Wanderlust Travel Magazine (UK)
Ask the experts
Whether searching for something more meaningful than a simple break, looking for culture in the wilds of Romania or plotting your first-ever campervan escape – our experts put you in the know
From Transylvanian trekking to teaching in India – our gurus tell all
TRAVELLING WHILE GIVING A BIT BACK TO THE WORLD
QI’ve recently retired and am looking to do volunteer work in India with disadvantaged children – maybe teaching (I’ve some experience) but I’m open to other ways. What is the best way to move forward with this?
Colm Lee, via email
AIt’s a great idea to volunteer after retirement. Volunteer organisations appreciate the experience a mature person brings. Unless you have medical or nursing experience, teaching is a useful way to help. Education is vital to helping improve the lives of disadvantaged kids; they are taught English as soon as they start school, so working with those aged five and up on their language is invaluable for later on.
Some less-principled organisations prioritise making a profit from gapyear students over providing the best help for the underprivileged, so do your research. Look for either an NGO working in India or an ethical volunteer-sending organisation – one that is in close contact with organisations on the ground and also monitors the work they do.
The organisation should be able to brief you on everything you need to know about your destination, the work you will do, accommodation and local customs and dress code. They should also help with your Indian visa and police clearance (for working with children), and advise on inoculations and anti-malarials.
Working with disadvantaged children in India is a very worthwhile project. You will find the experience fascinating and rewarding.
Sarah McMurry
SOAKING UP LOCAL CULTURE ON A TRANSYLVANIAN TREK
QI’m going to be travelling around Romania and would like to spend some time in Transylvania (I’m already bored of people smirking about vampires). I’d like to do some walking, so do you recommend any good routes where I can soak up local culture along the way?
Louise Macallister, via email AYes, avoid Dracula references and Romanians will thank you. I suggest a train journey to Medias or a flight to Tirgu Mures, then head into the foothills of the Carpathians – the essence of Transylvania. The countryside still has a penetrating stillness and gentle rhythm there.
Book into the village of Alma Vii, where there is one just main street
that’s untarred and flanked by wide verges to take carts and geese. The flanking Saxon farmhouses all have grand doorways leading into stabling and courtyards, but although they all boast ‘Saxon locks’, the people who once worked here have left.
From Alma Vii, walk to Valea Viilor to visit the fortified church there. Despite being a UNESCO site, it is still little known. Here, the lovely country road is accessible only by horse or foot. Stop off to visit Gerta van den Tol and her handmade wool workshop in Metis. There is also a marked trail here, mostly cutting through deciduous forest, to the great masterpiece of the Saxons (another grand fortified church) at Biertan and on to Richis.
By now, you will be close to the magnificent citadel of Sighisoara, its town spreading far below. This is a great beauty – one made all the more remarkable for the rarity of being a medieval citadel that is still inhabited to this day.
Lucy Abel Smith
HITTING THE ROAD ON A FIRSTTIME CAMPERVAN ADVENTURE
QI’ve often thought about renting a campervan to explore the UK but am a little intimidated by driving a larger vehicle. Where would be an easy place to get my bearings?
Marcus Took, via email AThe great news is that there are plenty of options when it comes to vans. A lot of modern campervans drive much like cars, and are often no wider or longer than big saloons. Small campers, such as the modern equivalent of the classic VW, are just as easy to handle. Even some of the larger van and motorhome conversions are simple to drive, with parking sensors and reversing cameras.
For newbies heading off for an adventure, I’d recommend taking a tour of Wales’ deep west, starting in St David’s and finishing at Portmeirion. The roads are good, locations stunning and the campsites are plentiful. Plus, you’ll have a chance to visit castles, swim in magical lagoons, try coasteering or surfing, or just cruise along some of the best coastal roads in the UK. Do it! You will love it.
Martin Dorey