Thorny Fox

Hello everyone, Sorry it has been so long since my last post.After India I came home to England for a quick rest before setting off again. I am now in South America. I flew into a beautiful city called Lima, which is the capital of Peru. I left just as all the snow started to fall in Southampton. I was very lucky to get my flight at all as lots were cancelled. Peru is beautiful and all the people are very friendly. All the people here speak Spanish so I have had to practice. After Lima I took a long bus journey to a place called Pisco and onto Paracas which is on the Pacific coast. In Paracas I took a boat to see the wildlife around Islas Ballestas. These islands are most famous for it´s ... read more

Hello everyone, Shimla is very cold at this time of year but has stunning views and a lot of history surrounding the city. During the time of British rule in India, Shimla was the summer capital. On the plains around Delhi it gets very, very hot during the summer months, so during this time the Viceroy and his staff would retreat to the hills where it was cooler. It wasn't just the Summer capital of India, but of the whole of the British Empire at the time. At one point one fifth of the globe was controlled from Shimla. Lots of the building here look very english, in fact it looks a little bit like Winchester! I visited the Viceregal Lodge where the British in charge lived and governed. It is a beautiful building and again ... read more

Sat siri akal (a Punjabi greeting), Amritsar has got to be omne of the best places I have visited so far. I got off the train and immediately found a very nice rickshaw driver called Shindla who agreed to show me around the city. First, we stopped for Chai which is Indian tea spiced with cardomon, ginger and cloves. Then I got my fist view of the Golden Temple. This is the most sacred place for the Sikh religion and most Sikh's try to make a pilgrimmage here at least once in their lives. The temple sits in the middle of man made lake called the Sarovar (Pool of Nectar) surrounded by a huge complex. It is open 24 hours a day and was very busy when I arrived. Hundreds of people were praying, bathing in ... read more

Hello everyone, sorry it's been such a long time since I blogged last. I have been very busy and moving around a lot and it has been hard to find places with the internet. Lumbini was a very spiritual place for Buddhists as Lord Buddha was born there. The city contain lots of Temples and monestaries from different countries around the world. I didn't have enough time to see them all, but I did manage to see the Mayanmar (Burma) temple, Korean, Japanese, German, French and Thai temples. It was very interesting and extremely beautiful. I stayed in a guest house in a little village outside of the main city. The owner was very hospitable and cook me dinner. A traditional Nepalese dinner is called a Thali. This contains a little rice, dhal (lentils), veg, lime ... read more

Hello everyone, A lot has happened over the last few weeks. Kathmandu, in Nepal, was very busy and full of travellers. I met up with a guide called Shankar, who was to help me on my trek through the Annapurna Sanctuary. First we went to a place called Swayambunath, which is a Buddhist temple just outside Kathmandu. It has 365 steps leading up to the temple, one for every day of the year. It is said that if you climb all the way to the top then all of your sins for that year will be washed away. It is also known as a monkey temple due to the large amount of monkeys who live there. We then travelled east to the city of Bhaktapur, which is another world heritage site. We saw a lot of ... read more

Hi Guys, I have been travelling alot since my last post. It has been very exciting, but i am now very tired. After seeing the Taj Mahal in Agra. I took an overnight train to a city called Varanasi. The train took over 14 hours and broke down a couple of times but I was lucky enough to have a bed. Varanasi was beautiful and is known as the holiest city in India. The river Ganges runs along side the city and is a very holy river. People do everything there: bathe, laundry, Drink, Pray and when someone dies, they are cremated on the river bank. I have now crossed the border into Nepal. It is a beautiful country and the home of Mount Everest. Next week I will be trekking in the Himalayas around the ... read more

Hello everyone, You will be glad to know that Ihave arrived in India safe and sound. Delhi was very, very busy with lots of people, bicycles, rickshaws and cars. I am now in Agra, which is the home of the Taj Mahal. It is on of the seven wonders of the world! Tomorrow I am catching a train to a city called Varanasi. It is the holiest city in India and the river Ganges runs straight through it. Everyone here is very friendly and very helpful. I have to go now but will be in touch again soon. Your friend, Thorny.... read more

Hello everyone, Not long to go now. I'm getting very excited! I am flying from Heathrow to New Delhi in India at 5.20pm. It will take about eight hours to fly to Delhi. The time in India is 5 1/2 hours ahead of here in england so I will arrive at about seven o'clock tomorrow morning Indian Time. Thorny... read more