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Starting Off the “Year of the Monkey” with Our New Asia Travel Planner

Introducing our new 2016 Asia Travel Planner!

February 8, 2016 saw the start of the Year of the Monkey. Fire Monkey, to be more precise. Words to describe the characteristics of the Fire Monkey include “ambitious” and “adventurous”. This could very much be said about Goway’s new travel programs for Asia.

While many subscribe to the adage, “Don’t fix what isn’t broken,” we believe the opposite. “It’s about innovation,” says Diane Molzan, General Manager of Goway Asia, “we can’t afford to offer the same things year over year even though we’ve enjoyed much success with our current product portfolio. Our travellers come back to us repeatedly and often even to the same destinations, so we push ourselves to offer new ideas, new hotels, and new experiences as they come available to us.”

Just what’s new for 2016? To be completely crazy, we took our most popular selling tour, China Odyssey, and offered a different approach. This classic 14-day itinerary has been travelling between Beijing, Xian, Guilin onward to Shanghai via the Yangtze River for decades. We are careful not to mess with perfection, but new this year, we are offering an alternative to the Yangtze River. Instead, travellers will explore the incredible city of Hangzhou, popular for its artist and poet-inspiring West Lake, and its jaw dropping “Impressions” performance, argued to be the best show to see in all of China. Either itinerary is available at the same low price starting at $3529CAD/$2629USD.

14-Day China Odyssey & Yangtze River Cruise
14-Day China Odyssey With Hangzhou Extension

Impressions Of The West Lake, Hangzhou, China
Impression West Lake Show in Hangzhou

Given that Bhutan has made National Geographic’s list of best places to visit in 2016, we added a new first class touring program, 9-Day Dragon Kingdom, starting at only $4730CAD/$4345USD.

Myanmar continues to attract travellers who remained skeptical for years. Finally, hotels have been built to manage the droves of interested travellers, and new cruise experiences along the famed Irawaddy River are being offered to meet the demand. New this year, Goway will add an extra shorter version, 8-Day Mandalay to Bagan Expedition, travelling between Mandalay and Bagan or vice versa. Prices start at $2059CAD/ $1595USD. All of our existing programs are still on offer but this shorter version allows clients to travel by land to Inlay Lake or even further north if time permits.

Orient Pandaw Ship in Myanmar
Cruise the Orient Pandaw in Myanmar

Because the trend towards health and wellness travel continues its trajectory north, Goway has added the 6-Day Ananda Wellness Retreat. This retreat is not far from Rishikesh, a north India town, famous for ayurvedic treatments.

Ayurvedic Oil Application, Ananda Wellness Retreat India Credit-Ananda in the Himalyas
Ayurvedic oil application in Ananda Spa | Credit: Ananda in the Himalayas

Diane adds, “One of my personal favourite additions to this year’s line-up is our 9-Day Ancient Kingdoms of Siam tour. This private program touring Northern Thailand, utilizes train travel, getting “off the proverbial beaten path” yet staying in first class accommodation throughout.” Prices start from $2075CAD/$1605USD.

And finally, with the weakened Japanese Yen, Japan couldn’t be more popular right now. We completely redesigned all of our Japan programs from scratch to meet the demand. We are offering a variety of independent travel ideas that one can either easily pick from one the brochure recommendations, or ask our team of experts who can craft a perfect private itinerary. With Japan, it’s often about customization. We offer some really unique experiences such as Tokyo or Kyoto by night, where guests will be taken out to see the real nightlife, enjoy a drink at local Izakaya, or order some of Tokyo’s famous seafood at a Teppanyaki. And if that’s not all, Goway is now an official seller of Japan Rail passes! Go to our website for a full list of Japan programs.

Tokyo City Skyline at Sunset, Japan
Tokyo city skyline at sunset

No doubt, 2015 was a phenomenal year for the team of Asia Experts at Goway, but in keeping with the Year of the Monkey, we plan on continuing to have fun and enjoying more success in 2016!

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