To: Footprint Adventures

Subject: recent trek Ref: AJ82876063

We thoroughly enjoyed our recent Annapurna Base Camp trek. We experienced outstanding, skilled service from your colleagues at Mountain Club. We've already recommended your trek and company to several colleagues.

Thanks,

From: WILLIAM EASEN
To: Footprint Mail

 

Hi Sue

The trip went fantastic, not a problem anywhere, Ellen couldn't stop marvelling about how well it all went, we were met at every stage of the Journey and Deborah at Pachamama had everything down to a T, really fantastic.

Liz x

From: Bruce Herr

To: Footprint Adventures

Subject: Kalimantan Trip

Dear Sue Roberts, Georg Seywald, and Jeffry S.,

I wanted to drop you a short note to thank you for putting together our trip to Kalimantan last week on such short notice. The trip was wonderful, and everything worked out perfectly. Our guide Anang Emen and the boat crew were great, and we enjoyed seeing another corner of Indonesia. I hope we get a chance to travel with you again soon.

Regards,

--Bruce Herr. 

Dear friends,

I had a wonderful time traveling with you to Tibet and Nepal, thanks. Can you offer a guided tour to Ethiopia?

Regards.

אמנון שפירא Amnon Shapira 

From: Marko Schrader

To: Footprint Adventures

Dear Sue,

We had a wonderful trip to India. It was relaxing and we experienced a lot. We were really satisfied with the whole organization of the trip. The hotels were really nice (especially in Kanha and Bandhavgarh). The staff was friendly and very helpful. All arrangements made by footprint were perfect. It is very nice to have someone showing us the seats in the night train it makes it a lot easier for an India newbie. So we were really well taken care of. The 24 h helpline was very useful and important. We had to use it twice but got help right away (because of mistakes we made…). We had a great Indian nature experience!

All in all we will recommend Footprint to our friends and use your services again in the future!

Thank you very much!

With kind regards,

Marko Schrader & Tiina Avomaa

From: Rasmus Paludan
To: Footprint Adventures

Thanks Sue

I made it to Uhuru Peak and had a great time!

Cheers,
Rasmus

Subject: RE: Client comments - Rongai route

Hi Sue,

Thank you, we had a fantastic time. Generally we were looked after very well. I have listed below a few things for your information:

The hotel was superb, everyone was very friendly and helpful. They arranged the transfers without any fuss and even assisted in Alan getting his luggage back that was lost at the airport.

Throughout the trip, the majority of staff were very friendly and helpful. A few people who stuck out were:

Edwin (guide) who was excellent, very friendly and helpful

The cook and waiter. I think their names were Michael and Ema. They were both excellent.

There was also one of the porters who acted as a guide on summit day. I think his name was Crispin. He was exceptionally good looking after Judy on the climb, lending her gloves and carrying her rucksack.

From: Stephanie A Harper
To: Footprint Adventures
Subject: Kili Trek

 
Sue!  My apologies for not responding sooner.

Honestly, we had the greatest time ever.  All but one of us made it to Uhuru Peak - but all of us did reach the top.  We kept comparing this trip to our trip to Base Camp in Nepal / Everest and we all agreed that the Kili trek was far better.  Better accommodations, better food, better guides, better weather, better everything.

In any event, we loved our guides they were great and Zara is a well oiled machine.  We saw everything on our safari which was a nice caper to the trip and I know the other girls loved their time in Zanzibar.

We were impressed with the Springlands Hotel and how well members of Zara treated us.

Thank you for all of your assistance and question answering - we were all very satisfied and had an excellent time.

From: Elissa Dactelides 
To: Footprint Adventures
Subject: Tanzanian Trek and Safari

Hi Sue:

The trek and safari in Tanzania was absolutely amazing!

I have just moved to Bangalore, India for 1 year and wanting to travel in Asia during 2011.  Do you have partnerships in Far East Asia that would offer a 'sampling' of Asia tour?

Please let me know!

Thanks,
Elissa 

From: Paul Butler
To: Footprint Adventures
Subject: RE: Butler to Uganda

Dear Georg and Sue

Four for four. This was my fourth trip with Footprints and like every other it was FANTASTIC. The logistics went flawlessly and Sam (our guide and driver) was excellent. The accommodation, food and transport were all more than adequate and the wildlife exceptional. I went for three things: Gorillas, Chimps and Uganda Kob and (as you can see) got outstanding views and photos of all three.

