Cultural Holidays in Uzbekistan

Good points about my trip:
The local organisation was very good. Our guide ‘G’ and the support staff provided an excellent service.
With the exception of Whale Island and the overnight trail, the trip accommodation was excellent.
Varied landscapes with a good mix of beaches, rice paddies and mountains.
The equipment provided was of a good quality and well maintained, with very few mechanical issues for the group.

Bad points about my trip:
The trip notes did warn that ‘The weather will be hot and humid throughout’, but the heat and humidity was of another level, with 35-40 degrees c each day. Do not go on this trip unless you can tolerate cycling in extreme heat.
90% of the roads used were busy, with significant traffic. Drivers in Vietnam are very considerate, but you need to be confident riding in busy traffic to go on this trip. The lack of quiet back roads was a real disappointment.
I have travelled in Thailand, Malaysia and Laos and in comparison the food in Vietnam was rather disappointing, being generally bland and reparative. As a vegetarian option were limited and I would strongly challenge the guidance from Exodus that ‘Vegetarians are well catered for’. If you are a vegetarian or vegan I do not recommend this trip.
Overall the service from Malaysia Airlines was very poor, with an 11 hour delay to the group flight from Kuala Lumpur to London. Service on both flights from KUL to LHR was also poor. I recommend that you arrange your own flights to avoid Malaysia Airlines.

Overall: An interesting time to visit Vietnam considering the rapid pace of change. However I cannot recommend this cycling holiday due to the extreme heat and busy roads. If you want to visit Vietnam with Exodus I recommend you book onto ‘Vietnam Adventure’ or ‘Trails of Vietnam’.

Anthony Turner Cycling Vietnam

One of the most beautiful places I’ve been from the turquoise blue mosaics and the hand crafted embroidery and silks to the art deco style space metro station and Soviet constructivist sculptures

Louisa Chowen Uzbekistan Uncovered

Firstly we had one of the best tiger viewings our guide had seen in awhile. It carried a fresh kill right infront of our truck in the morning and in the afternoon we found a small family of tigers and we watched them Eat and play just a stones throw away from us. This trip takes in so much Beautiful Architecture. Of course there is the Taj Mahal but other less known forts are very impressive, very detailed and much more preserved than I was expecting. I do wish it had more time inside the cities to see more ‘real life’ india. We were bused from hotel door to fort entrance a lot which is the easiest way and probably the best in the heat but you do feel like you miss whats going on around. I would have liked more time to weave the small streets of Jodhpur with the Blue houses and to experience ‘markets’ rather than rest-stop giftshops. This trip was very busy but we covered a lot of areas and you cant help the distance required to get to each one. Bus journeys were long but roads are improving and times are getting quicker. There are plenty of stops, if you are someone who doesnt need to stop these can feel frustrating or like the journeys are longer than necessary but its a group tour and there are always others that appreciate the rest stop – and you have to think of the driver. Meals in hotels were reasonable but restaurants and especially some lunch stops were more expensive than you would expect for India as they were touristy but its probably better than getting unwell, this trip is too busy to be risking that.

Melissa Hammond Colours of Rajasthan