a little input from a trusted person on the ground – your friend at the other end.

• Desolate sandy beaches √
• Long balmy evenings eating local food by the sea √
• Mountain strolls to the tune of circadas √
• Picnics filled with food from the local market √
• Activities for the children that you also want to do √
• Accommodation from a local recommendation √

Local Travel Advice about the Best Summer European Destinations

Albert can give you local advice about Tenerife

Violeta offers local advice for Granada

Oakley offers local advice for Barcelona

Elena offers local advice for Rome

Marjorie offers local advice for the South of France

Laure offers local advice for Paris

Andre offers local advice for Porto

Mary offers local advice on the South of Ireland

You can also find Tripbods offering local travel advice for Italy, Russia, Scotland, Morocco, Norway, Germany, Estonia, Ireland, New York, San Francisco.

Go to www.tripbod.com for more information. Or call us on (+44) 208 144 9021.

Organize your summer holiday with Tripbod and Win a weekend hiking or biking in France, courtesy of our friends at MuchBetterAdventures.com.

Find out more!

Simply use a Tripbod, and we will give you the link and instructions you need to register for the prize draw.

Four days in La Clusaz or Le Grand Bornand

You will get to choose from a 4 day walking or biking break for 2 people in La Clusaz/Le Grand Bornand – a stunning area of the French Alps, not far from Annecy and Geneva.

What’s included?

Your holiday will run from Thursday night to Monday evening anytime during this summer, and will include full rail or airport transfers; en-suite accommodation; 3 course dinner with wine; breakfast and afternoon tea; and the full services and support of the lodge team, including walking or biking hosting where applicable.

Find a tripbod!

Back to www.tripbod.com

Everyone knows the difference that a bit of local travel advice makes when you travel – a friend who lives there, someone who has been there, even a local taxi driver who gives you travel advice on the local area – they all add that ‘something special’ to your trip.

Tripbod.com has a global network of trusted local people who can provide that local travel advice for only slightly more than the price of a guidebook.

A Tripbod is your friend at the other end – someone who can give you pre-departure trip planning advice based on local insight, experience and passion.

Violeta - local travel advice for Granada

For local travel advice on Barcelona, Venice, Tenerife, Granada, Las Palmas, Hamburg, Berlin, Oslo, Porto, Estonia, and many more destinations outside of Europe, go to www.tripbod.com.

To find out how it works, read more on http://www.tripbod.com/how-tripbod-works.aspx.

To speak to someone at Tripbod Central, call 0208 144 9021.

On arrival, we were a little worried. It wasn’t exactly what we’d been hoping for… Luckily, I’d had a quick look at the Enjoy England guide to the East of England before I left and had seen Mersea Island in their ‘Hidden Gems’. Realizing that Colchester wasn’t going to give us that rural idyll we craved, we headed off to find this hidden gem.

Mersea Island was exactly what we were after and it is just a short journey from London (if you get the changes right about 2 hours). It’s the kind of place you dream of being when you’re stuck on the Tube on a rainy mid-February afternoon. The tufty sandy beach is littered with rusty anchors, shells, sea weed and green slime. The only sound is of waves stroking the shore, birds circling and ropes creaking.

You can get oysters or a pint of prawns in the restaurant or local pub. They also have a nearby brewery (I tried Yo Boy which was very good) and vineyard so the food and drink is all 100% local.

Getting there

To get there from London (max journey time = 2 hrs)

1. catch a train from Liverpool Street Station to Colchester (depart every 15 mins, journey lasts 1hr)
2. Get a bus to Colchester town centre (look at the timetable or ask someone)
3. Get another bus to Mersea. On Saturdays they leave at 20 past the hour, every hour, from the Bus Terminal. We had to walk through town (10 mins) to the station. Again, you can ask someone for directions.
4. The bus to Mersea (No.67) takes 36 mins. From the bus stop, it’s a short walk to the sea.

Returning to London:

1. Buses from Mersea Island leave every hour on the hour on Saturdays. We were warned by the people in the pub that they can leave a little before, or after, so best to get there a few minutes before.
2. Take the reverse journey back.

Prior to the tsunami, a long standing, low level conflict existed within Aceh. Aji, a young Indonesian Red Cross volunteer at the time, recalls how he used to evacuate at least one corpse every day, victims of the fighting. After 29 years of conflict, that meant a lot of bodies. Instability raged across turbulent Aceh.

Then, on Boxing Day 2004, an earthquake measuring nine on the Richter scale struck just off the coast of Aceh, violently waking up the sea and sending not one but three monstrous waves up to 20 metres high many kilometres inland. At least 120,000 and maybe as many as 160,000 died in this one province of Indonesia – well over half of the global death toll of the tsunami that affected 13 countries.

As the giant waves as high as six storey buildings decapitated towering palm trees and wiped out everything and everyone in its path, they also wiped out the conflict in Aceh. The enormity of the disaster took over everything. Conversations five years later rarely turn towards the conflict; it is always tsunami, tsunami, tsunami. After decades of conflict, that is saying something.

Within days, mass graves with tens of thousands of unidentified bodies filled up. A few miracle buildings were left standing, including a giant white mosque in Lhoknga, near Banda Aceh. The land was rearranged: where houses and palm trees once stood, there was nothing but water. A 2,600 tonne boat was carried five kilometres inland, where it still sits today. At least 30,000 people died in the capital of Banda Aceh alone. The city and surrounding countryside were completely and utterly destroyed.

Five years later, the astounding and overwhelmingly positive fact is that if you don’t dig under the surface or notice the finer detail it would be hard to tell what happened in Aceh five years ago. Of course there are the subtle reminders, such as headless palm trees, and not so subtle reminders, like the massive boat 5km inland. However there has been an incredible reconstruction effort that has pumped the city back to life – the few old buildings blending into the multitude of new ones, forming one vibrant and colourful city getting on with life. Streets from even two years ago are unrecognisable: they look so different now, so alive.

The British Red Cross has rebuilt over 2,200 houses and supported over 34,000 people to restore their livelihoods in numerous communities across Aceh. In the rebuilt villages, almost every house new, life is moving on in leaps and bounds. Take May Suriyati, 27, who has restarted her sewing business with the help of a cash grant from the British Red Cross. Her business has been so successful that she has built an extension on her Turkish Red Crescent house that now forms her tailoring shop, full of cupboards lined with colourful clothes made to order. The signs of recovery are clearly visible in both the personal and public faces of Aceh. (May’s story is just one of many stories of recovery featured on the British Red Cross Tsunami anniversary site www.recoveringafuture.org.uk )

The tourist industry in the region has also begun to pick up, with visitors returning to the island of Sabang, famous for diving, and luckily relatively unscathed by the tsunami. It is encouraging to see tourists mingling with local people as they travel by ferry between Banda Aceh and the island that lies just off the coastline.

Although the emotional scars from the tsunami still run deep, it is both moving and awe-inspiring to see the incredible results of the tsunami recovery operation in Aceh five years after the disaster.

Further Tsunami photos can be found here: http://www.flickr.com/photos/britishredcross/sets/72157622849970237/

Amanda George

If you’re visiting Indonesia then please connect with our wonderful Tripbod, Ristianto