About Us
Experience the real Asia with Monsoon Adventure
Monsoon
Adventure wants to become one of the world's most appreciated operators
of small group adventurous exploration tours in Asia. Our goal
is to distinguish ourselves from the other mainstream adventure companies.
We want you to experience the real Asia with our adventure
tours in small groups.
Different and Personal, Small
Groups, Explore Asia!
These keywords summarize our travel company and our travel ideas.
If you choose for one of our tours then you choose for travelling in a "different" manner
and in small groups with like minded travelers. Personal approach and quality
are top priorities. We want to give our guests new authentic experiences
and "a
real taste" of
the visited country. Discover the real Asia on a personal and different
way.
A refreshing alternative
Monsoon Adventure was founded by two friends who have already been working together in the tourism service sector for quite a long time. They had the feeling that there was a gap in the tourism market which often emphasize too much on quantity and certainly not on quality. There are many different possibilities for tourists to "adventure" and "explore" or "experience" new countries and cultures. Sometimes there are too many choices for them and everything starts to look similar to them and unfortunately we get the "more of the same" effect.
Nowadays, to make it even more difficult for explorers many companies try to distinguish themselves by using all sort of terms like eco-tourism friendly, agro-tourism or sustainable and responsible travel. But what do these terms actually mean to them? Most of the time they are just fancy words and a far cry from reality ....
Our aim is to be a refreshing alternative to the mainstream standard tours by providing an original experience or journey for our guests with a fresh approach and original ideas!
Committed to responsible travel and sustainable tourism
Right from the very start Monsoon Adventure
has been built upon equal relationships between ourselves
and the suppliers in the countries where we operate. We therefore prefer
to call them partners, they are much more than just suppliers of services.
Our philosophy and ideal is that the destination country and communities
must benefit from our presence and activities. We source all our supplies
locally and most of our staff are also recruited locally. This level of
local input ensures that our tours are not only fun but also run responsible
with the long term benefits for the local communities in mind.
What is Responsible Travel according us?
Responsible Travel is about trying to ensure that travel to certain destinations
is a positive experience for all - people, place and the environment.
It stretches from the simple things like dressing appropriately in parts
of the world where showing a shoulder is disrespectful, to operate in
a manner that is responsible to natural areas, to the more complicated
issue of making sure that your money stays in the local community. We
all know that the economic gain of tourism can be vital for a country.
However this should never be at the expense of a country's culture
or environment. For more information about this and how to contribute to
responsible travel, and the different projects of organizations which
Monsoon Adventure supports during our tours, please see our page Responsible
Travel.
Our travel policy regarding our tours
Our travel policy is therefore rather simple - we believe that tours
should respect and benefit local people and the environment. We want to
ensure tourism benefits local communities, rather than exploiting them.
We want to support the advantages of small group exploration tours over
mainstream mass tourism.
We also believe in stress free travel and hassle
free tours!
We also focus on solving problems and eliminating possible hassles during
your tours for you, so you can focus on the scenes around you and enjoy
every moment and new experience.
All your accommodation
and transportation is taken care of. The hotels in the towns and cities
are well located, have private facilities and, in the tropics, are air-conditioned
and sometimes have pools. More basic local accommodation is sometimes
included as a highlight.
Private buses are used on most longer road journeys
to guarantee your freedom to explore and to increase your comfort.
Willem, co-founder of Monsoon Adventure
Willem was born in the Netherlands on 28 March 1963. His father, a jazz-musician, is from the Netherlands. His mother, a historian, was born in Batavia, the former Dutch Indies. He left home at the age of 15 but finished High school successfully. During his school period he attended the so called Dutch "soccer-school" in Nijmegen (NEC).
After finishing High school Willem enlisted in the army. During his service time he would be challenged mentally and physically but he was looking for more intellectual challenges.
Therefore, after finishing his army training (1985) he decided to go to the University of Nijmegen in order to pursue a possible career as a lawyer! He graduated from Law School with distinction and a specialization in International and EU Law in early 1991. In his University period he was also a member of an illustrious self-initiated fraternity called "Euthymos". In this latter context he was responsible for field trips in and outside the country with or without educational purposes.
During this High school and University period he worked in a variety of different jobs in order to finance his (expensive) hobbies such as travelling and motor-racing. Besides reading about history and discoveries, his hobbies include experiencing and exploring new cultures & customs, meeting new people and setting sail for new horizons. His greatest passion remains travelling in the different continents especially Asia.
Immediately after receiving his masters degree he went abroad to discover the rest of the world. He traveled extensively in Asia, in countries such as Nepal, Indonesia and other parts of South East Asia. Sometimes he had to take jobs in order to continue his personal Odyssey.
Upon returning in the Netherlands he had difficulties to settle down. His career in the tourism sector would start in the beginning of 1992. He has worked in different countries (Turkey and the whole of South East Asia) and in jobs on different levels within the tourism sector. He has been working and travelling with guests and colleagues from all walks of life. His passion remains travelling with the guests and trying to give them something extra in order to take home that special feeling or experience.
Since 2000 Willem is a freelance Tour Leader and has become more involved in improving the quality of tourism and trying to reduce the possible negative impacts that tourism certainly can have. He worked for all kind of tourist organizations who offer trips that range from "the luxury everything organized private trips to the adventurous improvisation expeditions."
Willem has been following his heart and his passion all his life. Being true to this passion wasn't always easy for him. He loves to give service to his guests and he emphasizes quality with a personal approach and does not prefer quantity in any way. He prefers to work in smaller companies with positive and supportive like minded people and surroundings. That is one of the main reasons why he founded Monsoon Adventure with his long time friend Johan.
Johan, co-founder of Monsoon Adventure
Johan was born in 1961 in Belgium. He studied Economy at EHL University in Diepenbeek and followed evening classes in photography in Antwerp. He has an interest in art, photography and travelling. At age 16 he started travelling in Europe. He visited almost all european countries travelling by train for two months. Later he visited Morocco, Turkey, Thailand and the US.
After his studies he joined the belgian navy for 4 years. He was a sailor and a petty officer on board the frigates F910 Wielingen and F913 Westhinder and spent about 8 months per year at sea.
During these years he also owned a sailing boat, a Contest 25, and spent most of his free time aboard this yacht.
In 1998 he and his thai wife moved from Belgium to Thailand. He started to work for Diethelm Travel, one of the oldest and largest inbound tour operators in Thailand. He was successively Customer Service Manager and Operations Manager for the Hotelplan account (Hotelplan Netherlands and Hotelplan Switzerland).
After 3 years in Bangkok he moved to Ko Samui as Area Manager for Hotelplan, Tourasia (Switzerland) and Tischler Reisen (Germany) for 1 year.
After return to Bangkok he worked as a freelance Tour Leader in Thailand and Indochina (Cambodia, Laos, Vietnam) to gain more experience of the tourism business. He worked for Kras, Arke Reizen, Holland International, Holiday International, Oad, Anders Reizen, Shoestring and Koning Aap.
Working in the tourism sector in Thailand and Indochina, Johan has traveled extensively in Asia and appreciates the different peoples, art styles and cultures of this continent. The urge to create "different and better travel experiences" for tourists was the key reason he founded Monsoon Adventure with his long time friend Willem.
Monsoon Adventure
More than just adventure travel in Asia. Explore Asia!