Bethel Village launches new website

In December 2007 I decided to take my wife for short holidays for her  birthday. I wanted it to be a very special time, so at first I decided not to go for a typical holiday resort, as pretty much everything these offer are the same things you can do at home: go to the beach, have a nice dinner, go to the spa and then to bed. So I started my search for something different, adventurous, educational, basically something that we couldn't get here in Australia. Actually, what else would a rational person bother to travel to a foreign country for? I had found plenty of offers on the internet, but it wasn't easy to make any sense of it. After a long and exhausting search I came across a travel agency that unlike the others offered a stay in Bethel Adventure Village. I searched a bit more and found a few traveller reviews on this place - they all were absolutely euphoric! People from different countries were talking about how amazing their experience was, sometimes even life changing. I made a booking for 7 nights and also booked a rent car, so we could travel around the island and see a bit more during our short stay. Our flight was an hour late but the kind people of Budget car rental company were still waiting for us, as well as our soon-to-become dear friend Joel of Bethel Village. He had to guide us - it would be very hard to find this secluded piece of paradise on the other side of the island in the middle of the night by ourselves. We spent a week in the company of Joel and his family and I must say  it was one of the best holidays and experiences of our lives. The accommodation was basic, with great atmosphere of the tropical forest. We loved the interesting space of dining and social area built around a living tree trunk. The shared amenities were also well presented. Nearby there are modest homes of the local people, Joel's family and friends. This is nothing like any place you can see anywhere in Australia or any other "western" country. Healthy and happy people basically live and socialise outside, under the majestic trees, surrounded by their plentiful gardens and picturesque rainforest. In one week in Vanuatu we have seen and done way too much to list. Just some of it being the colossal Cascade Waterfalls, pure fresh rivers and beautiful little beaches, amazing variety of organic grown fruits and food and the rich culture and customs of local people. One of the most obvious and unusual things you will notice in the very first instant is the extreme and unrivalled friendliness of the local people. On our many drives around the island of Efate we didn't go past one driver or pedestrian without getting a big shining smile and a friendly wave. I quickly got used to always driving with one hand and waving with the other, God bless automatic transmission. When we were leaving, we felt like we owed so much to Joel and everyone in Bethel - all the great people who did everything they could at every moment they thought we might like or need something. That was when I decided to raise awareness of this wonderful place and perhaps help more travelers avoid wasting time in one of the boring  isolated modern beach resorts and find something genuine and real, something with the potential to enrich their lives with a new, very interesting and valuable experience. Owning a web design and multimedia business here in Australia, I decided to create a basic website for Bethel Village, that will help people to find this great place when searching for holiday options online. The website address is www.bethelvanuatu.com If you are interested in this amazing experience, please call Joel on +678 25 16. Story by Jiri, owner of WebLabs studio Web design & development Sydney and Newcastle, Australia www.weblabs.com.au