I love your company, what it does and the consistent quality it delivers. You are a star

Thank you!

Paul Butler

This email is my letter of praise for your guide Moses.  He was my guide for the Masai Mara excursion of 

February 28 to March 2.  It was the beginning of the rainy season, conditions were difficult as the bus-truck got bogged, but he applied himself with good humour, diligence and industry to get us out and keep us well.  His knowledge of animals on the Mara was apt and thorough.  When we had a long day he helped us put up tents when there were other items that demanded his attention.  Hope that you have a long association with Moses for your mutual benefit and that of travellers like myself.
 

Cheers,
Neil Hayden

Comments: i would just like to share what a great exsperience i had with you....i am just back from a round the world trip and africa by far was the high light of my trip i traveled from jo burg to uganda (uganda not planned but through very helpfull staff i secured a trip to see the gorillas) i had 3 different sets of tour guides,cooks,and drivers and without a doubt they are all an asset to your company all were different exsperiences but all great in there own way, i work in the upper managment in hospertality so my exspectatins maybe have been a little higher than your average gap year student and the fact i am 30!! but i was treated sooo well looked after every step f the way at no time did i feel preasured or indangered i can not write down all of my great exsperiences because there are so many but would like to thank you and your teams throughout africa for making my holiday so special my first trip was jo burg to vic falls(far to short!!)with manda,muno and the very talented gift, who i believe you have promoted good move on your part he had a great personality..my second trip went from vic falls to nrbi...with amy,steve,and FRANKO!!!!then nrbi to ungand and back with moses,robin and (so sorry forgot his name,which is no reflection on him just my memory failing)please pass on my fondest wishes to them and again thank you, i will definatly and already have recommended you to my friends. i look forward to traveling again with you next year.

Sarah Deakin

My girlfriend and I recently travelled to Africa and went on a tour with your company on the tour NN14 Gorillas & Game Parks (30th Aug 09 - 12 Sep 09), on which we travelled the Nairobi to Nairobi leg over 14 nights. During which we both had an amazing holiday and experienced some once in a lifetime moments. All of this was made possible by the crew which ran our trip, Katherine, Alois, and Duncan (I hope the spelling is correct).

I would just like to take this opportunity to show our appreciation to Africa Travel co. and more importantly to Katherine, Alois and Duncan for providing us both with such a memorable holiday. The tireless efforts in which the crew went to ensuring that the trip was such a success is greatly appreciated. Throughout the entire time of the trip there was plenty of help and information provided by the crew as required. More importantly through the competence shown by the crew never any point was there a feeling of trepidation with a sense of security and wellbeing throughout the whole trip. Making for such a memorable holiday.

In the future we both hope to travel with your company, and if lucky enough with the same crew. We will most certainly be recommending Africa Travel co. to anybody who may be planning a trip to Africa. Can you please ensure that our gratitude is passed onto the crew for the wonderful work they all performed.

In kind regards,

Paul Gladden,

Just wanted to let you know that I really loved the trip I did of East Africa through ATC. The guides/ driver and cook on both crews I had were brilliant and the trip itself was marvellous. I will definitely recommend people to go with ATC.

Thanks again - it was the most memorable trip I have done!

Cheers,

Vivian Allen

Our trip was awesome!!! Kenya & Uganda are beautiful countries. Pity Kenya is experiencing one of its worst droughts yet, so i am sure it is even more spectacular than what i saw. Unfortunately i also got sick, because of all the dust in Kenya, my allergies kicked in big time - was all blocked up, lost my voice etc. So needless to say was stressing that they wouldnt let me track the gorillas, but luckily i recovered  2 days before we tracked, then promptly started getting all croaky again the day after the track. Perfect planning i would say!!!

The Masai Mara was lovely - such stunning landscapes, i just loved all the acacia trees. I was however disappointed with the so called 'free trip' - the itinery you sent us made it sound that we would do a game drive on the saturday, so that we would then only have 1 free day on the sunday while we waited for the other tour to joins us. But instead we didnt do any game drive leaving us with 2 free days. So We ended up doing the hot air balloon = Spectacular!!!! WOW, it was phenomenal being up in the sky one minute then skimming the trees the next, chasing the wildebeest. Not to mention the delicious champagne breakfast!!

