For years, I have been developing and guiding cultural tours throughout South Asia - always focusing on the unusual, on the untrodden sidepaths, on a rare combination of high quality cultural tourism and a special interest for human society and nature. My specialties are in India, Nepal, Tibet, Bangla Desh and Sri Lanka. Many customers for my tours have first attended some of my lecture series or open university classes - but in no way is this an absolute prerequisite.

A forthcoming project is a tour through Northern India and Bangla Desh with particular focus on the various aspects of subcontinental Islamic culture. All too easily it is being forgotten that, apart from Indonesia, India contains the largest Islamic community in the world - and Islamic culture remains to play a predominant role in the economic and intellectual development of the region. When visiting India, most visitors are prepared to see mainly the wonders of Hindu architecture and Hindu culture, and every so often people are truly amazed by the positive influences of Islam, which are so clearly visible wherever one roams.

The four southern states (Tamilnadu, Kerala, Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh) host a wide variety of tribal communities, mainly dispersed in natural parks and other ill-begotten areas along the Western Ghats. All of them have in common a sheer un-Indianness, which doesn't stop to amaze the visitor. Their cultural traditions are particularly rich, their religion is many-sided, and their customs and manners bring the traveller into an altogether different world of down-to-earthiness. In any case: A tribal tour in the South is bound to have a lasting influence on the traveller's mind and soul.

During the last months of the 2003 season, I have been prospecting a tour through the natural parks of the Western Ghats, mainly lacing together the Palani Hills, the Parambikulam and Anamalai Rain Forests and the Nilgiri Mountains. This promises to be a healthy trek through one of the most impressive natural spectacles of South Asia, with frequent chances of spotting wildlife (bison, boar, deer, leopard, tiger, crocodile, elephant, ...), and culminating in a breathtaking visit to the Blue Mountains of Nilgiri - where a stay with the buffalo-herding Toda tribe should be an unforgettable highlight.

Pictures of this tour can be seen by clicking http://www.flaleman.atnaharnet.com/photo.html.

Michaela, my partner, is now living in Damascus - where she is discovering the many charms of this multicultural city par excellence. Recently, I have joined her for nearly a month - and I must confess that I too have fallen in love with this ancient Islamic capital, which boasts to be the oldest city with continuous habitation in the world. As from next year, we will be offering a set of city trips to the Syrian capital, focusing either on its history, its population, its daily life or its multiculturalism and crossculturalism.