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 [View Full Entry]

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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. [View Full Entry]

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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. [View Full Entry]

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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 [View Full Entry]

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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 [View Full Entry]

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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 [View Full Entry]

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A major change in my travel itinerary saw me sacrificing Vietnam in favour of Nepal and North India. I had recently spent almost three months in Indonesia and the Philippines, and feared I had reached my limit of palm trees, jungles and fishing villages. Whilst there would be so much more to Vietnam, I thought the physical landscapes of Vietnam would share many aspects with the countries I had visited. I desired a greater difference in beauty and culture to jolt my senses out of complacency. The snow-capped mountains of Nepal and the desert cities of Rajasthan would be ideal. When [View Full Entry]

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Our next two nights were spent in Mulu National Park. This place has been described as being "indescribable", but that's just a cop out. It's a gorgeous region of rivers, mountains and jungle, plus some of the most spectacular caves in the world. The highlight was the Bat Cave, and I don't mean the subterranean lair of the caped crusader. It's actually called Deer Cave, and is home to two million bats (not deer). It's gets the name from the huge numbers of deer who came to feed on the bat guano. No accounting for taste. And two million bats can [View Full Entry]

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Our next journey was into the wilderness of Sarawak, another jungle-clad region of Borneo. A bus ride and three separate boat journeys took us to our destination, deep within the territory of the Iban people. Until as recently as the 1960's, the Iban were fierce headhunters. This wasn't a part time hobby for these people. They didn't just lop off the occasional head. They were dedicated to headhunting, and it was an integral part of their culture which was vital to their survival and prosperity. I will explain more shortly. The Iban live, and still do live, in community buildings called [View Full Entry]

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The National Park leaflets for Mount Kinabalu proudly describe it as "The highest mountain in South-East Asia", but then put in brackets " (not including Papua)". This is a sneaky and cheeky way to boost it's reputation. It's like saying "Madonna is the biggest selling female artist in the world (not including Mariah Carey)". Or, "I am the fastest runner in the world (not including Ben Johnson, Lynford Christie.. etc)" The reason for excluding Papua is that the three highest mountains are found here. So technically, Mount Kinabalu is the fourth highest, which is far less impressive. However, i [View Full Entry]

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