I absolutely loved Uganda - the people were so very friendly.

Then the highlight of the trip - Gorillas - WOW, we tracked a family of 13, but only saw +/- 8 of its members, of which we saw both the babas (a 13mnth & 20mnth). We were also charged at by the dominant silver back = very scary but luckily he stopped +/-7m from us and the guards were very good about calming him down. But they are absolutely beautiful, each one having his own little personality. It was wonderful to watch them eating away, and scratching themselves. It was an amazing experience - highly recommended.

Now i have to try get back into the work mode, but very difficult when one is suffering from the travel bug.

Madalene

From: ROGER LABBETT

To: Footprint Adventures

Subject: Our trip to India and Nepal

Hi Georg and Sue

Once again our recent trip to India and Nepal arranged through Footprints was a great success, as per our other trips arranged through your company. The travel arrangements went without hitch. We saw lots of interesting animals and lots of new birds - six sightings of tiger with some good photo opportunities, Indian Rhino, Sloth Bear, Gaur, Jungle Cat, wild dog, Jackel, wild boar, and the expected species of deer including Barasingha. Thank you both once again and we look forward to next trip.

Best wishes

Roger & Julia Labbett

 Mount Kenya – Sirimon Route

Having recently returned to the UK, I thought I would write and thank you for the arrangements you made on my behalf during my recent climb of Mt Kenya between the 15^th and 19^th of January.

I would also like to take this opportunity to pass on my thanks to my guide (Sirus) and his team who provided excellent support throughout the 5 days and to the hotel staff at Mountain Rock for their care and attention.

If I make a return visit I shall certainly use your services but in the meantime I will certainly recommend it to others.

Yours sincerely

Brian D Everett

From: Paul Butler

To: info@footprint-adventures.co.uk

Subject: From Paul Butler

Dear Georg,

As you know, I recently returned with my daughter from India and Bhutan on our third trip with your company. Yet again I was hugely impressed with the organization and your in-country operations. The arrangements went flawlessly. We were met on time at each of our points of interest. The accommodations ranged from perfectly adequate to fantastic (Bhutan); the guides were of a high quality especially in Kazaringa (where the guide was the best I have ever had anywhere). We had hoped to see Lion, Indian Wild Ass, Indian Elephant & Great Indian Rhino. We ended up with superb views of all. (I will send pictures under separate cover).

I do want to add very special commendation to your India and Bhutan colleagues. Neelesh was amazing! He emailed or called me virtually every day and was unceasing in his willingness to help and assist. What an incredible individual! Likewise, in Bhutan your representative (Karma) there went out of his way to help. When I needed a visa to re-enter India, he personally went to the Embassy managed to obtain one and then drove 1.5 hours to meet me to make sure I had what was required. Outstanding service!!! Could not have been better!  

I have come to expect great things from Footprints. I had a wonderful time on my first India trip, then again when we visited Sabah and now for the third time.  You should be very proud of the experiences you offer and the local in-country people that “represent” you. Congratulations.

With warmest best wishes and sincere thanks

Paul Butler

From: CAROLINE RIGG Sent: 27 March 2010 19:42
To: Footprint Info
Subject: Feedback on recent holiday

Dear Footprints

Just thought you might like some feedback on our recent trip to India on your Tigers and Forts tour.  Please feel free to use it as a testimonial and pass on our positive comments to the people concerned.

All in all we had an utterly amazing time! 

Our driver for the first (“Forts”) half of the trip, Rakesh, was polite, friendly and hugely helpful, helping us change up money and taking solicitous care of us in sometimes bewildering situations (such as getting us on the right train at Agra!).  The guides who accompanied us on the sightseeing tours of Delhi, Jaipur and Agra were all very knowledgeable.  The Delhi guide (Suda) was particularly good, being especially helpful, understanding and informative.  The trip in a cycle rickshaw through the teeming streets of Chandni Chowk in Old Delhi, under Suda’s watchful eye, was a truly never-to-be-forgotten experience!

