Small Group Kazakhstan Tours

Name:
Chris Tripodi

EDUCATION:
University for Mathematics. College for Music. But the greatest education I've received has come from Earth while travelling. "Don’t tell me how educated you are, tell me how much you have travelled."

LANGUAGE:
I can ask 'Where is the toilet?' in 57 languages.

COUNTRIES VISITED:
80%. I need a new passport every 20 months.

TOURS LED:
West Africa to South Africa, El Salvador to Argentina, Samoa to Seychelles, Portugal to Romania, Jordan to Japan.

FAVOURITE DESTINATION:
Departures hall.

ABOUT:
I travel because it is the most interesting thing I can think of doing between meals. The magic and the challenge of this job is seeing the world itself as the tour with several smaller journeys along the way. I enjoy that time at the end of one trip, before the start of a new one, where the sadness of leaving one place mixes with the excitement of approaching another.

Name:
Jonathan Hodgson

EDUCATION:
BA in Psychology at McGill University; MBA at the University of British Columbia; self-educated passion for history and culture.

LANGUAGE:
English; conversational French; improving Spanish and Russian. And a decent Scottish accent.

TOURS LED:
I have led tours in over 100 countries over the last 14 years of working for Adventures Abroad on all of the continents except for Antarctica.

FAVOURITE DESTINATION:
Where to begin? Each place has something that makes it a special destination. A few that spring to mind: Kaieteur Falls in Guyana; the snow-covered mountains of Ladakh, India; sipping tea in a chaikhana of the old town of Bukhara, Uzbekistan; and watching the changing colours of Uluru (Ayers Rock) at sunset.

ABOUT:
Jonathan has lived much of his life dedicated to the idea that he would rather have a wealth of experiences than a wealth of riches. Having taken up a nomadic lifestyle shortly after finishing his undergraduate degree, he has been on the move on and off over the last 25+ years. The wanderlust has taken him to basing himself in places such as Scotland, Australia and Uzbekistan, and to visiting many more locations around our planet. Now (sort of) settled in Vancouver with his wonderful (and patient) family, he still loves the idea of having the world as his office and always enjoys trying to capture the essence of the locations he travels and tours in with his photography.

Name:
Pam Schewe

LANGUAGE:
Pam speaks English and can get by in both French and Spanish. Pam is also rather proud of the fact that she can say “thank you” in at least 40 languages.

COUNTRIES VISITED:
The scratch-off map on her wall now has more than 70 countries revealed. Personal trips have ranged from active adventures in the Himalayas and Andes to cultural escapes in India and Asia. Of course there’s also the quest to find the best beach in the South Pacific and quietly enjoy a hammock there. Life goals include visiting more than 100 of the nations on our planet.

TOURS LED:
Vietnam, Cambodia, Thailand, Laos, Myanmar, Malaysia, Indonesia, China, Korea, Taiwan, Japan, Central & Eastern Europe, Scandinavia, Caucasus, Iceland, Caribbean Islands, the Guyana's, "The Five Stan's" & Southern Africa.

ABOUT:
Pam spent many years working in radio broadcasting in Vancouver but decided that instead of working in order to travel, she would be much happier traveling for work. The only real difference between the two careers is that now she can tell immediately when her jokes are not funny. “Is this mic on…??”

Name:
Martin Charlton

EDUCATION:
Bachelor's Degree in Geography; further studies in Archaeology & Anthropology. Life's real education happens outside the classroom.

LANGUAGE:
English and some French & Spanish.

TOURS LED:
Having led tours for Adventures Abroad for almost 25 years, there are few corners of the globe where Martin’s left a stone unturned: everywhere from North Korea to Nauru, Saudi Arabia to Sudan, Guinea-Bissau to French Guiana. With over 200 tours through over 125 countries under his belt, it might be faster to list the regions where he hasn’t led a tour.

FAVOURITE DESTINATION:
"My love of travel and infectious enthusiasm for different cultures has taken me to over 155 countries. The further off the beaten path, the better. For a favourite place: perhaps South Georgia Island, the Canadian Arctic, or Cesky Krumlov in the Czech Republic. World's best city = Istanbul!"

ABOUT:
"Don't pack anything that you would be upset to lose, that needs to be ironed, or is encased in glass." - words to live by.