It wasn’t quite how I imagined the start of my Himalayan adventure. This is the second part of the blog … More
Tag: Travel
Taking buses up the Himalayas
The first post of a new blog series about going up the Himalayas mainly on Indian public transport buses. Taken … More
To Bali and Beyond…
The final week of our amazing 90 days backpacking in southeast Asia arrived far too soon. In search of some … More
Thoughts on returning home after backpacking around Southeast Asia for 90 days
Or … why you can never really ‘do’ a country We’ve been back now for six weeks after our 90 … More
Photography: Sunset over the Sulu Sea
Selingan Island | Sabah Province | Malaysia
Things that can go wrong when travel-blogging
How to blog on the go when you’re in a relationship | when your thumb decides to blog without you … More
Photography: Landscapes of Bagan
Last month we were in Bagan, a dusty plain in Myanmar, where there are over 2,000 temples and pagodas, some … More
Things to do in Singapore
We’d landed in Singapore, our 6th country and 28th place on our 90 day travels around southeast Asia We immediately … More
Things to see on Lake Inle in Myanmar
After a one hour flight from Bagan, a 45 minute taxi and a 50 minute boat ride, we were in … More
What to see in Bagan, Myanmar
Imagine over 2,000 ancient stone temples, the fruits of devotion that have lasted almost a millennium. Some grandiose, topped in … More
What to do in Mandalay
The lay of the land can be a great tell about a people just like a first view of Myanmar … More
Landing in the sea at Halong Bay, Vietnam
We arrived via seaplane, landing in a sea filled with spectacular limestone cliffs rising out of the water. Hanoi to … More
What to see in Vietnam: Hoi An, Hué and Hanoi
We visited the ancient trading port of Hoi An and the old royal capital Hué, and then on to Vietnam’s … More
Getting over a fever in central Vietnam
We’re now half-way through our 90 days backpacking in south east Asia and we had just arrived in central Vietnam … More
Visit the Saigon Opera House
Ho Chi Minh City | Vietnam There are many tourist activities to do in Ho Chi Minh City but we … More
Goodbye Laos, you beauty
In the south of Laos, we climbed a World Heritage Site called Wat Phu and relaxed on river islands in … More
On our way down south in Laos
A beery game of boules, realising the growing pains of middle-aged backpacking and a flight to the deep south of … More
In the laid-back city of Vientiane
We arrived in what must be the world’s most laid-back capital city; temples; national monuments; a moving rehabilitation centre, and … More
Luang Prabang in Laos: the jewel on the Mekong River
We arrived at a picturesque town of French colonial architecture, swam in clear blue waterfalls, ate local food in night … More
Replanning our route, re-routing our plan
A Street cafe breakfast of omelettes and rice | Chiang Mai | Northern Thailand This post is part of the … More
Chiang Mai, pretty little temple town
After 20 hours of travelling from the Himalayas we got to the laid-back town in north Thailand, Chiang Mai; we … More
Kalimpong and a Magical Himalayan Wedding
We woke early to see the world’s third highest peak and there she was, Kanchenjunga, at dawn, ready to witness … More
A tale of a dry day in India (it must be election time)
Departure Lounge Bar| Kolkata Airport | India We’re just about to leave India and go to Thailand on our 90 … More
Helpful hints on how to climb a 17 foot elephant on your wedding day
From Jorhat we travelled west for one and a half hours till we got to Kohora, a small village on … 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
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
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
Images of Angkor Wat
Angkor Wat may not provide you with solitude at times and watching sunrise can be something of a tourist trap. … 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
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
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
Electric-green unplugged
Today it’s April the 7th 2018, a day that marks the 24th anniversary of the start of the Rwandan genocide. … More
As Time Goes By …
Giving a training course to a group of nurses in Rwanda gave me a new perspective on the concept of … More
Unguarded Moments
The basic facts I knew about Rwanda before I lived there were: it has rare mountain gorillas. Diane Fossey, the … More
Being mindful – bug bites and quiet nights
Most of the nights after work were quiet nights at home and I found my pace shifted down a gear, … More
The Creepy Village of Kuldhara
When a fellow traveller at the hotel in the desert town of Jaisalmer told us there was a haunted village … More
In Search of Silence and the Missing Female to Female Nine Pin
It’s been a few months since I last posted for the series ‘Letters from the Heart of Africa’. We are … More
