Pete Ellison
These are the tales of a Small Englishman, wandering the world in search of adventure, enlightenment and the perfect curryLobsterCheeks
Travel Blog Posts
December 18th 2012
My journey through Mexico was partly a culinary tour, to learn about local cuisines and explore new flavours. Our next stop was the city of Puebla where I discovered plenty of exciting culinary delights. It was the first place I have ever eaten sweetcorn, chilli and chocolate for breakfast (all on the same plate). It was also the first place I tried deep-fried grasshoppers. But more about that later. Puebla is a charming colonial city whose claim to fame is that it contains 365 churches, one for each day of the year. This is actually a lie. Naughty naughty. While it contains over 70 churches in the historic centre alone, the figure of 365 actually comes from the number of church domes that exist. The strength of their faith is shown by the sheer number of ... read more
December 16th 2012
There is something extremely satisfying about flying from England during bad weather, on your way to warmer climes. It´s a mixture of good-natured smugness, relief and anticipation all rolled into one lovely holiday sensation. We were approaching Heathrow Airport as it started to snow, and our taxi was being buffeted by a cold December wind. I was flying to Mexico with my friend Justine, for three weeks of sunshine, tacos and tequila. We were escaping the grim English winter to bask in the glorious sunshine and break out the much-neglected sandals and shorts. So you can imagine our horror when we landed in Mexico City in jeans and T-shirts only to find temperatures barely hovering above zero. How was this possible? Had we landed in the wrong country by mistake? Apart from a lone sweatshirt, I ... read more
September 16th 2011
No visit to India is complete without the Bollywood Experience. I was fortunate enough to see a Bollywood film at a cinema that is considered to be one of India's finest, the Raj Mandir. It looks like an immense meringue, and has been described as a cross between a temple and Disneyland. The whole experience was extraordinary. We were the only non-locals in the cinema, and drew curious looks from people as we walked in. The entrance hall to the theatre was nothing less than magnificent. As the curtains drew back and the film began, there was a huge cheer from the crowd and much clapping. This was a common event throughout the film. Whenever the hero pulled a cool move, or triumphed over a bad guy, everyone was whooping, whistling and clapping. Some people even ... read more
September 13th 2011
Despite having been in India for several weeks, I had not yet grasped the Indian Head Wobble. When speaking to an Indian local, you typically get a slight wobble of the head from side-to-side. This generally translates to an affirmative answer but you are never quite sure. The intensity of the wobble can sometimes help gauge the meaning. A fast and vigorous wobbling can mean that the person understands and is in strong agreement with you. A quick wobble from left to right can mean a simple “yes.” Whereas a soft and slow wobble accompanied by a smile can just signify friendship. But equally, sometimes it can mean “No” or “I don’t know”. You have to live in India for some time I think, to understand the intracacies of the Indian Head Wobble. I have heard ... read more
February 4th 2008
India is a vast country, and if visiting for a month, you can barely scratch the surface. But the size of India is not immediately apparent. It' s only when you come to travel across it that you realise how massive it is. We had to get from Varanasi to Agra, and looking on a map it seems like a small distance. But was a twelve-hour train ride. So far in India, any form of transport seemed to be chaotic and somewhat dangerous. Bus drivers are the worst. Apparently some companies give schedules and deadlines, and if the drivers fall behind schedule, they can be fined. This leads to manic driving, risky overtaking and high blood pressure for the passengers. So I was interested to see what the trains of India compared. Especially an overnight train! ... read more
February 2nd 2008
As we crossed Nepal towards India, I noticed several things the closer we got to the border. We started to see more Indians in the ethnic mix of people. The number of beggars slowly increased. And the curries got better. I was very excited about the latter. In my worldwide search for the perfect curry, I was about to enter the motherland! After 9 months of relatively good health, I was on my guard in India. In other countries I had been eating food from street stalls, had ice made from local water, and only used hand sanitiser in extreme circumstances. For the first month of my travels, I had the occasional problem with my plumbing, a minor case of "loose pipes" here and there. But then your body adapts to the local bacterial flora and ... read more
January 30th 2008
A few facts and observations on Nepal... 1. In rural areas of Nepal there used to be a custom of exiling women to the cattle sheds for four days during their period. This was made illegal in 2005 2. Every country in the world has a rectangular flag except Nepal. The Nepalese flag is made up of two triangles joined together 3. Yaks are a very useful Himalayan animal. They are used as high-altitude beasts of burden, and also provide yak butter and yak cheese. Strictly speaking, Yak is the name for a male. The female is known as a Nak. 4. There is not enough electricity to power the whole of Kathmandu at one time. So power cuts are scheduled in different parts of the cities at different times. There is a strict rota which ... read more
January 27th 2008
Why oh why did I choose to visit Nepal at the coldest time of year? Was it an unconscious effort to start acclimatising, ready for my return to chilly England? Or did my English genes simply need a dose of bone-chilling, nipple-freezing cold? Whatever the reason, once again I was cursing the weather and wearing thermals, fleece and hat. My hopes of going home tanned were now dashed. But I don’t regret this choice really, because Nepal has been fantastic. My next adventure was a rafting expedition towards the Indian border. Our group had two main rafts, which each held eight people. Our luggage was sealed in enormous “dry-bags” and strapped securely in the centre of the rafts. There was also a support raft, which was laden with gas bottles, stoves and tents. We were told ... read more
January 24th 2008
If you mention Nepal, most people immediately think of Mount Everest. The world’s highest mountain, and a mountain which has claimed many lives. Hundreds of people head to Nepal each year to climb it’s dangerous summit. But Everest is not going to be in Nepal forever. Scientists take precise GPS readings each year, and the mountain is moving North, slowly but surely, at a rate of 6cm per year. It already straddles the borders of Tibet and Nepal, but by the end of the next Millenium it may have left Nepal entirely. How ridiculous. A mountain on the move. Why is it moving? In search of better lifestyle? To see more of the world? Let’s hope Mount Snowdon doesn’t get ideas and starts moving towards London. It’s hard enough to park a car in London, never ... read more
January 21st 2008
It’s not everyday you meet a living goddess, but I did today. However, we’ll come to that later. I arrived in Nepal after taking three separate planes from Singapore. I left Kathmandu airport and got off to a bad start by having a furious argument with the taxi driver. The airport cabs take pre-paid “taxi coupons”, and when I bought mine I told them I was staying at Via Via Cafe. They wrote “Thamel” on the coupon, which was the area where my accommodation was located. The taxi driver, however, disagreed. He said Via Via Café was just outside Thamel, in a different district. He was planning to drop me and my rucksack in the middle of Thamel. I was having none of this, and insisted he take me to Via Via Café, which is what ... read more
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