From Jorhat we travelled west for one and a half hours till we got to Kohora, a small village on … More
Category: Travel
An unexpected treat on the River Brahmaputra
We got lucky. By an unexpected act of kindness we were spending the night aboard a luxury boat all to … More
Things to see in Majuli, the world’s largest river island
We sailed to the world’s largest river island, Majuli, in the mighty river Brahmaputra and cycled in stunning Assamese countryside … More
To Sivasagar: home of the Assamese kings
We’ve made our way to the ancient capital of Assam, full of monuments of the Ahoms. Digboi to Sivasagar | … More
Digboi, the oil town in the rainforest
We’ve made our way to the easternmost corner of Assam, to a sleepy town by a rainforest called Digboi. It’s … More
On the lazy man’s road: the story of Dhodar Ali
We’re travelling further east in Assam, towards Digboi on an old road that has a curious tale about it. Dhodar … More
A storm in an Assamese tea cup
We’ve arrived in Upper Assam at the start of the tea plucking season; the tea-pluckers are out in full force, … More
Flying past Mount Everest to Assam
Delhi to Dibrugarh, Assam, North-east India. Flight time: 2 hours 25 minutes. Blogging with a view of the Himalayas. It’s … More
How to sleep on a flight (Aches on a plane).
Overnight flight from London to Delhi. 9 sleepless hours Sleeping vertically has never been a human trait unless you’re Spider-Man; … More
Travel anxiety: I’m about to go on holiday for 3 months, so why do I feel so anxious?
It’s weird, pre-travel anxiety. It’s that jittery feeling, not quite butterflies in the stomach, just a gentle fluttering of moths … More
I’m backpacking around South East Asia for 90 Days
When a rare opportunity for extended travel arrives, you just have to grab it with both hands I’m going backpacking … More
10 Annoying Behaviours on the London Underground
Londoners have a love-hate relationship with their metro system The Tube; but it’s more than just standing on the wrong … More
Great travel annoyances of our times: the hotel toaster
At the hotel breakfast, that metal appliance that toasts your bread on a little conveyor … I mean… how hard … More
Farewell to the land of a thousand hills – epilogue
Well, it’s taken 42 blog posts and over 60,000 words, but I’ve managed to get there – this is the … More
The bar that sold bananas
Wise words I once heard while buying bananas in a bar in Kigali, Rwanda in 2008: ‘Nothing can heal without … More
7 tips for volunteers in Africa
It’s almost time to fly home. These seven months in Rwanda have felt so much longer – the richness of … More
The Ragged Children of Kinigi
When the ragged children of Kinigi danced, it was a scene of both joy and sadness, those imposters both, two … More
Unexpected hosts: gorillas after the mist
After noon, we started the descent in to the mists of Mount Karisimbi, the highest peak in the Virungas, a … More
The snowman in the heart of Africa – Climbing Mount Karisimbi (part 2)
Continued from part 1 I walked towards the fire where there were two crouching silhouettes outlined in bright orange. I … More
Climbing Mount Karisimbi
CLIMBING MOUNT KARISIMBI , a snow-capped volcano between Rwanda and the DR Congo, the tallest peak in the Virungas, was … More
Travels with Dr Muss – Healing the Memories
I started ‘Letters from the Heart of Africa’ over 15 months ago and now, 34 posts and 50,000 words later … More
When Memories Come Calling
Memories are like kites dancing on warm zephyrs on high – with just a tug, and if our strings of … More
A Weekend Break in the Northern Hemisphere #2: Kampala and Lake Victoria
Crossing the border from Rwanda to Uganda, a traverse from Francophone to Anglophone Africa, offered subtle changes from the bus … More
Being Lighter at the Equator: a Weekend Break in the Northern Hemisphere
With my friends Thierry and Juko, I took an 8 hour bus ride from Rwanda to Kampala in Uganda, crossing … More
A hike up Mount Bisoke and a lesson in understanding gorilla sounds
One Friday afternoon, with Freddy’s permission, I snuck out from work early – we had decided to climb the perfectly … More
Sometimes on Tuesdays, always with tea (Part Two)
(To read part one of this post please click here) On one of our regular meet-ups Vincent* told me how … More
Sometimes on Tuesdays, always with tea
Sometimes you can’t see how incredible a person is when you first meet them. Still waters run deep, people are … More
Faith, devotion and complicity
I enjoyed lazy starts to the day on the veranda, shooting the breeze with Peter the security guard. We’d breakfast … More
Where you never walk alone
In contrast to my daily commute in London, my walk home in Kigali was rarely dull, no two journeys were … More
The sports bar in the heart of Africa
Football (or soccer for followers of this blog across the Pond) often gets in to the press for the wrong … More
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