And then on to the “Tigers” half of the trip – for us the real highlight.  Our first destination, Bandhavgarh, was just stupendous.  The Nature Heritage Resort where we stayed was terrific (comfortable, very well appointed room, excellent food and service, and beautiful surroundings); our jeep driver for the game drives, Lala, was friendly, polite, hugely knowledgeable and professional; and the scenery, terrain and wildlife (animals and birds) of Bandhavgarh National Park were truly fantastic.  We saw a total of 7 tigers at Bandhavgarh, which was utterly breathtaking. We’ll never forget our tiger sightings there, especially the first - a young male who obligingly treated us to very close quarters viewing (and excellent photo opportunities) for a full hour! 

At our second destination, Kanha, we saw a further 3 tigers, together with a huge amount of other wildlife (sloth bear, jungle cat, Gaur, Dhole, jackal, wild boar, 4 kinds of deer, plus lots of birds).  The Krishna Jungle Resort where we stayed was not quite as good an all-round experience as Bandhavgarh’s Nature Heritage Resort (the beds in particular being the hardest we’d ever experienced!) but the service was good and staff and management helpful and friendly.  Our guide/naturalist (Bapu) and driver for the game drives were both brilliant, Bapu in particular being knowledgeable, helpful, polite and friendly with very good English and a sense of humour!  

The overnight trains from Agra to Umaria, and Jabalpur to Delhi , were an experience(!) but we were expertly shepherded on and off them by Rakesh and the driver who took us from Kanha to Jabalpur.  

This was a truly brilliant holiday which exceeded all our expectations. Bandhavgarh was undoubtedly the highlight for us but every part of the trip provided new and fantastic experiences which we shall remember and treasure for a long time.  Many thanks to everyone involved at Footprints and India Footprints/Asian Adventures for making our trip so fantastic.  It all went like clockwork!

Mike and Caroline Rigg

Bristol, England

From: Lee Climpson
To: Georg - Footprint Adventures
Subject: RE: Tour Reservation

Hi Georg,
 
I hope all's well.  We're now back from our trip to Kilimanjaro and had a wonderful time.  We made it to the summit.  Unfortunately the weather and visibility was poor on the day but hey ho, that's the chance you take I guess.  We'll definitely be doing another route either next year or the year after.
 
Many thanks,
Lee

To: info@footprint-adventures.co.uk
Subject: Airport Transfer

Hi Georg,

We are now back at Springlands Hotel after an amazing time on Kilimanjaro.
Pls can you advise if the transfer back to the airport is included in our
tour price.  I do not have the print outs to hand but seem to remember you
saying it was.

Many thanks in advance,

Neil

From: Mark 

To: 'Footprint Info'
Subject: RE: Confirmation and Arrival Information

Dear George

Many thanks for the Kilimanjaro arrangements. A successful trip!

Yours sincerely

Mark

Tanzania

Well we have returned from our safari. Mohammed and Dube (guide and cook) were great. Food was good and the campsites were fine. We were really well cared for. The service you provided of a tailored safari was excellent, and more comfortable than travelling between parks every day as we have before, especially after coming down from Kilimanjaro

Eric Pritchard

Kilimanjaro Machame Route
The way to Uhuru Peak was the most impressive experience in my life. Thanks to my guide, cook, porters and Footprint Adventures for making it possible!
Karin Walther
Switzerland

From: Michel Cormier

To: 'Footprint Info'
Cc: ' Boivin'; Suzanne Chapleau

Subject: Comments on our trek in Nepal in November 2009

To Footprint and Mountain Club Tours and Travel,

We have appreciated very much doing the Ultimate Everest Trek in November 2009. It is a demanding but superb tour in the Thame, Gokyo, and Khumbu valleys. The trails set in a high mountain environment as well as the landscapes with jagged peaks, glaciers, moraines are just fantastic.

We are grateful to our guide, Mr. Krishna Bhatta and our porters who are highly responsible for the success of our journey.

The knowledge, professionalism and kindness of Mr. Bhatta has made our trek safer, easier and more pleasant. Mr. Bhatta was tireless, always at our service, accompanying us to side treks, working hard to make our stay in lodges as comfortable as possible. He was also a good card player.

