No matter who you are friendly with, we’d like to wish you a very happy Valentines day from Nepal. We’d like to announce our new tours too. Firstly there’s the combined Bangkok/Laos & Cambodia adventure – the first one planned for November this year, as well as our second tour to Peru in August 2016. An inaugural trip to the desert state of Rajasthan is planned in 2016 too. So please let us know if you might be interested in any of these.  For those booked on our holiday to Nepal this October, get ready for a wonderful and very colourful trip! If you’re thinking of coming, why not take the plunge and follow in the footsteps of many of our enthralled previous travellers! Our holiday to Nepal is one of the most unique holidays you’ll experience.

As many who’ve traveled with us to Nepal will know, on our tour we visit the birthplace of the Buddha, and in this spiritual couple of days; we explore how to create more happiness in our lives – regardless of any religion. We’ll be led by our lovely Buddhist monk on this part of the holiday which is fascinating.

The ‘four noble truths’ of Buddhism suggests that our attachment to desires can lead to unhappiness, but as you’ll probably find out, this doesn’t mean that you can’t enjoy desires – even the simpler ones like desiring a cup of tea and then drinking it – the key word is ‘attachment’.  If you’re attached to a desire this means that if you don’t satisfy it you’ll be unhappy.  Perplexingly, it maybe useful to have many desires that you’re unattached to and if you accomplish a small number of  these, rejoice in them, the others: just let them go.

Also by attaching ourselves to a desire we hope to fulfill in the future, we can lead ourselves into a situation where we’re unhappy in the ‘here & now’ until we achieve this desire sometime in the future.  It’s important to live in the ‘now’ take happiness from it and the meditative practice of ‘mindfulness’ is something that can help (you can ask about this on this part of the Nepal tour).

Perhaps too we need to create simpler desires in the first place that can be more easily attained and surpassed. We often see Asian people with less than ourselves who appear happy; Nepal has an abundance of these. Enjoying the many things we do have, rather than the things we don’t, also helps.  Here’s a picture of our group on our previous holiday to Nepal. As you can see,  a very happy bunch, whatever religion!

Bring me sunshine! Whilst we grin and bear the wind and rain, here is a picture from our holiday to Nepal last October.  Here some of the group are whizzing by on old Nepalese bicycles as they tour the birthplace of the Buddha. It’s warm and sunny and the exercise was good after a guided meditation under a sacred tree. That same night the group stayed in a monastery – after sitting in the village with a cold beer . I hope this brings back warm memories of your holiday to Nepal.

Our holiday to Nepal has been featured quite extensively on British radio with a lovely interview with one of our guests from a previous trip. Chris came all the way from Canada to join us for her holiday to Nepal.  Here she talks about each aspect of the trip and some of her highlights; from flying over Everest to riding elephants in the jungle.

There’s Nepalese music too which is both beautiful and haunting. For those who traveled with us previously on a holiday to Nepal this will hopefully bring back some wonderful memories and also whet the appetite of those coming on holiday in 2015.  Why not ‘cut & paste’ the link and download it to your MP3 or PC?  Please go to the ‘what our customers say’ page (click the link above) on this site to download it. We hope you enjoy it.

New year in Nepal is officially in April where the country is 57 years ahead of the Gregorian Calender so it will be 2072 (did you know the name ‘Gregorian’ comes from Pope Gregory who invented it?) However new year Western style will also be celebrated on the 31st plus we have several other new years including a Buddhist one. Nepal is always a little different. Wherever you are we wish you a nice celebration and a good new year.   Parties involve dancing and costumes. Here are some ladies from last year up in the Himalaya.  Happy holiday in Nepal!

We’d like to wish all our followers a very merry Christmas; especially those who enjoyed our holiday to Nepal in years past, and those who will be on a Nepal holiday with us in 2015!  In November 2015 we will hopefully operate our first trip to Rajasthan too, (open to all previous Angel travellers, please contact us if you might be interested) and our second trip to Peru will take place in August 2016 (a long way off but already we have lots of enquiries).  Basil Pao (Michael Palin’s photographer on all his BBC trips) will be joining the Angel team in 2016 so we’re looking forward to that too.  The Nepalese will be dancing as we celebrate the Christmas spirit too. Bless you all. Angel Holidays.

Despite it being a largely Hindu and Buddhist nation, Nepal – fondly known locally as the acronym: ‘Never Ending Peace And Love’ has

entered the Christmas spirit. Over the next two weeks there’s carol services and good cheer, all without the shopping! It’s traditional. Many may not know what Christmas really means, but they will celebrate its spirit – Never Ending Peace & Love. People will call out ‘Merry Christmas!’ and that’s good enough. From up here in the Himalaya, with carol singers, people in good cheer and not one Turkey in the whole country, people don’t even know what a turkeys is, we wish you good preparations for Christmas in your country. Our Easter holiday 2015 to Nepal is already sold out, so we’re looking forward to taking a nice group around this friendly country! For those who came before – we miss you and hope you miss Nepal. Here’s a local choir singing, celebrating Christmas. It goes to show,  Christmas is for everyone.

Tomorrow Steve Carver sets off for his bike journey to India for a forthcoming radio programme [working title] ‘Man on a motorbike.’

The programme will involve Steve riding across north India and recording his reflections, thoughts and his poetry (mixed in with some humour) on the smaller details of India: from spending time with those who live in poverty, to travellers seeking spiritual enlightenment, to some unusual locations seldom visited by foreigners. He has an open reign to see what comes his way. His first leg will be to drive near the border with India to Lumbini – birthplace of the Buddha – and a place known well by Angel travellers:  they stay in a monastery there on their holiday to Nepal with Angel Holidays.  Beyond that, and with Steve’s old Enfield motorcycle, the road is just open. And that’s the magic of the series.   Here’s the bike on the eve before the journey.

Romania may not be on everybody’s lips as a long weekend destination but it definitely has its attractions. Flights to the capital, Bucharest, start with Ryan Air for example,  as low as £30 return – there’s mid day departures too – and the airport in Bucharest is a short ride from the capital (£5 by bus).

A perfect ‘5 day weekend’ would be to spend one or two nights in the old part of Bucharest, gastronomically it’s wonderful, then take a train to Brasov near Bran; the beginnings of Transylvania, and visit Dracula’s Castle amongst more restaurants and shopping. Back on the train, and Sinaia could be your next stop (just an hour from Bucharest) a pretty ski resort. Then return to Bucharest for one final night.

Hotels are cheap; from around £30 a night for a good one, an hour on a train will cost you £1.50 and meals in nice restaurants start at £2. At £1.50 a glass, the wine is worth sampling too.  Maybe this is one place we could add to the Angel Holidays agenda one day. The people, are wonderfully polite and helpful too.

For all those booked on our journey to Peru this August (departing 6th) we hope you are looking forward to the experience. Along our journey, we’ll be venturing far from the tourist trail and staying in the Andes, at 11,000 feet above sea level. With no light pollution and near Colca canyon (twice the depth of the Grand Canyon) together with an active volcano in the background, our stay here will be dramatic.

At this altitude the air, being so thin and clear, has become popular with astronomers. Our hotel has been chosen as it has an observatory and powerful telescope.

We’ll take you inside the tower where on clear nights you can see Saturn and its rings, as well as, quite spectacularly, Mars with the naked eye. The next day we’ll take you to walk inside Colca Canyon. Here you’ll be surrounded by the flights of condors.