Inspired by the Best Exotic Marigold Hotel movies and the BBC documentaries that followed them, Angel Holidays has created its own Exotic Marigold experiment where volunteers can travel to India to see what retirement would bring. The trip is almost 3 weeks in duration and will operate much like the TV series.

You will stay in Jaipur in the same home as Miriam Margolyes, Wayne Sleep, Jan Leaming, Bobby George and others used for the BBC series. At the end, we’ve also added 3 magical nights in the romantic city of Udaipur. You’ll also witness Holi: the wonderful festival of colour and light and visit the Exotic Marigold Hotel used for the movies with Judy Dench etc, before flying back to Delhi. A journey to the Taj Mahal is also included, as well as a train trip across the desert and an internal flight.

The trip cost is just £1,595 (based two sharing). Return flights to Delhi start are extra and start at approximately £379 which we help you find. There is a single supplement of £395, but we can try arrange a same sex room-share if you prefer. Note, one very small room may be available at a single supplement of £189.

If you would like full information on this once in a lifetime experience, please contact our Bookings Manager, Bridget Lewis via this site or call her on 01983 562 744.  Angel Holidays will repeat this experience again in the autumn of 2019 and in 2020, so you can also join our mailing list for future Exotic Marigold trips. Please note this trip might be covered by the UK media and will take place 9th – 27th March, 2019.

Bangkok: and many of our previous travellers might remember the ‘Hotel de Bangkok,’  this pleasant little hotel, down a quiet alleyway in the centre of town. It was here, just a handful of months ago, that our last group stayed, shortly before flying into golden Luang Prabang on the banks of the Laos Mekong.  It was a thrilling journey that we’re doing again this year.

Yet today, in Bangkok, it is low season. In the tropics, May brings warmer weather which will steadily rise until July to September – and the monsoon showers. When our next group arrives in November it will be just about perfect – once again we’ll enjoy a welcome dinner, the night markets and the frenetic pace of the city, before travelling to the remote – and endlessly exotic corners – of Laos and Cambodia.

Yet today I remember some of our travellers exploring Bangkok’s canals, Thai syle around 20 mph, and smile to myself in recollection.

In addition to today’s pre-monsoon heat, even warmer Thai smiles go by. The wonderful food, my first lunch on arrival – fresh shrimps, salad and vegetables in a potently beautiful Cambodian Kompot pepper sauce is quite superb, on plastic chairs on the side of a main road.

In some ways, such simple, delicious cuisine and setting, provides an outline of life here. There’s an abundance of happiness without the need for complications; people go about their daily chores through joy and engagement with each other. Beautifully lit night markets, racing tuk tuk drivers and chefs battling with woks on every corner; there’s an energy and exuberance to it all; that leaves the West somewhat wilting.  If you might like to join our tour this November, and see it for yourself, please let us know.

For those coming on any of our unique holidays this year, you might want listen to the following BBC Radio 4 show, presented by your host on our tours, Steve Carver. Initially made in 2011, the show takes Steve to rural Herefordshire, as part of his ‘Round’ series – where he experienced jobs most people wouldn’t like to do.

In this poetic, informative and whimsical show, Steve explores retirees who pick apples for a living. Sleeping in a camper, we enjoy his warm insights into this seasonal work, and the lives of those who do it.  On your holidays to Cambodia, India, Nepal or anywhere else, Steve will be there with his gentle, polite guidance, to help you get the most out of your holiday. Cut and paste this to your browser to enjoy.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b014qxbg

Vietnam: and plans are in place for a new holiday

Many of you have previously travelled with us on our adventure holiday to Laos and Cambodia – which sees the region properly, rather than rushing through, visiting only the tourist sights and trying to cram Vietnam in – which is akin to trying to see Spain, Italy and Germany in a fortnight – you do all badly, spend a lot of time on a bus, and don’t see much.

Indeed, our magical adventure to Cambodia and Laos is running again this year where we take a boat expedition towards China, tackle the largest lake in South East Asia, visit golden Luang Prabang on the Mekong, remote jungle towns and villages, as well as magical Angkor, vibrant Siem Reap and romantic Phnom Penh – and that’s is just part of it. For many, Laos and Cambodia remains Angel’s best trip yet.

We’ve always maintained that to see the whole of IndoChina (Laos, Cambodia & Vietnam) properly; Vietnam has to be done on a separate trip. A county of 1,200 miles in length needs more than a handful of days. And so, we will be offering our new 15 day Vietnam tour next year.

This will include the entire country from Hanoi in the north to Saigon in its south. You’ll cruise overnight in Halong Bay, we’ll drive through old towns and villages, see busy cities; journey from high mountains to the Mekong river plains; take trains, planes, private buses and cyclos, stay in jungle lodges and enjoy some ‘beach time’ too. Foodies will love the free time to explore food markets and, as always, our accommodation promises, at the very least to be sometimes, very different (some of you may remember staying in a monastery in Nepal).

