Silk Road Tour

26 Days in Central Asia. Travel from Bejing to Xian to Khiva. Enjoy all the sights and sounds that I’ve described in my recent posts about Central Asia – without the stress of arranging every detail yourself. This is modern adventure travel. The experience of traveling along this fabled route through countries that are just opening up to tourism is like nothing you can imagine. I am indebted to Intrepid Travel, the award-winning adventure travel leader, for donating this trip in support of Passports with Purpose 2012.

The designated beneficiary for Passports with Purpose 2012 is Water.org. Our goal is to raise $100,000 which will be used to build five wells in Haiti. Each well will serve about 350 people. Donate even $10 to Passports with Purpose 2012 and help over 1,000 people get access to clean water.

Silk Road Tour: History

Marco Polo first traveled from Italy to China overland in 1271. The journey took three and a half years. 16-year-old Marco did not return to Venice until 24 years later when Kublai Khan released him from court service. The Polos were not the first to explore the network of trade routes we describe as the Silk Road but it was Marco Polo’s book about their travels which caused their journey to be the first that was widely known and also to inspire many other adventurers in the Age of Discovery. Although the overland Silk Road fell out of common use once marine trading routes were opened in the 16th century, world attention returned to these magnificent palaces, steep mountain passes and spacious fertile valleys during the Great Game of the 19th century. To visit this area now, when indigenous culture is still vibrant and historic sites largely empty of tourists is to truly feel like you are touching history.

Silk Road Tour: The Tour Details

Intrepid Travel has designed this tour so that you can be immersed in the sights, sounds and history of Central Asia. Over the course of the 26 days you will stay in local guesthouses, a home-stay, on an overnight sleeper train, in a mountain yurt – and of course, some hotels. You will travel by bus, metro, minibus, minivan, train, plane, and taxi. You will travel like a local and be escorted by locals – which is what makes this an in-depth immersion into Chinese, Uzbek and Kyrgyz history and culture. Your tour group will be made up of up to 12 like-minded travelers.

The full itinerary for this tour is: Bejing – Xian – Turpan – Kashgar – Tash Rabat – Song-Kol Lake – Bishkek – Chong Kemin – Cholpan-Ata – Tampa – Tashkent – Samarkand – Shakhrisabz – Bukhara – Tashkent

You can read the full details on the Intrepid Travel 26 Days in Central Asia description.

Silk Road Tour: About Intrepid Travel

I traveled through this area independently, so I asked my friend Pam what her experience of a similar adventure tour with Intrepid Travel was like. Here’s what she had to say:
“Intrepid works hard to make sure that their travelers really connect on a local level. This is rare with group travel. All the local guides we spent time were not only great guides, but friendly people who were happy to share about their own lives. And maybe I was lucky, but our Intrepid leaders felt more like part of the group than hired leaders. Even though I had to pitch an awkward tent, wash dishes, and do lots of other chores,I loved the trip I did with Intrepid — I recommend them, wholeheartedly.”

Silk Road Tour: How to Enter

Passports with Purpose 2012 operates as an online free drawing. This incredible prize (worth over $4,000) will be listed on the donation page. For each $10 donation that you make, you get a chance to enter a free drawing for this or any of the other prizes listed. It’s that simple. Go, check out, the prizes, donate $10, $20, $50 or $100 and on December 18th 2012 we’ll announce the winner of each prize.

The designated beneficiary for Passports with Purpose 2012 is Water.org. Our goal is to raise $100,000 to build five wells in Haiti. Each well will serve about 350 people. Support Passports with Purpose 2012 and over 1,000 people will get access to clean water.

DONATE to win this incredible Passports with Purpose 2012 prize.

Passports with Purpose 2012 sponsors are: Expedia, Tripit, TBEX, HomeAway, Travellerspoint, HostelBookers and Go with Oh.

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Silk Road Tour: Full Prize Details aka The Legalese
1. Entry into this promotion is deemed acceptance of these conditions of entry.
2. Prize can only be redeemed by contacting Eliza Anderson at Intrepid Trave Travel. The booking will be made by contacting marketing@intrepidtravel.com. The prize holder must be able to forward a copy of the winner notification. Intrepid Travel will not contact the winner/or Travel Agent to arrange travel; this is the winner’s responsibility.
3. Prizes are not exchangeable [to another trip], are not transferrable [to another traveller] and cannot be redeemed for an equivalent cash value.
4. A minimum number of paying travellers is required before a trip can be confirmed; this is regardless of the normal trip minimum number. Travel is subject to booking availability.
5. Trip kitty, international airfares, travel insurance, spending money, domestic airfares, meals, travel taxes, passports, visas, transport to and from departure point and all other ancillary costs, as well as obtaining any of these, are not included in the prize and are the responsibility of the winner.
6. The trip must be booked and taken by 31 December 2013 otherwise it will be deemed to be forfeited by the winner. Once booked, any changes made to the booking may incur a cancellation fee or amendment fee, at the cost of the winner. Please refer to Intrepid’s Booking Conditions at www.intrepidtravel.com – standard booking conditions apply.
7. All components of the prize/trip must be taken together or otherwise are deemed to be forfeited.
8. Prize/trip cannot be used in conjunction with any other Intrepid or third party discounts or special offers
9. In the event of war, terrorism, state of emergency, disaster or any other circumstance beyond the control of the Promoter, the Promoter reserves the right to either provide an alternative travel destination to the same value as the original prize or, subject to any applicable laws or written directions made under applicable legislation, to cancel, terminate, modify or suspend the promotion.
10. The Promoter shall not be liable for any loss or damage whatsoever which is suffered (including but not limited to indirect or consequential loss) or for any personal injury suffered or sustained in connection with the prize except for any liability, which cannot be excluded by law. The Promoter will not be responsible for any incorrect, inaccurate or incomplete information communicated in the course of or in connection with this promotion if the deficiency is occasioned by any cause outside the reasonable control of the Promoter including without limitation technical malfunctions or failures. Tax implications may arise from the receipt or use of a prize. Independent financial advice should be sought. It is a condition of accepting the prize that the winner may be required to sign a legal release in a form determined by the Promoter in its absolute discretion.11. The Promoter is Intrepid Travel Pty Ltd of Level 3, 380 Lonsdale Street, Melbourne VIC 3000 Australia. A.B.N. 35 007 172 456.
12. Privacy Policy. All information will remain confidential and will not be sold or disclosed to third parties. Please view Intrepid’s privacy policy at http://www.intrepidtravel.com/sharedcontent/privacy_policy_popup.php
13. The Passports with Purpose online fundraising event is governed by these Rules.

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