This was my third trip. I first visited in the late 1980s and was curious to see what changes I would find. Talk is always of the regime collapsing especially after the demise of Communism around the world however as its neighbours slowly embraced capitalism this hermit kingdom stood its ground and continues to do so.

There are chinks in the armour: there are now free markets, for locals only; there are slightly less political messages adorning the streets; there is certainly more traffic. Yet it is still very tightly controlled: as a visitor you may not leave your hotel unescorted, enter shops, go to bars, people's homes or take taxis; you cannot just apply for a visa and book a train or air ticket. The state tourist company does everything for you.

I flew into the capital, Pyongyang, from Beijing and was met by our two guides. All meals, sightseeing, transportation and even the daily itinerary was organised/controlled by them. There was a small amount of flexibility in the itinerary but this was wholly at the guides' discretion and dependent on how much they trusted us - the more they trust us the more flexible they generally became.This was evidenced when we were allowed to attend an Olympic football qualifier. Believe it or not it was my first ever football match! I expected the scarves, shirts, shouting and support that I has seen on television, but not here. There were cheers when the DPRK got close to the goal area otherwise almost nothing.

I was visiting during the time of Kim Il Sung's birthday, 14 April. The country celebrates in style - well at least the capital does- and the streets are filled with people, a complete contrast to other periods in the year. The main event is the Mass Games, gymnastics on a phenomenal scale. 20,000 participants perform in the May Day stadium with a seating capacity of over 100,000, the largest in the world.

In addition to the gymnasts participants in seats on the opposite side of the stadium to the spectators create a mosaic of pictures with large cards that they change at the command of flag waving choreographers. Scenes in the picture can move as well meaning that fish can wink and their tails can swish. Seeing the Mass Games alone warrants a visit to this unique country.

The second major event was an evening soiree opened with a flurry of fireworks. Performed in Kim Il Sung square people dance with each other and around maypoles with all the women dressed in traditional costume. Foreigners are then encouraged to join in.As with most tours to the DPRK, I went to Kaesong. It is here that I saw the politics of the region at first hand. As well as seeing the museum in Kaesong there are two other visits that are usually made in the DMZ (de-militarised zone). One to the "concrete wall", an area of no man's land about 5km wide. You can see American fortifications through the periscopes that line the balcony of the briefing room.

The second visit is to Panmunjom. Here the armistice talks were held when Korea was separated. At the border a number of huts, all painted blue, straddle the two countries. You are permitted to enter one of the huts and walk around inside. This allows you to enter South Korea. You are stopped from opening the door to the other country by a burly soldier. The border here is a mere 4 inches high, again guarded by the soldiers of the country whose visitors are in the building at the time. The road to Kaesong is 200km from Pyongyang and is almost dead straight with almost no traffic. It is further to Pyongyang from Panmunjom than it is to Seoul which is a mere 70km away.

I was lucky enough to go to the Mt Peakdu area that borders China in the north. The only way to get there is to charter a plane which is why so few visit. This is a sacred mountain to the North Koreans since it was here that Kim Il Sung and his son, the present leader Kim Jong Il fought the Japanese occupation.

We have a tour departing in April 2008 that also takes in Dandong, the Chinese border town which we enter by train from Pyongyang, to get the Chinese perspective in the war and the present situation. Visits here include the "one metre gap" the narrowest point between the two countries and Tiger Mountain the most easterly point on the Great Wall. This is a unique country and is well worth the effort.

This was a trip with a difference. I had not been to Mongolia since the late 1980s and even then had only stopped in Ulaanbaatar, the capital, whilst passing through en route to China. What changes would I notice? Two things that I always remember from my first trip were a man on a horse holding aloft a yellow flag at a level crossing on the Mongolian steppe in the middle of nowhere with not a soul around and secondly buying a bottle of Scotch whisky from the Friendship store during communist times for US$4.

Being so close to China, I had expected to see some positive effects due to the Chinese economic miracle. However, Mongolia was a Soviet satellite state and what I found were the remnants of this era: tenement blocks complete with mosaic wall patterns extolling happiness and the wonders that living in a communist system brings, namely happy people and industrious workers. However the capital is modernising and religious buildings are being built and restored for this is a Buddhist country, albeit small. There are 2.6 million Mongolians but these also include a number of ethnic minorities including Kazakhs in the West. By contrast there are 35 million head of livestock.