What’s more, for anyone who has previously come with us to Cambodia and Laos, or is coming this year, or in the future, you’ll get a discount on any Vietnam trip – just a little thank you from us.

Coming with ‘Angel’ you have a much richer travel experience, see the region properly and have free time – and a lot of fun too!

Whilst other companies may offer tours of Nepal, with Angel Holidays, not only are you doing something different and more immersive in local culture, but you’re helping local people too.

From each tour Angel gives a local contribution: we’ve helped local orphanages: buying clothes, food, medicines and school books, we’ve also given to the elderly: supporting homes for older people, as well as Tibetan refugees – we’ve been thanked by the Dalai Lama (see our ‘what our customers say’ page for a copy of ‘His Holiness’ letter).

Coming to Nepal is a once in a lifetime experience; not simply a sightseeing holiday. All our local employees are Nepalese, and they’re excited to share their unique culture – we’ll have a lot of fun too; the Nepalese have a very British sense of humour!

Much is made of touring the ‘Golden Triangle’ in India: Delhi, Jaipur and Agra, but spend a little more time, and you can experience so much more. Previous Angel travellers will tell you why…

Jaipur, is the capital of Rajasthan and a Western gateway into the desert state, with fascinating towns and cities, fortresses, the evocative border with Pakistan, Maharaja Palaces, colourful festivals and so much more – it is quintessential India. Travelling with Angel, you’ll experience all of this.

It’s a great pity that many tour operators restrict Indian visits to just the golden triangle: it’s akin to visiting Britain and going to London, Birmingham and Bristol, and seeing nothing of local, or exotic culture.  This year, we’re visiting the Puskar Camel Fair too, a one off special tour.

Little is known in the UK about Katrina Kaif; one of the highest paid actresses in the world, which is surprising seeing that she’s half British.

Katrina’s has a British mother – a lawyer and humanitarian, her father (now estranged from the family) is Indian.

In India, the 35 year old is simply a megastar; extremely popular, earning over $20 million to date, probably more than any other British actress. It’s surprising that she has never been heard of in the UK.

For those coming with us to Cambodia this year, here is the actress Angelina Jolie, who loves the country. Cambodia is an unusual place, especially if you go beyond the tourist sights – as travelling with Angel – you’ll inevitably will. Combine this, with less visited Laos, and the places we take you, you will have quite an extraordinary experience.

Inspired by the Best Exotic Marigold Hotel movies and the BBC documentaries that followed them, Angel Holidays has created its own Exotic Marigold experiment where volunteers can travel to India to see what retirement would bring. The trip is almost 3 weeks in duration and will operate much like the BBC series. In fact, it has been developed with the help of the BBC production team.

You will stay in Jaipur and the same home used for the BBC series with Miriam Margolyes, Wayne Sleep, Jan Leaming and others used for the series. At the end, we’ve also added 3 magical nights in the city of Udaipur, where you’ll also witness Holi: the wonderful festival of light and colour. We’ll also take you to the Exotic Marigold Hotel used for the movies with Judy Dench etc, before flying back to Delhi. A journey by  to the Taj Mahal, like in the BBC series, is included too, as well as a train trip across the desert and internal flight.

The trip cost is just £1,595 (based two sharing) reduced to only £1,495 for those who reserve their place(s) before 30th June. Return flights to Delhi start are extra, and start at approximately £369 which we help you find. There is a single supplement of £395, but we can try arrange a same sex room-share if you prefer.

If you would like to take part in this once in a lifetime experience, please contact us via this website. Angel Holidays will repeat this experience again in the autumn of 2019 and in 2020, so you can also join our mailing list for future Exotic Marigold trips. Please note this trip might be covered by the UK media.

Perhaps the days of carrying a guide book around, the size of a brick, with subjective views from one or two writers, might be finished. Much of a traveller’s information can be accessed via the net on smart phones these days; there are  great ‘e-guides’ on line, as well as ‘aps’ for each country, that are inexpensive to download; with live, interactive maps using satalite navigation.

A source from  the Australian guides ‘Lonely Planet’ tells us ‘information online is immediate, user orientated with multiple traveller reviews, and not instantly out-of-date, at the mercy of print runs and time delays.  We’re worried.’

Certainly it’s true that written guides can be hopelessly out of date; sometimes even written, ironically from internet research – rather than writers actually going there. The Lonely Planets’ India guide for example, is hopelessly inaccurate.

However some guides are written with passion and expertise: take the Rough Guide Peru, whose writer, the late, and wonderful Dilwyn Jenkins, designed our Angel Holiday’s tours to Peru: descriptions, tips and overall knowledge ‘beyond the pale’ when compared to say, an trip-advisor’s account of Machu Picchu make the book invaluable. Perhaps travel guides will become elevated; looked upon with a nostalgia and ease, like a musical connoisseur’s ‘vinyl.’  The sound might not be so good, but the spirit it confers; magical.