At Ampersand Travel we have always believed that luxury is in the experience. We love working with people who love travelling and enjoy life to the full. Real luxury is being able to do what you want, when you want to. For us this means leaving behind the crowds, finding somewhere remote and beautiful and meeting people who inspire or move us through their way of life. We can recommend the perfect hotel to suit you whether one of our five star favourites o...
At Ampersand Travel we have always believed that luxury is in the experience. We love working with people who love travelling and enjoy life to the full. Real luxury is being able to do what you want, when you want to. For us this means leaving behind the crowds, finding somewhere remote and beautiful and meeting people who inspire or move us through their way of life. We can recommend the perfect hotel to suit you whether one of our five star favourites or a home-stay where you dine with charming hosts at their table. Personally we feel that the perfect luxury holiday is a combination of both. Since we opened our doors in 2003, we have taken clients to India, Sri Lanka, Bhutan and the islands of the Indian Ocean, and we are now turning our attention to Indochina, Nepal and Tibet. Every journey is tailored to our clients’ requirements- whatever their idea of fun or relaxation may be and we understand that not everyone wants the same thing. Let us take care of the detail, while you sit back and enjoy the ride.
The Ampersand Team has a shared quality: we love travelling in the Indian Subcontinent and South East Asia. All of us have lived, worked or travelled there and we return as often as we can, partly for research and partly because we love it.
James was brought up in Rome, the son of a Sri Lankan diplomat father and an English mother, and has been travelling in style all his life. Travel has always been his passion. At 18 having won a scholarship with Savoy Hotel he went to university in Scotland to study Hotel and Tourism Management with stints at Hilton, Marriot and Taj Hotels. On graduation he moved to Namibia for 2 years and was a member of the founding team that launched and ran Wolwedans S...
James was brought up in Rome, the son of a Sri Lankan diplomat father and an English mother, and has been travelling in style all his life. Travel has always been his passion. At 18 having won a scholarship with Savoy Hotel he went to university in Scotland to study Hotel and Tourism Management with stints at Hilton, Marriot and Taj Hotels. On graduation he moved to Namibia for 2 years and was a member of the founding team that launched and ran Wolwedans Safari Camp and later Wolwedans Lodge. What matter to him are the small details that elevate a travel experience from the ordinary to the unforgettable. His motto is: “Luxury is in the experience!”James has explored every corner of the Indian Subcontinent and South East Asia over the last 20 years, and has 2 clear favourites that he would never tire of visiting; Ahilya Fort in Madhya Pradesh as he feels it captures the essence of India and the Himalayan kingdom of Bhutan for its spirituality and pristine landscapes. However, one destination that has eluded him so far is Burma, a fact he wishes to put right in the not too distant future: “Burma fascinates me, it seems to be a fusion between India and South East Asia, my two favourite regions in the world”. Being widely travelled, he has learned a few things along the way, one being to never travel without a large Indian woolen shawl which he doubles up as a cushion, blanket, bubble wrap, turban, towel, sheet and bag. So adamant is he of its multi-faceted uses, it has been known for him to only pack 3 of these shawls for a trip! His one piece of travel advice is: “Make sure you have a good doctor, a good lawyer and especially a good tour operator!”
Devika was born into a prominent Bombay family and cut her teeth running a travel agency for her father’s steel company. She later went into the travel business in Bombay before moving to London five years ago. Her knowledge of India is exhaustive and she returns at least four times a year. She is amazed by the speed of change: ‘It has got so cosmopolitan in such a short time, it’s incredible,’ she says, ‘And the shopping is just fantastic – we always had ...
Devika was born into a prominent Bombay family and cut her teeth running a travel agency for her father’s steel company. She later went into the travel business in Bombay before moving to London five years ago. Her knowledge of India is exhaustive and she returns at least four times a year. She is amazed by the speed of change: ‘It has got so cosmopolitan in such a short time, it’s incredible,’ she says, ‘And the shopping is just fantastic – we always had great craftsmanship, but now there is excellent contemporary design as well’. Devika first went to Bhutan with the company two years ago, and was delighted not only by the friendliness of the people but by the quiet way of life and the tiny population. She says, ‘In Bhutan there are these great tracts of forest and open land, you can drive for six hours and not see a soul’.
