Solar Eclipse Tours Will Take You Where The Sun Doesn’t Shine

Q. My husband has read that a solar eclipse will be visible over part of southern Asia in late October. What companies offer tours to the region then?

A. Several tour companies are arranging for the viewing of the total solar eclipse you refer to. It will occur over India, Cambodia and other countries in the region on Oct. 24.

Because visibility of the eclipse - in which the moon will completely block the sun for a brief period - is dependent on weather, most tours are emphasizing sites that are historically clear and dry in late October. Among them is the Rajasthan desert in India.

A few companies have selected the ancient temples of Angkor Wat in Cambodia, where views of the eclipse could be particularly spectacular. Travelers should be aware, however, that Cambodia’s monsoon season sometimes lasts through the end of October.

Outer Edge Expeditions, based in Michigan, (800) 322-5235 or (810) 624-5140, will lead a group to the Rajasthan desert in a tour scheduled for Oct. 18 to 27. The Taj Mahal, the Observatory Jantar Mantar in Jaipur and Delhi are among the other stops. The cost, $2,095 based on double occupancy, includes accommodations, local transportation, but not international air fare.

Overseas Adventure Travel in Cambridge, Mass., (800) 221-0814 or (617) 876-0533, is offering at least two 13-day eclipse-themed tours to India, one departing Oct. 17 and the other Oct. 18. Participants in both groups will converge at an “eclipse camp” northwest of Agra for the eclipse. Other sites on the itinerary include the Taj Mahal, New Delhi, Jaipur and Varanasi. The $3,190 cost includes round-trip air fare from New York, most meals and accommodations.

Absolute Asia in New York, (800) 736-8187 or (212) 627-1950, is offering a trip to Cambodia and Thailand from Oct. 20-31. In addition to viewing the eclipse from Angkor Wat, participants will go to Phnom Penh, Bangkok and southern Thailand. The cost is $3,150 from New York, and includes accommodations, air fare and most meals.

Q. We will be traveling to England’s West Country and would like to visit pottery workshops and factories. Could you provide information?

A. The West Country is best known for small pottery producers rather than large-scale operations like Wedgwood and others found in Stoke-on-Trent.

Leach Pottery, The Stennack, St. Ives, in Cornwall, is where the potter Bernard Leach started working in 1920 with his friend Shoji Hamada. Janet Leach, Leach’s widow, carries on the tradition with Trevor Corser, who was Bernard’s assistant. Prices range from about $40 to $806, calculated at 62 pence to the dollar.

Bernard Leach’s grandson John Leach has his own thatched workshops just south of the Somerset village of Muchelney. Prices start at $9 for a herb jar. Signed pots start at $55. Muchelney Pottery, Muchelney, Somerset TA10 0DW.

In Hatherleigh, a small market town in Devon, Elizabeth Aylmer works at Hatherleigh Pottery producing domestic and garden pots. The pots are stoneware with an incised pattern and a classical wood ash glaze. A casserole dish costs about $56. Individually designed pots start at $80. Hatherleigh Pottery, Hatherleigh, Devon EX20 3JP.

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