Meet the team - Far East

Amit

Having grown up in a small town in northern India, I was always curious to know what lay further afield. It all started with a trip to Delhi. I was so fascinated by discovering new places that I chose to study tourism management and pursued my Masters in the same field. This led to numerous opportunities to travel extensively within India and abroad. The regions closest to my heart include the Himalayan region of Ladakh, the north-western frontier of Rajasthan, and west Bengal, purely because of their authenticity, colours, magnificent monuments, culture and cuisine. Among my many favourites, I would also include the north-eastern part of India because of its stunning natural beauty and the mighty Himalaya. Outside India, I have travelled widely within the Subcontinent, the Far East, Australasia and the Pacific; however Bhutan is my next passion due to its authenticity, culture and scenic beauty.

James

I come from a small village of about 60 people in the Peak District and with a thirst for travel, headed to Australia at 22. I spent a year travelling the length and breadth of the country by road. My next adventure was supposed to be a week in Bangkok, but quickly turned into a six-month voyage through south-east Asia, sampling all the wonderful sights and sounds of the Far East.

It was inevitable I would find myself in the travel industry on my eventual return and I know how lucky I am to combine my passion with my career. I’ve hired out surfboards to tourists in Bali, rode like a gaucho through the hills of Argentina, busked in Laos, skydived in Queensland and, more recently, proposed on the summit of Mount Kilimanjaro..

Vasu

My penchant for travel goes all the way back to my childhood when I journeyed across India with my father, an Indian army officer. However, it wasn’t until I set off on a biking trip in north India with a few college friends that I fell head-over-heels for travel. After obtaining a degree in Economics, I started as a tour manager for European trekking/climbing expeditions to the Himalaya. I originally climbed mountains to get the adrenaline rush, but what caught me by surprise was how much I loved meeting the people in these remote areas. This inspired me later in my career and I decided to move to the UK to pursue an MSc in Responsible Tourism and since then have settled here. 

I am a trained mountaineer and have spent many years exploring the Himalaya in India, Nepal & Bhutan. Apart from having extensively travelled in India, I have rafted down most of the rivers in the subcontinent and driven my motorbike to the remote corners in India including the world’s highest road in Ladakh. I also take immense pleasure in meeting the people of the lands I visit and appreciating the customs & traditions they hold. I love the puppets of Rajasthan, food in Kerala, trekking in Nepal, mask dances of Bhutan and the ‘curd & treacle’ in Sri Lanka.

I have years of experience as an Indian Subcontinent specialist designing luxury tailor-made holidays and I won’t be satisfied until my clients are excited about the holiday. Apart from the usual sights I absolutely love to plan behind-the-scenes experiences in the narrow streets of Delhi or Varanasi, have conversations with local experts to learn secrets of traditional cooking methods, meetings with artists or musicians in the rural villages, and special private dinners in stunning settings.