Myself, Fran & Siobhan spent Saturday immersed in all things travel related at the Adventure Travel Show Live. After presenting to a diverse audience our STA Explorer programme and the World Traveller Internship (WTI) we had a few chats and gave out our goody bags to excited, budding nomads hoping to apply for the WTI and become STA Explorers.

After, Fran went and saw some of the talks and spread the STA travelbuzz word, whilst Siobhan and I went to check out the different travel stalls. First off was drinking Kava, the traditional Fijian drink, with Ben Keene from Tribe Wanted and Dylan (@travellingeditor). The Kava was mixed together by a very authentic looking Fijian and we all had to clap before we received our drink and then clap again after. It was hard to do so when we were almost gagging from the taste (think trees mixed with mud). However, after 3 cups of that and a very numb mouth, we set off giggling like school girls to chat to the STA Travel team who were all working hard giving out information on various deals and offers currently on while answering any questions people had about specific destinations.

We also spoke to the guy on the Mali counter, who taught us about classic Mali music before we made our way to the Healthy Travel talk with Jane Wilson. She taught us how to successfully remove a tick (grab it by the teeth and yank it out). The appropriate clothing to wear (tie trousers at the bottom over your boots to avoid bites and leeches). And how to get over a bout of diarrhea (LOTS of water and eat if you feel hungry).

From there we met Toni, our newest explorer, and we chatted all about her up coming travels. The previous evening had seen her meet a bunch of people to discuss her trip and she has already arranged to meet people while travelling and partake in a little couch-surfing!

All in all a great day!

We haven’t heard from Jimmy for a while, but with good reason for our STA Explorer Asia by Foot has been offering disaster relief.

He’s been in Pariaman in Indonesia helping clean up after an earthquake, though ‘cleaning up’ doesn’t really do it justice,

“The devastation was something that is going to haunt me for the rest of my life. We went past houses that were totally flattened and some that were just merely damaged. […] I was overcome with emotion at the plight of these people. Yet they were still smiling… waving… and retorting the usual ‘Hello Mister!’”

Jimmy’s work involved deconstruction and salvage. The deconstruction is taking down buildings safely and clearing the rubble, whilst the salvation part was about separating the rubble into actual waste and stuff that could be reused.

It sounds like hard, but rewarding work, and Jimmy is intending to post fully on his experiences. For now though there is plenty to absorb in his post ‘Hands on Disaster Response’.

The Travelteer, Sara, is flying home; the end of her time volunteering in Kenya has crept up on her,

“In the chaos and excitement of the last few weeks I seem to have lost track of time because all of a sudden I’ve found myself in the departure lounge at Nairobi airport waiting for my flight back to the UK. 6 weeks – gone just like that. But my god, what a six weeks it’s been!”

Sara relays details of her farewell to the orphanage, something that included her favourite dinner (pilau), cakes and games. Her description of teaching the kids to play musical statues is certain to raise a smile. She was also given a Kenyan outfit by her fellow teachers that consisted of linen trousers, a kaftan, head wrap and kanga. We’d love to see you in it Saz…

Unsurprisingly the experience was tough on an emotional level, but that is what it’s about,

“I love that I had to opportunity to live with the locals and work alongside some of the most inspirational people I have ever met and I still hold the view that it is a place of extremes; it is both beautiful and obscene, inspiring and heart wrenching, rich but so poor. That’s what makes it Mombasa though and that’s probably what will keep me coming back here for many years to come.”

Thanks Sara for sharing your experience, we look forward to meeting you on your return. If you’ve got a desire to volunteer abroad then be sure to read through Sazintransit’s Blog and get a real feel for what it entails.

STA Explorer Saz has been on the classic African wildlife safari, although working as a volunteer her and other members of her team decided that they should experience the more ‘touristy’ side of their current location.

The trip was, in her words, ‘um-ed and ah-ed’ about due to price, but eventually she decided to commit to a three day and in the long run was pleased she had,

“I saw lions and elephant and giraffes (oh my!) zebra and cheetahs and buffalo. I got to wake up at the foot of Mount Kilimanjaro with monkeys playing at the entrance to my tent and I visited a Masai village where we were welcome with traditional dances and blessed by witch doctors. It was by all accounts a mind blowingly good trip.”

It did however get her thinking about the conflict between the every day life she is experiencing as a volunteer and the more romantic vision that the safari created. Saz talks about the effects the current drought is having and how, although this was evident during the three day trip, it is rarely addressed. Equally on her mind was the huge variation in prices,

“Instead of bartering for reasonable prices in the local markets we were expected to pay five times as much as normal in tourists stop offs. Any attempts to speak Swahili were met with raised eyebrows and even at lunch time when we stopped off for a quick bite to eat we found ourselves being charged 700ksh for a meal I pay 50ksh for anywhere else.”

Her thoughts are insightful and interesting as ever and if you want to read them in full, including a simple tip on how to drive the cost of your safari down, click through.

STA travelbuzz is ready for take off!

If you’re reading this, then STA travelbuzz has been unleashed onto the general public without a hitch – or at least without any major hitches…

So, what is STA travelbuzz and why should you care? Well, we’re here to help you make the most of your travels; to point you in the direction of real, independent conversations from the people who know holidays best – those who’ve actually experienced them. The net is bursting with holiday snaps, travel journals, destination reviews, and generally a lot of people having a jumbo jet-load of fun journeying across the globe. Every day, we’ll sift through the detritus of spam to deliver you only the best blogs, vlogs, podcasts, threads, and galleries we can find to inspire you to have the greatest travel experience possible.

We’re also here to encourage you to make good use of the web to help you record and share your travels. This may involve introducing you to some ingenious website you’ve never heard of, or tracking down the answers to common travel questions we stumble upon.

Sponsored by STA Travel, we’re looking to encourage honest and open discussion about the company’s travel services from the very mouths (or should I say keyboards?) of its customers. If you’re thinking of travelling with STA Travel, or have recently been on one of their holidays, visit here often to find like-minded people to share your memories (or hard-earned lessons!) with.

And that’s us really; a travel blog with a difference. My name is Simon, my fellow blog-rat is Molly and we’ll be your guides around the treacherous landscape that is the internet. Post a comment or e-mail us with your questions, suggestions and links; we hope you find this blog helpful.

Simon