Stopping over in Sanchi Stupa Driving in rural India is a sensory assault. Every driver and rider has their hand on the horn about 70% of the time. Every cow has priority on the road (including large herds of sleeping ones), and it also is sensible to avoid hitting the dogs, monkeys, and bullocks as they […]
Inching around India (2) – Sanchi, Bhopal and the Ellora and Ajanta caves Read More »
It has been 27 years since I backpacked around the mighty democracy of India. It was my first foray into the third world and while it was tough as hell (food poisoning, groping, filthy hotels, corrupt officials, crazy road accidents and witnessing horrendous poverty) it was also mind bendingly fantastic. India kickstarted my enduring desire
Idling in India (1) – Bodhgaya, Varanasi, Khajuraho Read More »
This is the second part of the blog on the Upper Mustang Trek….., Stages 1 through 4 are covered in the previous post. Mooching around Lo Manthang town Wandering around Lo Manthang is divine. There are no cars, a few motorbikes, a lot of cows and some very friendly locals. There are more shops
More mooching in the Upper Mustang (Part 2) – Lo Manthang back to Muktinath Read More »
I haven’t hiked in Nepal for over 20 years, so it was high time I went back. The Mustang is a special part of Nepal, a high desert with a Tibetan history. It was restricted to tourists until the 1990s, and even now you have to pay a permit for a minimum of two people
Meandering around the Upper Mustang – (1) Kagbeni to Lo Manthang Read More »
Hubby and I had planned a lovely winter sun holiday to Jordan in December 2021, but Steph got covid just before we were supposed to leave. Having paid all the deposits, we managed to salvage most of the cost, and we are off for a very hot September week. Floating in the Dead Sea We
Jaunt around Jordan Read More »
Saying farewell to the Hunza, we returned to Gilgit after stopping to load up with some cherries from the tree in Saaed’s cousins garden. Gilgit was a bustling metropolis compared to Hunza and the bazaar was in full swing. We stopped to take more photocopies of our passports for the multiple checkpoints we would encounter
Heading up the Hindu Kush Read More »
Sleeping in the airport Our flight to islamabad was two hours delayed – no explanation – or at least no explanation until we were on the plane and half way to Pakistan. Apparently Imran Khan’s protest machine (he recently lost his role as Prime Minister) had led to road closures all over the country. BA
Hanging out in Hunza Read More »
Day 5 Hoq Cave, Arher beach and Ras Erissel I was looking forward to today – a hike uphill to the very deep Hoq Cave. Many of the tourists skip it in may due to the heat, and the guide book said it was about 2 hours to get there, but also that it was
Socotra Yemen part 2 – Hiking and Wadi swimming Read More »
I had been planning to go to Socotra for a while. It’s a bonkers place – very unusual trees, a remote location, very devout muslims, no wifi or 3g, no government, no rubbish collection, and not much in the way of women’s rights. It is bloody hard to get to – flights go on Monday
Socotra, Yemen (part 1) – Dragon blood trees, dunes and dolphins Read More »
The birthplace of writing in Uruk En route to Nasiriyah we stopped at Uruk – the most important archaeological site in Mesopotamia, a Sumerian city state founded 7000 years ago. There is not much to see as most of the city hasn’t yet been excavated (though the nazis did come in the 30s to build
Iraq 3 – Baking in Basra Read More »