Inaugural Post
About the Asia Travel News Blog
The Asia Travel News blog is intended to be a source of informaton for visitors to Asia, I want to use it as a guide for those seeking to filter through the news stories and get relevent information that could affect their travel plans to countries such as Thailand, China, India, Vietnam, Mongolia, Cambodia, Laos, Burma (Myanmar), Bali, Nepal, Bhutan, and Tibet. It’s not meant to be a guidebbook or an all encompassing source of information, but a commentary on current events such as natural disasters, political changes, changes in the travel infrastructure and how they might affect your travel plans. The interpretation of news is something that the popular media often leaves out, but because of my position in the industry as the owner of Red Lantern Journeys, I sometimes have access to information that others don’t and will know what it might mean to the average traveler.
Although this blog is not intended to be a guidebook, you’ll find good independent reviews of places I know about and visit during some of my travels.
About the Author: Ambrose Bittner
Ambrose Bittner is the founder and CEO of Red Lantern Journeys, a tour operator focused on arranging privately-guided tours and treks (using local guides) and custom itineraries for small independent groups traveling to Asia. He is an intrepid world traveler, having visited over 30 countries on 6 continents. He has been traveling in Asia since 1988 when he took his first trip to Japan to visit friends followed 2 years later by a backpacking trip around the world. Dozens of trips to Asia later, just some of his experiences have included:
- Bicycling around Hokkaido in Japan in 1996
- Being married in New Delhi with a Hindu wedding ceremony in 1997
- Attempting to climb Mt. Everest from Tibet in 2005
- Cruising on the luxurious Road to Mandalay on the Irrawaddy River, Burma (Myanmar) in 2004
- Snorkling the triplet islands of Koh Nang Yuan in Thailand, in 1990
- Rock climbing the limestone cliffs of Railay Beach in Krabi, Thailand
- Cruising on a traditional Vietnamese Junk in Halong Bay, Vietnam in 2004
- Exploring his tribal villages in Orissa and being the first westerner that had visited the area since the 1940s
- Visting Tiananmen Square in Beijing in 1990, one year after the massacres.
- Returning to Beijing in 2005 as an MBA student on a study tour and seeing a completely different country
- Trekking and climbing in Nepal in 1990, 1996, 2000, and 2005
- Developing Terelj National Park in Mongolia as a rock climbing recreation area by training staff and bringing climbing equipment from the US.
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