Finding people who exemplify not just passionate travelers, but those who dare to dream beyond self is truly a gift worth sharing. This is one area where Passionate Travel can make a difference in your life and in the lives of many others at the same time by highlighting opportunities to fulfill your own dreams while helping others do the same-in this case as you embark on Outside Magazine's Trip of the Year..riding through some of the most interesting and needy areas of the world..Rajastan, the Himalayas and Sri Lanka. These relief rides will be an experience that you will remember and treasure as a gift to yourself and to those whose lives you will change forever.
Whether or not you have been to India to experience this grand and diverse county, chances are you will never have had an experience like the one that Alexander Souri can offer you, in what Outside Magazine has named its trip of the year for 2005! While your friends may comeback raving about the magic of the Taj Mahal, and Royal Train, Alexander the New York-born son of an Indian father and a French mother, offers the more adventuresome the chance to embark on a journey that promises to be the experience of a lifetime. Join fourteen other equestrian savvy (and another 5 non riding but equally adventurous) participants on a life changing and unique ride through the Thar Desert of Rajasthan, India. For fifteen amazing days in October, you will be transformed into a humanitarian adventurer as you travel through five extraordinarily beautiful remote villages, interacting with local residents along the way , while delivering food, medical supplies, medical care, and dozens of goats.
The horses, are a special breed of warrior horses native to Rajasthan. The Rajputs not only prize these animals, but actually consider them to be Deities. They are acclimated to the desert climate and have a fifth gait, the Revaal, which allows the rider to travel a long distance at a trot without posting. Visit ancient villages and old forts in relative comfort,as temperatures are generally mid-80s during the day and dropping to the 60s at night. Not only are these areas rich in wildlife such as birds and buffalo, but also the unique cultural life, with special performances of traditional dance in Kochor, drumming in Pachar, and tastes of the regions culinary specialties. Your role will depend on your skill set, when you meet in New Delhi to join like-minded participants from around the world, you may find yourself organizing the caravan, distributing supplies, or assisting the medical team of eye, ear, nose and throat specialists who will treat hundreds of villagers along the route. The $5500 per person fee, not including airfare, will cover the cost of relief supplies. Support vehicles will provide cooks, food, tents, and hot showers. Except for a nights stay at The Imperial Hotel in Delhi, three nights in forts, and a night in a haveli (a traditional Rajput villa), everyone will sleep in tents. Riders will average about three to five hours a day at a comfortable pace, with three stops for meals and ample water available. In addition to the crew, a support vehicle will carry two medics and a doctor and the non horseback riding participants (this means jeep, camel cart and elephant)!. Indian Red Cross personnel have developed the first HIV education program in the region and will distribute educational information and hold discussions in all the villages. A dozen camels will bear food supplies to counter the effects of drought, and goats will go to needy families for on-going sustainability. Alexander Souri definitely fits my criteria of a Passionate Traveler. He has always had a global perspective on life. When he was 8, he learned to ride at boarding school in India, which helped him deal with missing his parents. He grew up in New York City and traveled extensively in India and France. He's produced plays, directed commercials and industrial films in China, done special effects on The Matrix and X-Men, and at film festivals in Cannes, Sundance, and Venice, Italy. More than once, he's piloted a single engine plane across the Atlantic, planning all the while on the model of Joseph Campbell. While we all appreciate the gift of experiencing new places, encountering new people, and seeing the world in new ways, this time we will bring to those places we visit gifts that really matter. For more details on this great adventure ride please contact Randi Winter at 1 604 261-7871 (PST) or 1 877 307-7447. randi@passionatetravel.com
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