I started by saying that this was trip with a difference. The main one being that I took my eleven year old son Luke with me. When Luke told friends and school that he was off to Mongolia he was met with amazed silence. Our trip began in Beijing with a quick trip to the Forbidden City and a ten hour delay at Beijing airport because of strong winds blowing across Mongolia from Siberia. We finally arrived in Ulaanbaatar to find that the hotel thought we were Mr & Mrs Craven and had given us a king size bed which amused Luke.

The following morning we set off on a five day trek supported by a guide, a cook, two herders, two yaks and a horse. Within a couple of hours of leaving Ulaanbaatar we were in remote wilderness and during our time out in the Khentii National Park we saw no foreigners and only a handful of nomadic herders. We stayed in tents and had a ger, the Mongolian felt tent, for cooking and relaxing in. Riding through the vast open spaces was just incredible. Next, we ventured to the South Gobi. The Gobi is huge and encompasses a multitude of landscapes. We flew down to Dalanzagad on a new airline called Eznis that rivals any western carrier in terms of comfort and service. Dalanzagad is a small town of Soviet buildings and gers.

The Gobi here is treeless but beautiful and people come to see Yolynam or ice valley which survives year round despite the summer heat. In another valley there is a frozen waterfall. There are sand dunes here too and camel breeders. We met one such family and sampled cheese and fermented camel's milk. We were lucky enough to chance on a local horse festival. Wow. We spent the whole day with local people dressed in their finest costumes, with their finest horses and performing on their horses; rodeo, lassoing and poling.

Our next visit, five hours drive from Ulaanbaatar, was Arburd Sands. A strip of sand 20km long and a couple wide, this area is home to an extended family of nomads who are hugely respected for their horsemanship. From the ger camp we rode camels and took a trip to the nearby rock outcrops in the hope of seeing Argali sheep and Siberian Ibex. Sitting on the dunes with a telescope looking for eagles or the night stars was magical. Our final visit was to Ikh Nart National Park, again five hours away and again part of the Gobi. There are a few trees here in the small valleys but no tourists. We camped at the entrance to a valley and on our first evening saw Argali sheep wandering close to camp. The next morning we met with the ranger and went tracking for radio-collared animals such as foxes, Argali, Ibex and lynx. We were not disappointed.

Few people visit and the season is short - June to September - but you still have to book early to get what you want. N.B. The infrastructure is limited and Mongolia does not do 'luxury' but for the slightly more adventurous it has immense rewards.

Tajikistan, a land-locked country of 7 million people borders China in the East, Afghanistan in the South, Uzbekistan to the west and Kyrghyzstan to the North. Described as being 93 % mountains and 100 % adventure they're not far off the mark.

Currently only one Western airline, Turkish, offers a scheduled service once a week to Dushanbe, the capital although it can be easily accessed by road or air from Tashkent, Bishkek, Almaty and Moscow. Whilst Dushanbe itself has wide, paved tree-lined roads and solid Soviet era buildings for the arts, higher education and the government, the same cannot be said for most of the reset of the country. Suffering a civil war between 1991 and 1996 has meant that development has lagged behind its neighbours. This certainly contributes to its magnetic appeal and adds to its charm.

Accommodation is on the whole in local guesthouses or home stays. I found this to be a great way to meet with local people and get much closer to understanding their culture than is often possible in other countries. There are three distinct ethnic groupings. In the South and East the people are primarily Tajik although many Uzbeks live in the border areas. In the middle are the Pamiris, a friendly mountain people who rely on raising cows and goats and growing wheat and potatoes in the valleys. In the East live the Kyrghyz, the men easily recognised by the felt hats, Kalpaks, that they wear.

The South and West are humid, hot and flat with parts of the lower valleys dotted with trees. In contrast, the centre and East are often described as a moonscape. There is little habitation, people live in small villages or yurts, felt tents, during the summer tending their herds of goats and yak. The landscape is completely treeless and stunning. The light and its direction create a spectrum of brown, yellow and orange with shadows growing and retreating with the movement of the sun.

Tourism has barely touched this part of Central Asia, evidenced by the almost complete lack of souvenirs, t-shirts or postcards with the exception of hand-made locally produced Pamiri and Kyrghyz crafts. Have I put you off? Hopefully not. It is not for everyone but for those prepared to forgo some creature comforts...give me a call.

