James Grove Photography » Weddings, Event and Studio Photography in Halesowen

Congratulations to Mr & Mrs Morgan! There wedding photographs are available to view online. Please click on the image below.

So who’d would have dreamed up this, 2 grandmothers, aged 63 and 70 are travelling around Asia over a 7 month trip that will take them to some of the most remote and beautiful countries of the world. What posses them to do this, ? Who knows but its not the first time they have taken this route, they may well be the first grandparents to travel to visit just about every country in the world. There extensive travel knowledge is a valuable tool to anyone wishing to do the same, regardless of age.

So far they have spent a month in Sri Lanka, outstaying there Visa’s and being fined at the airport, heck they would lock them up, anyone asking what they were doing would let them off thinking they were mad anyway!

Travelling from Sri Lanka, the went onto Kathmandu in Nepal, a country they are both familiar with both east and west. From here they set out to walk to Everest Base Camp on the Nepalese side, a staggering 22 day trek from Jiri, this trip is avoided by people half there age. As they are far from traditional British grannies, they chose to avoid knitting and stuck purely to being experts on remote travel and living rough(ish) Reaching Everest Base Camp with a breeze, but not the weather! They returned to Kathmandu.

Where now?! Well of course into Tibet and the North Everest Base Camp, somewhat easier as you can drive there, but for anyone not acclimatised this is a really headache maker and a sure way to get altitude sickness, but again apart from the many Chinese check points they arrived at the northern base camp in good time.

From here they have meandered there way to Lhasa, with its old walled city and the former home of the exiled Dalai Lama. However much has changed in Lhasa after catching up with them via satellite phone it was clear that the Chinese army control the city and the population, secret police etc.

Now they are on there way north, tracking them via a GPS tracker they have with them, there route so far from Nepal can be seen here

For years satellite phones have been associated with James Bond wanna be’s, the military and travellers who could afford the airtime. Over recent years the market has evolved and changed. Over the next month Inmarsat a British based company is set to release its newest addition to the market. The Isatphonepro is set to revolutionise the availability and cost of a completely global phone with a fixed cost use.

What does this mean? Well cell phones are great unless your in a dead spot or on top of a mountain in the Lake District. The Isatphonepro works anywhere on the globe, all you need to be is outside, and you can make calls from anywhere to anywhere for around 42 pence a minute. Handsets prices are due to be announced soon, i would imagine around half the price of its nearest competitors. You can send text messages as well, voice mail etc.

It also includes a GPS receiver.

If you travel, or spend time away from cell signal, or want cheap fixed calls to a friend or family member abroad, then this is a cost effective communication tool. You’ve got to hand it to Inmarsat, they were the first in the satellite communication market and this phone is a real step forward for the company and for its worldwide users.

Competitors need to re-think there marketing and prices, because this handset is going to gobble up your user base as people switch networks.

Click on the image for more details.