Check your nerves on my curves: the road trip from Srinigar to Leh
(This isn’t finished but I have run out of time – we leave Leh to go trekking for a few days, back on 26th if all goes well. I have forgotten the headline act which […]
Politics aside, a photo interlude of Dal Lake and Srinigar in Kashmir.
I write this from Leh in Ladakh and so we did indeed leave Kashmir in one piece. It is worth reflecting on Dal Lake, Srinigar and the Kashmir Valley as they radiate fame and lore […]
The one where we find out why there are no European tourists in Kashmir
We are talking after dinner with the owner of our houseboat on Dal Lake. He is explaining why tourist numbers are down and business is tough for the 800-1200 houseboats. While the lake is full […]
Welcome back – two weeks in India starts with a dumb, expensive mistake
“Is it Dan or Daniel?” It is not a difficult question but my stomach twists a knot and I hear words come out of my mouth. “Please don’t do that, please” 10 seconds into the […]
History and warmth in Cambodia
Two questions bother me after five days in Cambodia: ==== People travel for fun, for good times, and you could sail through Cambodia and emerge still ignorant about the genocide in the 1980s, Pol Pot, […]
7th, 8th or 9th Wonder of the World
‘Why did we get up so ****** early – we told you that 5am was too early.’ Mutiny is in the air. The aggressive wake-up time has disturbed the troops. ‘If you knew the sun […]
Becoming the product: luxury travel in Halong Bay, Vietnam
Vietnam is an economic success story, but one that you don’t hear much about. It’s GDP averages 6+% since 2000. Or perhaps you do if you look closely at your Nike shoe or clothing labels. […]
Nice communists, climate change challenges and Christmas Day – reflections on Laos
It’s Christmas Day, theoretically, and since Laos has few Christians, the day is not recognised by the Government; only by a few tourist outlets displaying garish red and white decorations with uncharacteristic desperation. The children […]
Trekking in Laos through teak forests
‘Just how exactly did the travel agent describe this trek?’ It is not so much a question as a threat. Lucy is half-way up a dried-up stream in the hills outside Luang Prabang. The gradient […]
Paradise Found: Luang Prabang
[Luang Prabang for 3 nights to start our trip] Sometimes, you just know. Call it experience, call it luck, call it intuition, call it one of the very few good things about getting older, but […]
Travels with my Family 