JUNE 2009 ISSUE

Report from the Road: Vietnam

Quest President Retires

Worldwide Explorer's Club

News

Laurielle Penny has just returned from her research trip to Vietnam and here are some of her thoughts:

The fascination of Vietnam comes from its extraordinary vitality and its warm, incredibly approachable people. I spent two weeks exploring the country from south to north and was dazzled by the energy. My first lesson in Saigon was how to cross the street in the face of the surge of motor bikes. “Just go slow and steady,” our guide Man told me. “Don’t hesitate and don’t make any sudden moves”. It worked like a charm. The motorized sea bikes parted effortlessly around me and I arrived safe and sound on the other side.



While in Saigon, I took a good look at the Pandaw boat we’re using for our new Mekong Cruise in October, 2010. What a wonderful feel – the boat is built entirely of teak and the compact cabins are fresh and inviting. I had a chance to taste the cuisine too – delicious.



Inveterate foodie that I am, I was blown away with the cuisine throughout the country. From the simplest pho to the most elaborate multi course dinners, the freshness of the ingredients and the inventiveness of each dish was a real joy.



The stand out meal? At La Verticale in Saigon. Chef Didier Corlou mixes French ingredients with Vietnamese tastes. Grilled duck foie gras with lemongrass, spring rolls with truffles, “banh cuon” with caviar and salmon roe, crab cannelloni with sea urchin nectar... these are just a few examples of the changing menus which draw heavily on local ingredients. I was so taken with the food, I bought the recipe book! But I think it might be more fun to join Chef Hai Train when he heads back to Vietnam for his second annual GastroNomad trip in March, 2010.
Laurielle Penny

We’ve said it before and we’ll say it again. We have the very best group of tour leaders. We choose them very carefully, not only for their natural history knowledge, but also for their ability to share it with you. They enjoy being with people, are efficient, skilled travellers and will make sure that you have a great time. This month, some of our Ontario based leaders got together at our Toronto office to share experiences and gear up for our 2010 season. What a great group!

Since founding Quest Nature Tours in 1987, Barry Griffiths has managed the operation and programs of Quest Nature Tours as it developed and grew into the most successful nature tour company in Canada. His lifelong interest in the environment has always been the stimulus for the goals and activities of the company. As President of Quest, he has travelled the world leading dozens of Quest tours and also planning new nature tour destinations. In fact, one of his defining travel moments came in 2005 when he realized that, during a twelve month period, he had visited all seven continents on behalf of Quest. A small world!

Now, Barry’s retired to join his wife Dynese in pursuing quality time with grandchildren, golf, birding, and nature photography. The Quest program is an integral part of Worldwide Quest and is now being taken over by his long-time partner, Lewie Gonsalves and Laurielle Penny, who has been effectively managing the Cultural Explorations program for the past two years. Together, they have over 60 years experience in the travel industry, and are committed to maintaining the thrust and focus of the Quest Nature Tours program for the foreseeable future. Barry will continue to be involved with Quest Nature Tours as founder, consultant and advisor.

We’re delighted that so many of our travellers return again and again on our trips. It’s fun for participants who enjoy meeting up with friends they’ve met along the way and fun for first timers as they get some good advice on future trips. We’d like to remind all our travellers about our Worldwide Explorer’s Club. It’s our way of saying a special thank you to our returning travellers.

For every third trip you take with us (since 2001), you’ll receive a 5% discount on the cost of the trip. The discount applies to our brochure trips only and you’ll find lots here to choose from.

NEW 2010-2011 BROCHURES:
Natural History Land Tours and Expedition and Small Ship Cruises

Our Quest Nature Tours brochures will be on your doorstep in early July. Please give us a call to make sure you’re on the list to receive our Natural History Land Tours and our Expedition and Small Ship Cruises.

President’s Magical Himalayan Kingdoms:
Two spots available

We just had two spots open up on our President’s Magical Himalayan Kingdoms trip in September. If you’ve been hesitating about taking a look at this fascinating part of the world, we suggest you take this opportunity to travel with Lewie Gonsalves. He’ll make sure you see the best of the Himalayas.

Early Booking Bonuses

We’re offering a number of Early Booking Bonuses on many of upcoming programs. To get all the up to date information, please make sure you’re signed up to get our eblasts. We don’t send them often, but when we do, they’re well worth paying attention to…