Ireland - only for the Brave 18th April 2018 Continuing the Grey Haired Nomads’ 2,200 mile journey by motorhome, clockwise around Ireland Waterford to Westport and beyond From our overnight stop to the west of Waterford, we drove the 40 km of N25 in dense fog to Dungarvan, County Waterford, and followed the minor road out to Gaelic speaking, Helvick Head. (You’ll have noticed, we like these ends of the road!) There’s a picturesque harbour with a few leaning boats stranded at low tide where the road runs out, and black guillemots and sandwich terns on the water. But the thing of real note is the road signs - they’re all in Gaelic only. Quite dangerous for visitors. There are many Gaelic-speaking communities across the south here. By mid-morning thin sunshine had filtered through the mist ... read more

Return to India 10 (click on 'previous' below the panoramas for earlier blogs) 7th February 2018 Jaisalmer, Deserted Villages and Leopards! Continuing the travels of two somewhat elderly brothers, David (of ‘the grey haired nomads’) and the younger, Mike, (aka, ‘keep smiling’). The three-hour car journey to Jaisalmer is taking us across Rajasthan's monotonous pancake-flat landscape, a vast plain the colour of parched oatmeal with sparse thorn and acacia scrub. Flocks of sheep and herds of goats cross the road in front of us, the occasional wandering cow heads in our direction down the middle of the road and a heavily-laden camel cart slows our path. A shrike on a branch is looking for lizards beside the road, we pass a lady bearing sticks on her head for cooking, and now-and-again there are small areas of ... read more

Return to India 8 (click on 'previous' below the panoramas for earlier blogs) 1st February 2018 The Ancient Castle at Khandela, and Blackbuck Continuing the travels of two somewhat elderly brothers, David (of ‘the grey haired nomads’) and the younger, Mike, (aka, ‘keep smiling’). Today we're travelling by car from the Pink City of Jaipur to the town of Khandela, in the Sikar District of Rajasthan, about 100 miles to the north. It's a little off the tourist trail and we're rather looking forward to meeting our host, Dr Raisal Singh Khandela, at his hotel, a Heritage Hotel of considerable charm, fashioned from a minor part of his ancient castle complex. Our arrival beyond the huge gates of this grand Mogul palace is greeted in traditional fashion with garlands of marigolds, our foreheads daubed with orange ... read more

27th January 2018 Madhya Pradesh Return to India 6 (Click on 'previous' below the panoramas for earlier blogs) 25th January 2018 Looking for Royal Bengal Tigers in Bandhavgarh National Park Continuing the travels of two somewhat elderly brothers, David (of ‘the grey haired nomads’) and the younger, Mike, (aka, ‘keep smiling’). I’m not going to make any promises, but we’re going to look for tigers. The first problem is the arduous journey to get from Rishikesh to the tiger reserve at Banhavgarh. The second problem is that looking for tigers in the wild is rather like looking for a needle in a haystack, as I recall from our last visit in 2013 . So, there’s another strenuous day ahead I’m afraid: another 6am sta... read more

January 2018 Return to India 4 (click on 'Previous Entry' below the panorama for earlier blogs) The Ganges by boat Uttar Pradesh Continuing the travels of two somewhat elderly brothers, David (of ‘the grey haired nomads’) and the younger, Mike, (aka, ‘keep smiling’). Allahabad to Varanasi Continuing the travels of two somewhat elderly brothers, David (of ‘the grey haired nomads’) and the younger, Mike, (aka, ‘keep smiling’) getting to know each other rather better as they travel through the north of this fascinating country. Our hosts at Kanchan Villa Guesthouse in Allahabad are joining us for breakfast again this morning and there’s much excitement in the air as we prepare to embark on a two-day boat journey down the River Ganges, drifting gently on the mighty... read more