Our porters were also devoted, kind and very quick on trails (always arriving before us).

We are also thankful to our guide in Kathmandu, for an interesting tour of the city and to all the people at Footprint and Mountain Club Tours and Travel agencies who made the reservations and contributed to facilitate our trip in a less visible way.

This trek has been a lifetime experience plenty of enjoyable moments and we would recommend Footprint and Mountain Club to everyone wishing to undertake such a journey.

Best regards,
Normand Boivin,
Suzanne Chapleau,
Michel Cormier

Hi,
Just a note to thank you all for making our first journey to India incredible, it was everything and more we hoped for. We met some lovely people, local people from the guides to rangers and village folk. The Manor hotel was fantastic, Delhi is diverse, so it was avery calm place to go back to. No complaints at all about Howard Plaza, staff were lovely and the Krishna jungle resort, staff were so so good and so was the food, so fresh.

The only thing I think that should be made clear to tourists is the trains! The sleeper has only 1, 2 berth coupe and 2, 4 berths, which we were lucky we had the coupe both ways, however we met an English couple who were given the 4 berth on the same train as us and they were having to share with 2 other men, they were not too happy about this. Anyway we let the 2 men have our coupe and we joined the couple, a very funny, interesting and memorable night, tho dont fancy the sleeper again.

We will go back to India and try another area and safari, Rajasthan and Jaipur in a couple of years, Kanha was beautiful and we saw tiger twice, no elephant ride tho.

Thank you all again and pass our thanks on to India Footprint they were fab too.

kind regards carolyn

From: Paul

To: 'Footprint Info'
Subject: RE: Yali Tribe Trek

Hi Sandra.

We are safely back from our great holiday. It was certainly an experience and I will be recommending to friends..

I think there is a refund due to us for the difference in the revised holiday (which was more expensive) but without needing the charter flight which we paid for.

Please let me know how you will refund the difference

Many thanks.

Paul Hyland

From: Nagesh Rao

To: 'Footprint Info'
Subject: RE: Re: Confirmation Letter

Dear Footprint,

Me and my daughter [Ramya Nagesh] would like to thank you for providing us with the most incredible holiday which was a holiday of a life-time. We loved every moment of it although it was hard on my leg muscles [having never done the trek before]. Thanks to Mr.Susheel who went out of his way to make our stay comfortable. Mr.Susheel [also called as Neil] was brilliant and made sure that although we were both totally inexperienced, we did not slip off the cliffs, during the trekking.

The fact that we were both provided for separately from the Exodus group, gave us freedom and ability to interact usefully with the locals. It was a very useful experience. While we did have some interaction with the Exodus group, it was minimal and the majority was private for the two of us and we loved it every bit of the way.

I have no doubt that I will book through Foot print adventures in the future, knowing that you will provide us with our requirements through sensitivity as you have done for us on this trip.

Many thanks.

Mr.Nagesh.G.Rao, FRCS,MD.
 

From:Malcolm Andrews

To:

'Footprint Info'

Subject: RE:RE: Arrival Information and Tour Service Voucher

Hello

Recently returned home from our extended trip of India/Sri Lanka, which included the Footprint Tiger Trail in the first half of February.

Have to say that we had a fantastic experience, esp in Bandhavgarh, the lodge was very good, welcoming and attentive staff without being over the top, excellent food, bonfire & biscuits after the afternoon game drives was particularly nice, and morning brunches were the best we had in India. We were very lucky to have superb viewings of the dominant male, B2, courting one of his ladies on the roadway within 15metres of 'our' gypsy, incl scent marking and sparring, together with several sightings of other tigers. Our driver, Dino, was very knowledgeable as were the local park guides.

We were not so lucky in Kanha, weather had turned cold and wet, and although we had two tiger sightings, they were very much an anti climax after Bandhavgarh. Pradeep, our guide in Kanha, was very much into birds which suited us as we were able to identify a good number of the colourful birds with his help.

The only thing that we were not too happy about at the time was at the start of our trip when we were taken to the railway station in Delhi, our first experience of Indian trains. The driver would not leave the car to help us find the correct platform for our train, but luckily we found a very helpful porter who not only took us to the platform, but found the correct carriage and seats for us as well, well worth his tip.