Here is an account from my son, Luke, on our trip to Mongolia.

"I had a fabulous time on my holiday in Mongolia with my Dad. The day after we arrived in Mongolia, we went on a five day Yak Trek. I thought that was a great trip even if I had to share a yurt (Mongolian tent with my Dad). One morning, we looked out of the yurt to see wild horses. On the third day of the yak trek a wolf attacked a two year old horse in the night, so the next day we went to have a look. The vultures had nearly eaten it all and when we got close the vultures flew away. It was cool."

"While in Mongolia, we flew on a new airline called Eznes. Eznes stands for easy fly. We went on Eznes to the Gobi desert. One of the things we did in the Gobi was to go to the ice valley. This is a place were there is loads of ice in a narrow gorge. I stood there is my short sleeved-shirt in the heat and still the ice didn’t melt."

"In the Gobi, there was also a waterfall which was completely frozen. My Dad threw a stone up over the wall of ice. We did not hear the stone go into the water so we think that the top of the waterfall was frozen as well. When we were looking around, we saw an eagle fly up to its nest. The guide told us he thought the eagle must have babies. We looked hard and saw a baby."

"In the Gobi, we went to a Horse festival. There was so much going on: a man lassoing a horse with a rope, a man on a horse trying to catch another horse with a hoop on the end of the pole, riding a horse and picking up a pole on the ground and a race for children from seven to eleven years old. The race was 16 kilometres long!"

"After the Gobi we went to Arburd Sands. This place was completely covered in sand. At Arburd Sands my Dad and I went camel riding which was really bumpy. On the way around the dunes, we were lucky to see another eagle in its nest with a baby."

"Next we went to Ikh Nart, a nature reserve. We went out looking for animals with a ranger. We saw a female ibex with a baby, an Arglai sheep and a vulture which had a baby in the nest. When we got close to the nest, the mother flew off in fright and left the baby vulture in the nest. I have a picture of the baby. Also, the guide and I were lying down on the sand when vultures came circling above us."

"Those were the best things on my trip to Mongolia with my Dad."

China – reflections

I was invited to attend CMIT, a tourism trade show in Shanghai in November last. The trip was a showcase of what the country has to offer. My task was to seek destinations that were both interesting, had a reasonable infrastructure but were not too difficult to get to.

The trip included a cruise on the Yangtze river passing through the magnificent Three Gorges, something I last did 23 years ago when I spent 3 months travelling in China. How times have changed. Originally, I sailed from Hong Kong to Shanghai, a journey of 60 hours aboard ship that doubled as a cargo and a passenger vessel. I had no copy of the Lonely Planet guidebook. On arrival in Shanghai I saw people dressed in “Mao” suits, green, blue, brown or grey each head covered with a peak cap matching their tunics. I discovered there was a choice of two hotels where foreigners were permitted to stay where now there are several hundred. There were almost no cars and it was almost impossible to get a meal after 6 PM.

There were no luxury cruise ships on the Yangtze either. The ship that took me between Chongqing and Wuhan offered a rudimentary cabin and I shared my boat with traders and a cargo of foul and rice. The “Victoria” ship we travelled in on this trip offered cabins with en suite facilities, picture windows, balconies, shore excursions and lectures.

I titled this piece “China – reflections” because that is precisely what constantly flowed through my mind, the comparisons between then and now. China is changing; it has changed and will change again. Whenever you visit there will be comparisons to make. I was making comparisons with the past but for most of the group I travelled with in November it was their first trip. It was an amazing adventure for them because it was so different and dynamic. Over 10 million people have been relocated to new towns along the river as a direct result of the Three Gorges Dam project. For most it has been a vertical move rather than a move to a new area since the water level has risen by over 200 metres. Although the Yangtze Three Gorges dam is now complete creating a reservoir 400 miles long, the Three Gorges are still majestic. Whilst old towns have been lost to the turbulent waters, new travel opportunities are being created as previously inaccessible tributaries are opened up.

Broadly speaking, China breaks down in to four separate areas; the Silk Road, Tibet, the southwest and the central and eastern area including the south.

