March 2013
Our new young friends at a village near Banteay Srei
Kipling & Clark Global Private Luxury Travel Update: March 2013
Greetings friends, clients, and global partners!
Hope all of you (at least in North America) are relishing the very early signs of spring- although still cold, we are heading in the right direction! Bev, Zen, her classmate Felicia and I just returned from a quick 8-day whirlwind private tour of Cambodia (our beloved Angkor Wat!), Chiang Mai and Bangkok. Although we have visited these areas several times before, we always try to experience new things. For Siem Reap we enjoyed a fun helicopter fly over of the various Angkor temples- a great new perspective!
We feel the temples of Angkor represent the most amazing and enduring architectural achievement of any religious site in Asia. By comparison, the various "Great Wall" locations in China seem not so majestic, at least not aesthetically. Perhaps our biggest thrill of this Cambodia trip was our water well donations and the many beautiful, heartfelt smiling faces that greeted us in the villages. For many here, fresh water is literally life saving and helping one village at a time truly does make a difference.
Please enjoy reading part 1 of our Cambodia/Thailand adventure as well as other global luxury travel updates and the always popular Zen's Journal!
Many thanks for giving us the opportunity to serve you!
Randy Lynch
CEO
Kipling & Clark and travNet
rlynch@kiplingandclark.com
Lynch Family 2013 Cambodia Private Tour and the joys of altruism
Accompanied by Dutch photographer (and now based in Siem Reap), Eric de Vries, we enjoyed our first helicopter fly over of Angkor Wat and the surrounding areas- an exciting 20 minute experience. Our Helistar Cambodia pilot, a former South African 'bush' pilot name Annie, made the short trip an interesting historical travelogue.
Zen and Felicia with the donated water-well on behalf of the 6th grade class at Francis Parker School
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According to Zen and Felicia, the highlight of our Cambodia travels was the village stopover experiences and the various water well donations we had prepared. In addition to the water wells, our trusted guide and driver (Tra and Polo) purchased several bags of 50kg high-quality rice to give to the families.
The most touching moment of the day was an 85 year old woman's reaction to the surprise rice and school supplies we brought to her village- tears of pure joy. This special experience for all of us reminded me of a quote from the Roman poet Horace reflecting on his perfect day:
“All power and joy to that man who can say today, on this day I have lived; tomorrow may bring rain or sun, but nothing can undo or render worthless what this fleeting, unrepeatable hour has brought”
-Horace (Quintus Horatius Flaccus 65-8 BC)
As part of our custom, private tour itineraries, we arrange visits to local schools, orphanages, and charities where our clients have the opportunity to connect and give back to those less advantaged and truly make a difference. Many of our clients, particularly our younger ones, find these activities eye-opening and heartwarming, a real-world contrast to their privileged life back in the U.S. Past clients have frequently mentioned the impact these experiences have had on their entire family.
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Travel Update- Tuscany/Provence:
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We are happy to hear that our friends at the lovely boutique hotel property of La Bastide de Marie are opening a sister property in Provence, the Domaine de La Baume, located in the small village of TourTour, France. We are hoping to visit in late August.
Also, our local Pienza, Italy guide has given high marks to the newly opened La Bandita Townhouse- the Renaissance palazzo and former convent has been converted to a 12-room boutique hotel. The owner/proprietor is New York music industry executive John Voigtmann.
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