Getting the flavour of…

Snorkelling with whales

It is among the most “surreal” of wildlife encounters, says Ian Belcher in The Times – swimming with beluga whales off the coast of Canada as you are towed slowly along, face down, by a Zodiac inflatable boat. Close relatives of the dolphin, these “curious” and “ridiculously cute” animals gather around river mouths in Hudson Bay during the summer. To see them, take a small plane from Churchill to one of the area’s isolated eco-lodges. Heading out in the boat, you may spot polar bears on the beaches before getting into the water (in a wetsuit) with a rope around your ankles. You then sing into your snorkel mouthpiece and the whales appear. In ten minutes, you may see 30 or 40 – an “amazing” experience. Discover the World (01737-887132, www.discoverthe-world.co.uk) has an eight-day trip for £8,250pp, including flights and activities. A gin tour of Scotland The gin industry has exploded across the UK, and 70% of it is located north of border, where there are almost two dozen producers. A tour of their distilleries will take you all over Scotland and enable you to taste a diversity of flavours, says Jamie Lafferty in the FT. Among the “wee-est” is the Gin Bothy, set in an old blacksmith’s forge in Angus, full of barrels, hessian sacks and rusting farm tools. The owner, Kim Cameron, started as a jam maker and uses the same flavours – strawberries, rhubarb and so on – in her gin. The Balmenach distillery’s botanicals are “linked to the ancient countryside” – rowanberry, bog myrtle, heather shoots, dandelion. But perhaps the most fun is Crossbill, in Glasgow, where you can make your own grog in a “petite” still. For details of the Wine and Spirit Trade Association’s new Scottish gin trail, visit www.wsta.co.uk.

A river voyage to Angkor Wat Cruises along the Mekong River from Ho Chi Minh City in Vietnam to the temple complex of Angkor Wat in Cambodia have “boomed” lately. Among the more affordable operators – suited to travellers of all ages – is G Adventures, says Debbie Ward in The Sunday Telegraph. Their attractive wood-panelled boat accommodates up to 28 guests in fairly small, en-suite cabins and offers no entertainment beyond “games and books”. There are excursions every day, including a trip on bicycles (or by minibus) to a rural potter’s workshop, and another in bullock carts to a frescoed village temple. But you can also wander off on your own – perhaps, for instance, to indulge a lychee martini at the Foreign Correspondents’ Club in Phnom Penh. A ten-day trip costs from £1,429pp, excluding flights (0344-272 2060, www.gadventures.co.uk).