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Home  >  Blog  >  Mum’s Gone to London for a bit of Thrillaxing with iExplore

Mum’s Gone to London for a bit of Thrillaxing with iExplore

Trish Burgess Posted on03/11/201107/04/2016 London 11 Comments
I’m always a bit wary of boats ever since that unforgettable day in Iceland when I was seasick for three hours on a whale-watching trip. The fact that it was accompanied by the natural consequence of taking laxatives the night before….well, maybe I shouldn’t dwell on that but I’m sure you get the picture.
However, despite the fact that I thought I was going to die, that experience has become the stuff of family memories, one of those tales that will be talked about ad nauseam (literally), accompanied by the words, “Do you remember the holiday when…?”
Our trip to Iceland, with activities such as white-water rafting, snow-mobiling, glacier-hiking and the ‘didn’t quite see a whale but saw my breakfast float away’-watching, has to be my favourite holiday experience. Why? Because we came home refreshed, exhilarated and happy in the knowledge that we had given Rory, our son, a few life-changing moments.
So when I was invited to London yesterday for a speed boat trip on the Thames and to learn of a new travel website which embraces this concept of  ‘thrillaxing’, I jumped at the chance. A group of bloggers, with three of their gorgeous children, were kitted out in big coats and life-jackets for a wild 50 minute ride down the Thames with the Thames RIB Experience. In all honesty, if we’d walked by the Thames and saw this boat trip, I would have been tempted to play the Mummy card: “You boys go on it; I’ll stay here and look after the bags”. I had no excuse this time so threw caution, and my hair, to the wind and had the most brilliant time listening to the informative/funny commentary and joining in with the James Bond and Hawaii-Five-0 music. I wasn’t sick; in fact the motion of a speed boat didn’t seem to affect my stomach, but I did squeal a lot. I took the following video during one of the slow parts of the ride; when the boat took off around Canary Wharf I had to keep my hands firmly attached to the bar in front of me, rather than my camera. But hopefully you’ll get the idea. I saw some fabulous sights, including the rather beautiful Renaissance curls of the two ladies ahead of me.

During lunch following our trip, the travel presenter Craig Doyle told us of his holiday experiences with his wife and four young children, before we were enlightened as to this new website, http://www.iexplore.co.uk/, which, under the umbrella of the Tui organisation (including Thomson, First Choice, Exodus, Crystal and Sunsail), is a one-stop place for people seeking holiday inspiration.

iExplore has done some YouGov research and found that 75% of UK holidaymakers find that keeping active abroad helps them take their minds off what’s happening at home and in the office. However, they don’t suggest everyone goes whizzing off on speed boats and trekking up Kilimanjaro. No, they appreciate families, couples and singles will all have different budget requirements, comfort levels and an idea of how much ‘activity’ they want to do. The options range from river boating to gazing at the Northern Lights and going on safari.

I decided to try their travel profile Inspirator quiz and after assessing that I like comfy beds, too much luggage and sightseeing like a meerkat, I’m classed as a ‘Culture Craver’. I think that’s pretty accurate.

You may also like to have a look at their Facebook page and a quiz they are running www.facebook.com/iExploreTravelUK . Upload your thrillaxing photo or video for a chance to win a holiday worth £5000.

If only someone had taken a photo of me on that whale-watching trip – I’d be in with a helluva chance!

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Next Article A conversation I wish I’d never started – No.3

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11 Comments

  1. Sarah Reply
    03/11/2011 at 2:42 pm

    Ooh that looks fun.

    I'm with you all the way on the comfy beds although I can be pretty Spartan on the luggage – have to on a motorbike!

  2. Trish @ Mum's Gone To ... Reply
    03/11/2011 at 2:48 pm

    @Sarah – I did go 'capsule wardrobe' when we went to Madrid and actually managed it fairly well. I should try more often!

  3. Steve Reply
    03/11/2011 at 7:33 pm

    Dare I ask – did you see Pussy Galore?

  4. Trish @ Mum's Gone To ... Reply
    03/11/2011 at 8:17 pm

    @Steve – No, I had my eyes shut most of the time 😉

  5. Clippy Mat Reply
    03/11/2011 at 11:16 pm

    Ooh you do get around don't you? Most exciting. I think I'd prefer the slower sight seeing boat tho'. 🙂

  6. MsCaroline Reply
    04/11/2011 at 12:32 am

    What a clever idea. That sounds like just the type of travel company we like. I'll keep it in mind if we travel to the UK!

  7. MadameSmokinGun Reply
    04/11/2011 at 1:20 am

    Hello missus – just been trying to do a quick catch up – congratulations on the win!! Who'd've thought the Devil's Arse would propel you all the way up the Thames at top speed! Fantastic!

  8. Trish @ Mum's Gone To ... Reply
    04/11/2011 at 7:25 am

    Clippy Mat – Most of the time it went slowish so you could see the sights. At the end the driver (?) did lots of twists and turns at speed. I was very surprised how much I loved it!

    Ms Caroline – Yes, I had a good look at the website yesterday and it's got all sorts of trips there, not just adrenaline-fuelled ones.

    Madame SG – Ha! Spot on, missus! Where the devil will I end up next?

  9. Curry Queen Reply
    05/11/2011 at 8:47 am

    Wow – that looks like so much fun…not sure my stomach would have stayed the course though!

  10. About Last Weekend Reply
    05/11/2011 at 10:58 pm

    Really fun – I'm there with you over the side of the boat on seasickness, I've had some hell-ish times. In fact I couldn't got to a friend's wedding because if was a boat.

  11. Trish @ Mum's Gone To ... Reply
    06/11/2011 at 2:48 pm

    @Curry Queen – I was really worried about the contents of my breakfast but it wasn't that kind of movement. Everyone else seemed the same, thank heavens.

    @About last weekend – Oh, Jody, you sound worse than me. I'm hoping my bout of seasickness was just confined to a fishing boat in Arctic Ocean. I was ok on big ship for Mediterranean cruise and the North Sea ferry many years ago!

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