FANTASTIC TRIPS TO FARAWAY LANDS

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The all-inclusive cost from New York is $3,380, and $300 reserves one of the limited number of spaces available.

BIKING INNER MONGOLIA

In late May of 1984 (the exact dates are still to be set), we'll be sponsoring what is probably the most exciting bicycle tour offered anywhere ... a trip through the grasslands and steppes of China's Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, which — of all the places recently opened in China — surely ranks among the most colorful.

The tour will begin with four days in Beijing, including bike excursions to the Great Wall and the Ming Tombs. We'll then strike out westward to the Shanxi Province and the town of Datong ... site of the spectacular Dunhuang Caves, which date back to 366 A.D. and contain the world's largest Buddhist art treasury, housing over 484,200 square feet of murals and 2,000 statues.

From there, we'll cross the border into Inner Mongolia, biking to such ancient towns as Wuchuan, Wulang-Bulang, Baotou, Xilinhot, and Hohhot. What's more, along the route we'll spend some of our nights in yurts with the local tribes.

This 28-day excursion is, however, only for the hardy ... as we bike up to 60 kilometers a day. The all-inclusive cost, from the West Coast, is $3,183 ... and a deposit of $300 is required.

TREKKING THE TIBETAN PLATEAU

From July 15 to August 7, 1984 we're planning an extraordinary visit to the incredibly spectacular land called Ladakh . . . often referred to as "the roof of the world" or "Little Tibet". Although this remote area is technically attached to northern India, its culture has always linked it with Tibet. Indeed, the language, the clothing, the architecture, and the traditions are all very similar those of Tibet (as that country was prior to the Chinese conquest and the region's predominant religion-its major guiding force over the centuries — is Tibetan Mahayana Buddhism.

This, too, is a trip only for those in very good physical condition Though we will stay over in the famous houseboats on fabled Dal Lake in Srinagar, and travel by bus for the first leg of the trip, out travelers must be able — once we start trekking — to negotiate very steep mountain trails that will climb as high as 17,500 feet! However, as we view wild rock formations, wine-red scree, deep ravines soaring Himalayan snow peaks, and the high desert punctuated brilliant green oases — and visit ancient monasteries, native home and self-sufficient villages, gaining insights into a traditional way life that has seen little change for more than a thousand years — energy expended to experience this timeless land will be more the amply rewarded.

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