Many people will only visit the country once and most will travel to one region or the other although of course combinations are possible. For a first time visitor a classic tour of China will usually appeal because it is what they are familiar with; Beijing, Xian, Shanghai, The Yangtze and Guilin. Travellers would be disappointed if you did not include these centres but how can your itinerary be made more interesting whilst keeping the core elements. The secret is to include the less visited but no less interesting centres, weaving these into the fabric of the trip so creating a lasting memory of why your trip was different. Listening to the client is paramount.

Tourism is changing. The nature of our business is changing. The internet has provided the traveller with the vision to be more adventurous but what it cannot do is speak from experience. People can, and this is why we travel so that we can pass on our experiences to you, the client and speak frankly about what we are creating for your journey.

Starting in Chengdu, home of the Panda Breeding Research Institute, I travelled west climbing through mountains and mist. Passing through a road tunnel near the mountain's summit the weather suddenly changed: the sun shone through the clouds sending bolts of light below us illuminating the small villages in the valley below.

I descended to the small town of Kanding and continued on to Tagong passing through the town of Luding where the Red Army had chased the Nationalist Kuomintang during the race for power in the 1940s across the swinging chain suspension bridge.

Tagong is delightful. At dawn, looking down from the hotel terrace to the street below, I saw Tibetans walking in all their finery, young girls riding horses to school and a girl holding a flag at the entrance to her school welcoming students for the day's classes. Tagong has both a monastery and on the outskirts a nunnery. The monastery was home to about twenty orphans who were delighted to see themselves featured in the small screen of my digital camera. Their smiles, laughter and looks of astonishment were in stark contrast to their serious faces the following day when I returned to see them all dressed in crimson robes, squatting on the floor, rocking back and forth, chanting from long horizontal parchment scriptures.

Visiting the nunnery, I was lucky enough to come across a nomadic family on the move between pastures - the children were riding two to a horse, followed by the adults on foot and a heavily laden yak carrying their possessions. The hillsides around the nunnery were completely covered in fluttering pink prayer flags, testament to their faith. Fortunately no religious acts were taking place that day and I was allowed to go to the sky burial site. The eagles, however, thought otherwise as they hopped impatiently, clearly unhappy that they had been disturbed.

Litang, a town on the edge of a large flat valley, also has a monastery - religion is a way of life. However, it really comes alive in late July when the horse festival takes places. People come from all over Tibet to take part in the races and buy and sell horses. They set up small encampments and stay for a week or more. This area of Western Sichuan and Northern Yunnan receives relatively few visitors and those that do come usually come for specific events, although this area is fascinating at any time. It is almost more Tibetan than the Tibet that most visitors see.

A two day walk in the Yading National Park was stunning. I walked up to a pass of 4,700m, with snow covered peaks rising up around me and frozen lakes below. The temperature was sub-zero, but this did not seem to bother the pilgrims doing the Kora, a walk around a scared mountain, who were dressed only in robes and doing it in a day!

Travelling out of Sichuan Province meant following the road along the Yangtse River before crossing it and heading upwards yet again to a mountain overlooking the river. Here I had a magnificent view of the first bend of the Yangtse and what an impressive site it is.
In Benzilin, the first Yunnanese town of any significance that I passed through there were the remains of ancient earthen defensive towers. Yet, I was more interested in a more recent legacy - the viniculture left behind by the French who were here in the 1920s and 30s.

There was one more opportunity to do some walking near the town of Dechen, a large town for the region and one that had a distinct Chinese design but was full of local Tibetans. Leaving Dechen behind, I continued to the small village of Minyong, from where I walked to the Minyong Glacier, a journey that can also be made on horse. Standing next to the glacier you can hear the ice cracking and the small pebbles rolling down into the crevices. Every now and again an avalanche would come tumbling down the side of the mountain being channelled into narrow ravines before sliding to a halt on the valley floor.

My journey ended in a town claiming to be the mythical Shangri-la, Zhongdian. Although there is a modern Chinese town, the old Tibetan quarters are a delight to wander around. Old men and ladies dance in the main square. A giant prayer wheel, which takes several people to turn it, dominates the skyline. The major site here is the Monastery which many people say resembles the Potala Palace in Lhasa. Whatever the myth there is a touch of Shangri-la about the place.

For details of a tour to Tibetan festivals and the Litang Horse Fair led by Gina Corrigna please click through here.

For more information on China, please click through here.