All in all a very enjoyable trip that we would have no hesitation in recommending to others.

Many thanks.

Ms. Jane Augustine

Footprint Adventures Ltd.

Dear Jane;

Re: Birds of Peninsular Malaysia and Birds of Borneo

Now that we have returned from our two birding tours, I thought I might relate to you some comments on various aspects of our adventure.  On arrival at Kuala Lumpur International Airport, we were met by your representative, Mr. Mano Tharmalingam, who not only delivered us competently from venue to venue, provided expert birding identification along the drives and advice on where to find birds at each location.  There was some surprise that we were staying at the Corona Inn in KL rather that the Stanford Hotel, however, we had no complaints about the change.  Our stay at Taman Negara provided everything expected (we knew to expect leeches, but the heat and humidity was more trying than we expected coming from the droughts of Australia).  We were allocated a chalet with adjoining interconnected suites for Mrs. McPherson and ourselves, which was a little “extra” that was appreciated.  The included breakfasts and dinners were varied and plentiful.  While the increased altitude at Fraser’s Hill provided outdoor conditions, which were more pleasant than in the lowlands of Taman Negara, the Shahzan Hotel, however, was a little “tired and worn”, and the breakfasts provided were little more than awful.  Our allocated small chalets in the Kuala Salangor Nature Park were very simple, but as expected, except that patrons should be notified that towels are not provided.  Fortunately, the receptionist took pity on us and procured some towels for us.

The Birds of Borneo Tour  was better value for the money compared to the Birds of Peninsular Malaysia tour option, in my opinion.  The continuous presence of a birding guide, Mr. Hamit Suban in our case, was a major plus and the quality of each accommodation venue was superior.  Our Nepenthes Lodge accommodation at Kinabalu National Park was especially nice and our stay at Sukau Rainforest Lodge was exceptional.  The boat-based birding at Sukau was very memorable.

Overall, we were well pleased with our record of the observation of 210 bird species and enjoyed our two tours in Malaysia.  Thank you for your efforts on our behalf.

Sincerely yours;

David T. Bell

From: Graeme Davies
 

Subject: Sabah

Jane

A much overdue report on our visit – we had an absolutely splendid time and saw a feast of birds including some very rare endemics – see attached.

Borneo Bird Report

Andrew Siani, the bird guide, was quite brilliant – in all our many birding visits into jungle and rain forest (Trinidad, Costa Rica, The Gambia, Brazil, Kenya, Sri Lanka) we have not encountered anyone with such a good ear for calls and such good sighting skills. I would recommend him in the most glowing terms to anyone considering a visit to Sabah (or the mainland of Malaysia).

All the logistical arrangements went very smoothly and we appreciate all that you did to make the visit such a success – if you need any referencing please let me know.

Graeme

 From: Fiona Thompson

To: 'Footprint'

Hello Jane

We have just returned from our holiday in Malaysia and our Jungle Safari.  It was a lovely safari and the representative of tour company was excellent - he was called Saat, in case you are in contact with them.

We thoroughly enjoyed the trip and were lucky to see the pygmy Asian elephants and also to see them swim across the river which was fabulous.

Hi

Re: Birds of Borneo
A very successful trip to Borneo. Andrew Siani was an excellent guide who gave us many memorable moments!

Thanks Leif Gabrielsen
 

Discover Borneo
A wonderful holiday that we would recommend to all our friends.

Subject: RE: Borneo River & Rainforest Safari - Sandakan

Jane
 
Just a quick note to say thank you for organising such a great holiday for us. So many highlights in so few days:
Green turtle digging nest and laying eggs – later helping to rescue her as she was stranded on the coral and the tide had gone out
Amazing plant-life on the Kinabatangan River
Proboscis bachelor monkeys showing off by diving (or belly-flopping) into the river from 5m high
Orang Utan making a nest and later getting out and roaming the forest
 
We feel like we have been away for months – Thank you
 Claudia

 From Gwynneth and Ray Buss
It more than lived up to expectations. We will have no hesitation in recommending you to anyone.
Mano was really excellent - Taman Negara would not have been the same without him.
Thanks very much
Gwynneth Buss

Taman Negara
A real experience most informative and enjoyable.
Mr. + Mrs. Shillington