Kudos to Austin-Lehman Adventures for earning the No. 1 "Tour Operator" spot in Travel + Leisure's World's Best '09 awards. Based on a perfect score of 100, Austin-Lehman Adventures received an overall rating of 97.34, one of the highest ever recorded in the category in the 14 years T+L has conducted its prestigious readers' survey. Tour operators and Safari Outfitters, which shared one of the categories. were evaluated by T+L readers on the following characteristics: staff and guides, itineraries and destinations, activities, accommodations, food and value.

"Considering that T+L readers represent a strong voice amongst today's travelers, we're thrilled to be ranked by this constituency. This is truly the best of the best." said Dan Austin, ALA's co-founder and Director.

Co-founder Paul Lehman adds: "Smaller is indeed better...our guest to guide ratio is six-to-one. But most of all, it's our passion for delivering over-the-top surprise and delight that make our trips so memorable and meaningful. It could be anything from an ice cream sundae at the top of Angel's Landing in Zion National Park to a foot bath and massage after a day of biking in the Loire Valley. You name it, we've done it."

Austin-Lehman has been listed as one of the Top Adventure Travel Companies on About.com's Adventure Travel website for more than a year. To learn more about the tours offered visit Austin-Lehman Adventures. The complete list of the World's Best will be covered in T+L' August issue.

Photo courtesy of Austin-Lehman Adventures

This month's National Geographic magazine has a wonderful picture of a tree-wrapped temple at Angkor, Cambodia, on the cover, with the teaser: "Angkor - Why an ancient civilization collapsed." Angkor, an archeological national park stretches across 400 square meters, is a world heritage site. Researchers now believe that Greater Angkor covered more than 400 square miles, author Richard Stone reports in his article.

Visitors come to see the ruins of intricately decorated temples from the Khmer empire, especially Angkor Wat. Here's what some of the temples and nearby fishing villages look like. Photo: L Friedland

Zak Sunderland's parents may not have been happy when he came to them saying he wanted to sail around the world alone, but they were supportive. Zak, then 16, bought a 32-foot sailboat with money he earned from various jobs, fixed it up and named the boat Intrepid. He left Marina del Rey, California in mid-June and is now about 400 miles from home. You can follow the tale of this sailor, who turned 17 on the boat and is determined to become the youngest person to ever sail around the world. Read his blogs, which he has been filing throughout the journey, on his website, Zak Sunderland.

The new NBC show, The Philanthropist, appears to be a hit. Supposedly based on the actions of a real-life philanthropist, in the show businessman Teddy Rist has a life-shattering moment while on a trip, which leads him to discover helping others can bring him happiness. From that point his philanthropy begins. While I doubt if anyone reading this is a billionaire, the show and the discussions around it bring home the point that we can all travel and "give" to local cultures and get back intangible rewards. Here's a list of organizations that offer volunteer trips. People who have taken some of them tell me the trips have changed the way they look at the world.