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New Year greetings from Bangkok, Thailand (although my heart is still in the Galapagos, above!)  2019 is a going to be a great year and we want our first newsletter of the year to reflect that. We have THREE giveaways this month, plus you can learn about our newly announced January 2020 Galapagos trip! Take an exclusive early peek at our new Pilgrimage to India & Nepal: Walking with the Buddha tour with Tricycle: The Buddhist Review

One more quick thought, one that is brewing into a fully developed article coming to a blog near you... If you do feel moved to travel, please do it as soon as you can. Every day in our travels we see things change–monuments close, opening times change dramatically, access is restricted, photos restricted, and more. While we applaud changes that add to the overall integrity and preservation of a site, we see many changes that seem to be based purely on budget restrictions or poor committee choices. For example, you used to be able to enter the temples in the Angkor Wat area before sunrise, allowing for amazing photos and a beautiful silence. Now entry is restricted at all temples (except Angkor Wat itself) until 7:30 AM, eliminating a magical time for experiencing the temples peacefully.

We've seen these types of changes at the Taj Mahal, on the Plain of Temples in Bagan—even Machu Picchu, which recently increased the number of tourists allowed per day. And all of this has been in the last few years! Our message for 2019 is: travel as soon as you can.

In this issue:

  • Galapagos in 2020 + bandana giveaway
  • Ladakh trips + monk bag giveaway
  • Ancient Egyptian...passport?
  • Treat, Spay, Love + calendar giveaway
  • Walking with the Buddha sneak peek

Galapagos Adventure, January 18-29, 2020


We just wrapped up our December journey to the Galapagos with 13 guests, and we're just as enamored with the islands as ever! We swam with Galapagos penguins, sea lions, marine iguanas...even the ever-elusive hammerhead shark. (Hey, I wasn't the only person who saw it—Jim did, too!) As usual, we couldn't wait to get another trip on the books! (The photo above was taken at our sunset welcome dinner our first night on Isabela island.)

Join us in January 2020 for another amazing land-based adventure in the Galapagos with plenty of excursions on the water. We strongly feel that staying on land, as opposed to a cruise, allows you time to get to really know an area and relax into it more deeply. We heard from more than one guest on this trip that they were actually catching up on sleep, too! We've added one more excursion to this trip, as well as carbon offsetting credits and a stay in the Quito airport lounge upon departure, all for the same 2018 price!
 
Click here for Galapagos trip details
To get you in the mood for this adventure, we have some Galapagos giveaways, a series of bandanas with a map of the Galapagos printed on them! This month we're giving away a light blue one (modeled by yours truly in a cheesy Galapagos hat we got in 2017!) To win this bandana, please reply to this email with the answers to these questions (which can be found on the trip website). We'll pick a winner at the end of January!

1.  On which island did Charles Darwin first disembark on his 1835 voyage?

2. Which island is the town of Puerto Villamil on?
Enjoy a short video of some of our 2018 highlights!
Click here for a recent NYT article about how climate change is affecting the Galapagos. (Again, our message: See the world NOW, don't wait.) 

Ladakh journeys this May, June & July 2019


There is still space for our Ladakh trips this summer!  And we wanted to share a piece of Ladakh with you right now! One person will win a Thiksey Monastery monk bag (modeled by BJ!) if they reply to this email by the end of the month with the correct answers to the following questions (answers can be found on the Beyond Leh tour page).

We joke that these monk bags are like the trading cards of the Tibetan Buddhist set, since many monasteries have them embroidered with their own logo. It has a zipper closure on the top, as well as one internal zippered pocket and one external zippered pocket. It's definitely my go-to laptop bag and general day bag when in Ladakh. 

1. What river do we spend time on in Ladakh? 

2. What kind of camels can be found in Nubra Valley?


If you're interested in joining any of the Ladakh journeys, now's the time! Let us know if you are interested or have any questions about any of these experiences. 
Click here or on the photo to read a fantastic article by Tricycle's Julia Hirsch about our Ladakhi friend and guide, Dr. Sonam Wangchok. His organization, the Himalayan Cultural Heritage Foundation, is helping to restore and protect the ancient arts of Ladakh, including its iconic stupas. 

How's your Passport Photo?


Is it as good as Pharoah Ramesses the Great's? When the Pharoah's body was shipped to France in 1974 for preservation work, it required a passport (any body, living or dead, needed one under the law). I love the listed profession: "King (deceased)." His photo is a lot more flattering than mine, but in all fairness, mine would be better if I was allowed to keep my eyes shut, too!

Want to flex your passport muscles in Egypt this Spring? There's still time to join our Egypt journeys in late March and early April. We are 100% committed to sharing this beautiful country & historic civilization with our guests! I'm looking forward to cruising the Nile in style, personally! 
Click here for Egypt 2019 details

Final days of "Year of the Dog" giveaway 


We only have one more month in the Year of the Dog before the Pig comes to claim the title on February 5th, Chinese New Year. To that end, we want to give away a 2019 postcard-sized calendar that benefits Street Dog Care in Kathmandu, Nepal. My buddies Bhalu, Dorje Bear & his sister Kyi grace the cover! 

To win this calendar, please reply to this email by the end of the month with the correct answers to the following questions, the answers to which can be found at TreatSpayLove.com

1. What does "ABC" stand for in relation to Live to Rescue's ABC campaigns?

2. What year was Live to Rescue founded?
Click here for Treat, Spay, Love journey details
Can't make the trip but want to help pay a veterinarian's way? Donate here!

Pilgrimage to India & Nepal: Walking with the Buddha

November 1 – 13, 2019


RetreaTours newsletter subscribers get early access to our new tour with Tricycle: The Buddhist Review. Join us as we explore the areas where the Buddha was born, achieved enlightenment, taught, and more. Tricycle will start advertising this trip at large in mid-January, so enjoy this sneak peak and chance to register early!
 
See Walking with the Buddha details here
We hope your 2019 is on track to be a fulfilling and fantastic year! Thank you for spending some time with us today, we really do appreciate it.

We want to thank all of our 2018 guests for letting us be a part of your travel experience (and that includes our armchair guests!) We don't take for granted the trust that our guests place in us to deliver a memorable experience at a great value, maximizing the most of their precious vacation time. Nothing is more frustrating than wasted time on a vacation. I had a good laugh and got a big smile about a comment a guest recently made about our "beta-testing": "Thank you for every thoughtful, researched, beta-tested detail that made it a unique and incredible RetreaTour."

We haven't been so great with the selfies lately, so instead of our usual photo send-off, I'll leave you with a photo that I love from our December Galapagos trip. I snapped this one at sunset of three of our "frequent flyer" guests who reunited with each other on this journey and had a blast!


Until next time...

Safe travels & happy trails,

Lauren & BJ


 
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“Travel is fatal to prejudice, bigotry, and narrow-mindedness, and many of our people need it sorely on these accounts. Broad, wholesome, charitable views of men and things cannot be acquired by vegetating in one little corner of the earth all one's lifetime.”
~Mark Twain
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