When Ralph Waldo Emerson said 'do not follow where the path may lead… go instead where there is no path and leave a trail…" he might also have prescribed a kind, elegant, intelligent guide to help plan and find the way.

Travel, easily the most enjoyable and enlightening of pastimes, can also be a nightmare of details misunderstood, destinations somehow unexpected and journeys so taxing that home suddenly begins to sound like nirvana without the help of a fabulous guide. Where does one find such a guide? An individual of discriminating taste, discrete sensibilities and personal relationships of quality and respect in every corner of the world? In Hunt Country, of course.

Matthew Hannan, founder of MH Travel, and a resident of Delaplane, grew up in McLean, Virginia, where he had fallen in love with the Chinese language and the calligraphy of Chinese charters at the age of nine.

Lucy Wang, his teacher at Ascension Academy, encouraged him to pursue his Chinese language and calligraphy studies and, by the time he graduated from William and Mary with a Fine Arts major, Matt had spent a year abroad studying at Tianjin's Nan Kai University, Chou En Lai's alma mater.

"I made many great friends from all over the world who, like me, were studying Chinese during a year abroad," Hannan explained. "We were all young and we were fascinated with China and the changes that were beginning to surface there."

In 1983, Matt boarded the Trans-Siberian Railway crossing through China, Mongolia, the Soviet Union and Europe, igniting his passion for international travel.

After he graduated from William and Mary, Matt moved to New York to pursue his career as an artist, and when he needed to supplement his income, he found employment in the travel industry. "Several of us, who were fluent in Chinese and knowledgeable about China, were real assets for the best travel companies. They worked us very hard, but, in return, we learned the business and were able to continue using the language and explaining the culture to travelers from around the world."

Matt was in Beijing during the Tiananmen Square demonstrations, and he remembers vividly how much of the city was rocked by the demonstrators.

"Watching the demonstrations on television might have given one the impression that they were contained on a few main boulevards," he remembered. "A large part of Beijing was occupied, and there were parallel demonstrations in many major Chinese cities.

"It was the beginning a cataclysmic era of change that is still underway in China, and it was the beginning of a two-year slowdown to travel to China."

During those years, Matt designed and led tours from the Hong Kong office of Abercrombie & Kent, and for Andrew Harper Travel in Chicago. "It was clear to me that I would never be happy unless I could continue to introduce discriminating travelers to the more rarefied destinations, and that I would not be able to do this at the level of quality I preferred unless I began my own private travel business.

"Today, I offer a wide variety of private travel to China, as well as to many other fascinating, historic places. But helping influential individuals understand and meet their peers in China is, and will remain, one of my truly great pleasures."

By shaping the itineraries he creates to include high cultural components as well as insightful encounters with leaders of policy and commerce, Matt's clients are never surprised when their expectations are far exceeded when they travel with him.

Whether it is the inclusion of a private tour of The Wardrobe of Kings at Versailles; the impeccable connections travelers make on his Equestrian & Culinary Tour of the Loire Valley; or simply the exclusive access to private gardens in Argentina, clients of MH Travel enjoy all the delights and unimaginable access Ralph Waldo Emerson might have demanded.

Would Emerson have enjoyed traveling with Matt to Bhutan? Absolutely. Could he have joined a small MH group in Peru? Without question… And, given Matt's insistence on impeccable service, exemplary accommodations, sumptuous cuisine and delightful companionship, Emerson might have declined to travel without him.

In addition to the travels Matt designs and offers to his clients each year, he takes great pleasure in planning truly special, individual trips for them.

"It's a real pleasure to plan individual trips for my clients," he explained. "Whether or not they require that I travel with them is unimportant. I simply want to be sure they enjoy the very best of their destinations.

"My first fifteen years designing private travel for MHT clients has taught me that there is tremendous camaraderie on our travels and that the relationships we help foster during our time together can become truly valuable for all concerned. Our trips may include as few as four travelers, or as many as fourteen, but each group is carefully chosen to create enjoyment for all."

No matter where your heart leads you, or what the context may be for your next flight of fantasy, a conversation with Matt Hannan may be in order.

If so, please contact him at MattHannanTravel.com or telephone 703 927 8271.