Jessica was brought up in Britain, but at 16 set off alone to travel around Canada and Albania. She later spent a year as a volunteer in a remote Sri Lankan village, learning to cook local food and speak Sinhala – she still goes whenever she can to see her Sri Lankan ‘family’. After a BA in South Asian Studies at SOAS, with a year at universities in Colombo and Kandy, she worked for a British NGO in Sri Lanka, the BBC’s World Service (in Sinhala) and a tra...
Jessica was brought up in Britain, but at 16 set off alone to travel around Canada and Albania. She later spent a year as a volunteer in a remote Sri Lankan village, learning to cook local food and speak Sinhala – she still goes whenever she can to see her Sri Lankan ‘family’. After a BA in South Asian Studies at SOAS, with a year at universities in Colombo and Kandy, she worked for a British NGO in Sri Lanka, the BBC’s World Service (in Sinhala) and a travel firm. She travelled to India for the first time last year and has been back several times since. ‘The place that blew me away recently is Tamil Nadu,’ she says, ‘The Madurai temple is amazing and I spent the day just sipping chai at one of the stalls and watching the world go by’. She likes northern Kerala, because it’s less visited and shows a gentler, more tranquil side of India, and has recently been tiger spotting in the central state of Madhya Pradesh.
Pippa lived in Japan from the age of 7-11, developing a love of all things Eastern. She went on to do Asian Studies at Sheffield University and then spent a year teaching English in Nanjing, a couple of hours from Shanghai, making many trips in China. She joined the Far East department of Cox & Kings and spent four-and-a-half years travelling widely in Southeast Asia and China. “I’ve got to say that my favourite place in Asia is Hoi An, Vietnam,” she says,...
Pippa lived in Japan from the age of 7-11, developing a love of all things Eastern. She went on to do Asian Studies at Sheffield University and then spent a year teaching English in Nanjing, a couple of hours from Shanghai, making many trips in China. She joined the Far East department of Cox & Kings and spent four-and-a-half years travelling widely in Southeast Asia and China. “I’ve got to say that my favourite place in Asia is Hoi An, Vietnam,” she says, “The food is just amazing, lots of meat and fish and noodles prepared in boiling stock, there is no traffic, there are tiny shops, and it’s full of little old ladies in conical hats, riding bicycles. The tailors offer you designs from 1990s Next catalogues and the whole town is lit by tiny lanterns at night. It’s amazing”. Pippa has just returned to Thailand, Laos and Vietnam, managing to fit in Chiang Mai, Chiang Rai, a cruise down the Mekong, Hanoi, Hue, Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon) and some of Thailand’s beautiful beach resorts.
Mark grew up between ‘The Garden of England’-Kent and Berlin, learning about different cultures from a young age. His breakthrough travelling experience was a trip to Tibet & China at the age of 17, where he trekked to the base camp of Mt. Everest and along the Great Wall of China. Ever since, he has continued to explore many countries and learn their customs, with Cambodia topping his list so far. After studying German at the University of Bristol, he tra...
Mark grew up between ‘The Garden of England’-Kent and Berlin, learning about different cultures from a young age. His breakthrough travelling experience was a trip to Tibet & China at the age of 17, where he trekked to the base camp of Mt. Everest and along the Great Wall of China. Ever since, he has continued to explore many countries and learn their customs, with Cambodia topping his list so far. After studying German at the University of Bristol, he travelled extensively around South East Asia for 4 months, falling in love with the Vietnamese cuisine, Cambodian people & passion and Balinese hospitality. “During my 3 weeks in Vietnam I must have put on an extra few kilos thanks to the wildly varied and delicious street food on offer - definitely a cause for a return visit!”Mark is thoroughly looking forward to his first tour of India this year: “It is a country that seems to offer so much, and I can’t wait to be inundated with the smells, tastes, colours and culture that I have read and heard so much about.” He would never be seen travelling without his trekking boots or water bottle, both items have been with him since his Tibetan adventure. His one piece of travel advice is: “If in doubt, say yes! You never know what you may experience.”