The Informed Adventurer

As the Western World is facing financial crunch times, where a nation's success and improvement are tied to fiscal outcomes - the small Kingdom of Bhutan offers a much different yardstick to measure by: Happiness. The small Himalayan Kingdom has for years decided to forgo the international pressure to rate themselves in terms of national Gross Domestic Product and has instead replaced that with measuring the quality of life of their people, they measure Gross National Happiness. More... (Posted on Thursday, December 15, 2011; 1 comment)

Steve has been traveling to the Himalayas for almost forty years, he's seen first hand many of the changes that have been happening through the area; however, the most recent changes have been some of the most surprising. The last few years the advent of cell phones and their wide spread proliferation has been a changing force in the area. More... (Posted on Wednesday, November 30, 2011; no comments yet)

After almost 40 years of traveling, living and exploring Nepal, Steve Conlon still finds adventures that have him falling in love all over again. Here he revisits the trek through the Forbidden Kingdom of Mustang in Nepal and his favorite meeting with the King of Mustang and how he got there. More... (Posted on Tuesday, November 15, 2011; no comments yet)

Steve has always felt like he was a purist, in terms of travel and the mindset behind it - so the new itinerary he proposed - Everest in a Week - shocked everyone, most of all him! He had done this trip, while in Nepal, in the attempt to visit the new lodges in the Khumbu Valley and explore some of the area - but what he found was so much more. A new trip, a new way to experience the area and a way to do it all in one week! More... (Posted on Monday, October 10, 2011; no comments yet)

After over 40 years of traveling through the Himalaya, Steve Conlon headed out to Sikkim thinking it would be more of the same and that his experience could give him a good idea of what to expect. Boy was he wrong! The magic of Sikkim captured him and and since expanded the annual offerings of ATC to include a special trek to Sikkim co-led by Steve and Everest Sumiteer, Jamling Tenzing. More... (Posted on Thursday, September 22, 2011; no comments yet)

With 30 years of experience of arranging travel, we've learned that there is only so much you can plan before hand. Like life, travel has a certain amount of serendipity that it needs to be graced with for it to be all that it can be. Trips that follow only an itinerary, miss out on so much more that is just off the page and out there, ready and waiting to be explored. All you have to do is keep your eyes, and heart, open and ready to explore. More... (Posted on Thursday, August 11, 2011; no comments yet)

Making plans to travel across the world is an overwhelming process, one full of questions with hard-to-find answers! Adena, from Tripwolf interviewed Lisa from ATC with questions on how to choose a tour operator and how to know which trip and operator is the best fit for you. More... (Posted on Monday, July 25, 2011; no comments yet)

Here are a few tips from travel insiders on how to avoid the perils of jetlag and keep on jetting! More... (Posted on Friday, July 22, 2011; no comments yet)

You can't know where you're going until you know where you've come from. This is the story of our origins here at Above the Clouds, and where our name came from. More... (Posted on Thursday, March 17, 2011; no comments yet)

After reading Eat, Pray, Love and seeing the movie Lisa felt like she hadn't seen or read the same book/movie as everyone else! It all seemed like people were focusing on replication rather than adventure - she felt as though everyone was missing the point. More... (Posted on Monday, August 30, 2010; 1 comment)

In a world where we are all on a deadline, and under pressure and stressed, it gets very easy to focus only on the end result and forget that life isn't about the destination - but the journey. More... (Posted on Tuesday, July 20, 2010; 1 comment)

The modern world comes to Nepal....well not exactly. More... (Posted on Tuesday, July 6, 2010; no comments yet)

Some of our alums share their stories, this one in particular really touched us. Jane spent a month traveling through Nepal and Bhutan earlier this year, this is the story of how and why she went - and what she brought home with her. More... (Posted on Wednesday, June 23, 2010; 1 comment)

With 30 years experience in the industry, Steve Conlon knows what makes for a good experience and what makes for a great one. According to him, and his long history of exploring the globe - the one most important factor that makes a good trip great - is who is there: your guide! More... (Posted on Monday, May 24, 2010; 1 comment)

Steve Conlon has been traveling through Europe for almost 40 years and yet he still manages to find unknown corners. This past April he traveled through the widely undiscovered southern toe of Italy and found himself in some wonderful new surroundings. From the languages to the food and landscape, he fell in love with Italy all over again! More... (Posted on Thursday, May 20, 2010; 1 comment)

Even the most well traveled of us run into problems while abroad. Even though Steve Conlon has spent years crisscrossing the globe and has been exposed to all different kinds of travel, he has experienced many a snafu! Here he shares one of his most embarrassing travel-gone-wrong stories and how just like life - often times with travel you just have to cross your fingers, hope for the best and believe in the kindness of strangers. More... (Posted on Monday, May 3, 2010; 1 comment)

When Richard & Dorothy's group departure was canceled they weren't sure if they would get a chance to visit India at all; however, they decided to go ahead and have Above the Clouds put together a private departure just for the two of them. They found themselves to be happily surprised with the adventure they had booked - a more personal journey than expected. More... (Posted on Wednesday, April 21, 2010; no comments yet)

Steve Conlon has been traveling to Nepal from almost 40 years, some of that has been his own exploration, some with groups and some with friends and family. This is the story of this first trip to Nepal and the beginning of the next 40 years of his life. More... (Posted on Friday, April 16, 2010; no comments yet)

Often times people travel with a very strong idea of the reasons they are going - and many times they return home with a very different perspective. Steve Conlon found that out first hand many years ago, this is his story. More... (Posted on Thursday, April 8, 2010; 1 comment)

There are certain travel experiences that change one's perspective on life, this is one of those events. More... (Posted on Wednesday, April 7, 2010; no comments yet)