The Night Train

Last night we caught a sleeper train from Hanoi about 9pm to Lao Cai, very close to the China Border – in fact this town was decimated when the Chinese invaded 1979. Its a junction point rather than a destination, and its just a 45 minute drive to Sapa – and serious mountains.  We arrived at 5.30am, so we see the sun rise and the light filter into the valleys as we zig zag our way into the hills.  The clouds hide the mountain tops, and rice terraces line the lower slopes.

Sapa itself is a town of 30,000 hanging off the side of a mountain and looking down into the valley of minority villages with their huts and rice fields. Venus Adventures for Women have booked us into the Cat Cat View Hotel overlooking the valley that leads to Cat Cat village which we will visit later in the day. Read more

It’s winter here in New Zealand, and I have started thinking about planning a vacation.  As a woman travelling solo, the first place I look in the Women Travel the World website, and in particular their amazing Calendar of Tours for Women available for women from a range of companies around the world.  Joining a small group tour like these is the perfect option for a solo traveller.  Over 270 tours are listed, I decide it is Asia I want, there are 76 on offer, and Vietnam is my first choice and there are 5 to choose from.  Venus Adventures is my choice today – I have travelled with them to Morocco, they are a NZ based company and the dates suit.

So I am off to Vietnam – there are spaces available – why not join me?

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I did a trip with Morocco with Julie Paterson and Venus Adventures and it was the trip of a lifetime – fabulous.

Julie has some last minutes spaces on her trip in March this year – so here is your chance to live a dream

Meeting 30 March in Casablanca  and travelling for 18 amazing days – including Fez, Marrakech, sleeping in the Sahara, shopping and more. INFO about the Trip

Read some stories on this blog about women travel in Morocco

More Trips with Venus Adventures

Julie from Venus Adventures for women reflects on Tea

Recently I was visiting some nomadic Bedouin friends in the Sinai, Egypt. As we sat cross-legged round the fire sipping sweet tea from small tea glasses, the teapot simmering away on the hot coals, I thought about how often tea had been an important focal point in so many countries I had visited.

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Venus Adventures is a NZ and Swiss based company which focuses on women travellers.  They can help you organise your own custom trip (mixed or women-only) to Morocco! Read more

When I was in Cusco, Peru, a guy called Angel crossed my path and told me about his work at a Shamanic healing centre. Shamans (medicine men) perform ancient healing ceremonies, praying to Pacha Mama (Mother Earth) and dwelling in the spiritual world.

What intrigued me most was the “Ayahuasca ceremony”. Ayahuasca is a Quechua word meaning “vine of the soul,” and is a powerful, vile-tasting drink made from a jungle vine. The shamans use it as way of unraveling the self, and it is supposed to be able to cure anything, from physical illness (like cancer) to psychological pain (depression) – or put simply, it is a good way to clean up any baggage, big or small, in your life… I felt like fate had thrown an unusual opportunity onto my path. Read more

Hot, tired and sweaty, Daniela and I flopped onto our hotel beds, turned the air con on, smiled and breathed a sigh of relief to be back from “Jungle Boot Camp”. This is the “affectionate” term we gave the three days we had just spent in the Peruvian Amazon jungle at an eco-lodge, where the wearing of gumboots was compulsory and we were “forced” to do all manner of drawn-out jungle activities from dawn til well after dark in the sticky, oppressive jungle heat. Not only that, we had paid for it. You do these crazy things when you are travelling. Read more

Julie of Venus Adventures for women reports that that Emirates has released a special deal for those who live Down Under and who yearn for a trip to Morocco…

“Emirates have released an early bird special for sales in NZ until the 17th of December 2009. For your Morocco trip, a fare ex Auckland would be $2310 including taxes.” Read more

Julie Paterson from Venus Adventures travel for Women writes:

Salam from Morocco!

Well, we have just completed another 14-day extravaganza of Morocco and thought you might enjoy a few photos!

Highlights of the trip were riding camels across the orange dunes of the Sahara whilst the sun set in the distance and then sleeping under an African sky, hiking up into the Atlas mountains to stay in the basic home of a Berber family and see how they live, experiencing the old medinas of Fez and Marrakech, meeting lots of friendly locals including Nezha who is a Moroccan 5W member (5W = Women Welcome Women Worldwide, an international hosting network) who lives in Fez and joined us for dinner one night. It was great to meet Nezha, who is an English teacher at the American school in Fez, and to learn more about Moroccan life from her. Read more

Picture yourself swilling wine in a hot tub at the end of an invigorating day’s bush hike, or relaxing in a country pub having biked the classic Otago Rail Trail, or taking a dip in the turquoise waters of the glorious Abel Tasman after sea kayaking to a golden beach…

do these things sound like something you would like to experience? Well, read on, because your prayers have finally been answered!

As busy women we often have a myriad of (often feeble) excuses why we don’t do things for ourselves. But let’s face it: there is never an excuse good enough for not doing something positive for yourself – like taking a well-deserved short break somewhere!

Venus Adventures – Trips for Women – is now offering a range of short breaks within New Zealand (and Europe) for women who, well, just need a break! The breaks include anything from culture to adventures, and are always a lot of fun, and the website is a one-stop shop for short breaks for women.

The idea behind women-only trips is to help women escape their everyday roles and routines as busy mums, wives or workers, and to get away with the girls and have some fun!

“More and more women are realizing the importance of getting away from it all and letting someone else do all the organizing for a change”; says Julie Paterson, founder and owner of Venus Adventures Trips for Women. “Women naturally bond and network easily. Doing a trip which gets you out of your comfort zone a little is easier in a supportive women’s group. It’s a great environment in which to try new things. But, depending on the trip, we also indulge in fun things like spas and a little retail-therapy! Age also doesn’t matter as long as the spirit is there!”

All you have to do is get yourself to the trip starting point and all the rest is taken care of. So what are you waiting for? Your next adventure is just a mouse click away…for more information visit www.shortbreaksforwomen.com.

By Julie Paterson

Venus Adventures – Trips for Women

www.venusadventures.travel

www.shortbreaksforwomen.com