We're proud to unveil the first three volumes in a brand-new series of full-color guides to the world's great adventures. Adventure travel is the fastest-growing trend in the travel industry today, and these exciting new guides offer a new approach to each destination. Each guide contains lively, personal accounts of 25 real adventures, combined with practical advice from the experts so you can plan a trip of your own -- no matter what your interest, skill level, or budget.
We'll tell you how to tackle each adventure on your own, or with the area's most noted outfitters. These are not catalogs of high-risk adrenaline sports, but guides to adventures within the reach of any reasonably fit person of any age and skill. We've also included a 64-page directory of other activities and outfitters in each region. Look for full-color photos throughout, plus regional and route maps, insider tips, seasonal calendars, and ideas for family travel ? everything you need for a safe, worry-free adventure!
About the Authors BEN DAVIES Ben Davies is a wellknown travel writer and photographer who has written and photographed in almost every country in Asia. He is an associate editor for Asiamoney and has contributed to newspapers and magazines ranging from the International Herald Tribune to Vogue Singapore and the Phnom Penh Post. Since moving to Asia ten years ago, he has written and photographed books on Thailand, Indonesia and the Philippines. His latest, Isaan?Forgotten Provinces of Thailand is a photographic book for Luna Publications.
JILL GOCHER Australian photo-journalist Jill Gocher has spent much of her life travelling, starting forty-something years ago as a "military brat." She writes exclusively about travel and culture, concentrating on Southeast Asia. She is the author of three books published by Times Publishing of Singapore. Ciberon is about the eponymous, small Javanese Sultanate; the other two are large-format illustrated books: Indonesia, the Last Paradise, and Australia?the Land Downunder. In addition, she has contributed both words and pictures to hundreds of books, magazines, and travel guides. Jill is the editor of Swesone, the small inflight magazine of the Myanmar airline, Yangon Airways. While luxury travel has its charms, she is happiest when away from the modern world, spending time in less complex environments, tuning in to ancient rhythms.
SAM HART Researcher and compiler of the "Blue Pages," Sam Hart has worked as a freelance journalist since 1996, writing in the U.K. for The Guardian, the Young Telegraph, the Big Issue, and Nursing Times. She has also worked as a T.V. researcher and a radio journalist. After travelling extensively in Southeast Asia, she is now a staff reporter on the Big Issue and teaches English as a foreign language to Kurdish refugees.
CHRISTOPHER KNOWLES Christopher Knowles used to travel the world as a tour guide, specializing in journeys by train across Europe, the Soviet Union, the Silk Road, Mongolia and China. The author of books on Shanghai, China, Japan, Moscow and St. Petersburg, Tuscany, and the English Cotswolds, he also runs a company specializing in walking vacations.
SIMON RICHMOND Simon Richmond's first brush with adventure was on the Big Dipper roller-coaster in his hometown of Blackpool, England. He's been in search of the same adrenalin rush ever since. Now based in Sydney, Australia, he's worked as a journalist in London and Tokyo. His features have been published in many U.K. newspapers, the Sydney Morning Herald, The Australian and Australian Financial Review. He now spends most of his time travelling and writing guidebooks for the AA, Lonely Planet and Rough Guides.
