Reaching out

I'm sending out an e-mail to a fairly large net of friends asking for tips on travel agents and service organizations that have experience with Thailand and Tanzania. I've copied that message below.

Greetings all: Merry Everything and Happy Always.

As I lament Notre Dame's loss today in the Fiesta Bowl, I'm trying to distract myself the happier topic of vacation planning. (And it's more productive than drinking.) Normally, I would plan this sort of thing totally on my own, but my locations are a bit more complex this year: I'm visiting some friends in international locations.

So, naturally, I have a request: can you recommend a good travel agent?

I have a business trip to Beijing sometime this spring and will be tacking on a week to visit a friend in northern (and very rural) Thailand. In June, I will be taking 3-4 weeks or so to visit some friends in Tanzania (Mt. Kilimanjaro/Serengeti area). Ideally, the person or agency has some experience in these areas, rather than just a set of faded brochures.

Also, I'd like to focus some of my time on service work in Thailand and Tanzania, so if anyone has any thoughts or resources that could help me in my own research of that angle, I'd appreciate it if you could pass them along. I have a lead on a project at my location in Tanzania, but I'm open to any other options too.

Also, I know this will be a long shot, but does anyone speak Swahili, Thai, or Mandarin Chinese? I want to learn as much Swahili as I can since that will be the longer trip, and enough of the others to get by. Practice makes perfect.

Thanks, Scott