Posts in ‘isango! reviews’

It is worth gearing up for, for the annual August festival of Edinburgh; which is also the largest annual cultural festival in the world. There are just so many things you can do at this time; with foreigners descending to the streets, the city is buzzing. In short, there is a lot of cheer and excitement everywhere.

The Edinburgh Festival is a collective term for many arts and cultural festivals put on by various unrelated organisations and are therefore officially separate events, but regarded as the same event as a whole, as it’s all taking place at the same time. There are so many festivals you’ll enjoy; out of which the Edinburgh International Festival and the Edinburgh Festival Fringe are the largest and original components of the festival. I personally love the Military Tattoo and the buzz and excitement I had in the Princes Street garden waiting for the fireworks display to start and setting up my camera to capture the night.

Fireworks on display

Edinburgh International Festival: This festival of performing arts takes place over three weeks from around the middle of August; and includes top class performers of music, theatre, opera and dance from all around the world. It also hosts a series of visual art exhibitions, talks and workshops.

Royal Edinburgh Military Tattoo: Don’t be misled by the term ‘tattoo’ here. There is no ‘ink’ involved : -) but rather it is used to describe the ceremonial form of evening entertainment performed at the esplanade of Edinburgh castle each year by Military musicians that composed of British Armed Forces, Commonwealth and International Military bands. It is Scotland’s best-selling spectacle and so is not a surprise that tickets for this big event is always sold out in advance; hence the need to be alert about it couple of months prior to the event. The Tattoo activity will entertain you with its high-tech illumination, imaginative graphics, thundering sounds of drums and bagpipes, impressive marching and specially commissioned fireworks.

Edinburgh Festival Fringe (or simply The Fringe): The Fringe is the world’s largest arts festival. It is an unjuried festival, meaning there is no selection committee and therefore any type of performance can participate; and includes a street fair which is located on the Royal Mile. Other shows include Music, Dance & Physical Theatre, Musicals and Opera, and Children’s shows, in addition to assorted Events and Exhibitions.

Other popular festivals include iFest, Edinburgh Comedy Festival, Edinburgh Interactive Festival, Edinburgh People’s Festival, Edinburgh International Book Festival, Edinburgh Mela, Edinburgh International Film Festival, Edinburgh Art Festival and a whole lot more. Enough of reading and hearing about it; only when you have been a part of this big event can you say you have really seen the best of Edinburgh!

As the weather is currently so lovely in Europe after a wash-out summer, Team isango! has decided to embrace the Indian summer* by giving away The Three Sisters Indian Cookbook courtesy of The Book People.

The Three Sisters Indian Cookbook is written by Sereena, Alexa and Priya Kaul and is full of recipes from their childhood in Kashmir. The three came to the UK in the 1970s and settled in Derbyshire, when they had families of their own they craved the dishes that their mother used to cook and this is the result.

The cookbook is full of mouth-watering recipes, from the familiar samosas, Aloo Tikki and Chicken Jalfrezi to the lesser-known Sukhi Macchli (dry spiced fish) and Bhindi Churma (crispy okra chips). The book also has a Masala Dabba section with information on the spices that are regularly used, and some useful preparation tips. The sisters have even created their own spice box that you can order from their website.

The recipes are easy to make and the ingredients even easy to get outside of India, so there are no excuses not to get creative in the kitchen!  We love the sound of the autumnal flavoured  Saeb-Adrak Aur Dalchini Chutney ( Apple, Ginger and Cinnamon Chutney)

We have five copies of The Three Sisters Indian Cookbook (published by Simon & Schuster; RRP £16.99) to give-away: simply send an email with ‘Cookbook’ in the Subject line to competition@isango.com  – ends 4th of Oct 2011.

* and yes… we realise the term Indian summer is very likely from Native American roots but it fitted so nicely…

We thoroughly enjoyed this trip and Don our driver kept us well informed all of the way. He queued up for our Alcatraz tickets.
The weather was not to good on the day but Don said that if we were here in the Summer the Golden Gate bridge would most probably be shrouded in mist.
He was a mind of information and kept you listening.
Would we recommend this excursion our answer would be a definite yes.

Edward, United Kingdom

Edward booked: Vintage Car Tour

This tour is the best way to see the Vatican, Sistine Chapel and St Peter’s. Our wonderful tour guide, Francesca, was a wealth of knowledge and her passion bought Rome’s history to life. If you are lucky enough to get Francesca as your tour guide you are in for a fantastic experience.

Janine, Australia

Janine booked: Vatican Walking Tour

I cannot reccommend the hop on hop off tour bus enough! It was so convenient educational and took away all the stress of trying to find my own way. I had 4 teenagers with me, but many had small children. Make the most off your holiday and enjoy the time instead of stressing out of how to get where.
I am going to Rome next year and will certainly be booking the bus tour there. Value for money & stress free!!
Great shopping at Sacre Coeur!, Kids didnt want to go originally, ended up having to return the next day because the views were amazing!

Sajdah, United Kingdom

Sajdah booked: Paris Opentour Hop-On Hop-Off Bus

We stumbled across an Isango Review on TripAdvisor, which speaks for itself.

Question from Tourist:

Isango charge £19.50. for a half day tour.

Could filling a taxi be a better & cheaper option ?

Answer from Local:

The rate would be 60 MAD return per person, but this applies to people who take a taxi from the taxi rank in Agadir’s city center, not from the port. So unless you are willing to take a petit taxi from the port to the city center, then haggle hard to get a half seat for 30 Dirhams, only then this would be feasible. The rate of 60 MAD return each would include an old taxi with no seat-belts or AC, and no foreign language speaking driver of course.

It is just my opinion, but I would not recommend this option.

Reply from Tourist:

Thank you for the information. You have made my mind up & I will go with Isango.

The full forum discussion can be read here:

http://www.tripadvisor.com/ShowTopic-g293731-i9519-k4164836-Isango_tour_to_Taroudant-Agadir.html

Amazing trip thru lava fields… As an ATV novice, I chickened out going up the second hill… but the guides made me feel OK about it! Great trip, highly recommend, and the suits they give you keep you very well insulated. I didn’t feel a thing!

Juliane, United States

Juliane booked: Atv and Blue Lagoon, Iceland

Great Tour with excellent guide. Would recommend. Very full day but worth it. Lovely meals

Samantha, England

Samantha booked: Marrakech Discovery With 2 Meals

This tour is a must tour if you are staying in Hong kong for a short trip. This tour covers all the highlight places in hong kong which is good for the price. Tour leader “James” was wonderful. He keeps on making funny jokes, and told us all about hong kong.

Erick, Australia

Erick booked: Hong Kong Island Tour

This was the 1st of our European organised tours and what a high standard we started with! Francesca, our tour guide, was exceptional. Her knowledge and per trail of past events bought everything to life. It was a fabulous tour and we highly recommend it

Janine, Australia

Janine booked: Ancient Rome Walking Tour