Our journey to Europe started in Jersey to celebrate the 40th birthday of a friend of ours. Of course Jersey is not in Europe, not only is it 11 nautical miles off the European continent, it is not part of the EU’s political process. Jersey makes its money on finance, but it should re assess this immediately. The southernmost of the British Isles has long white beaches fringed by dramatic cliffs. The water is clear if brisk. With the current weak pound, its friendly people, and a unique sense of Britishness, the Island of Jersey is the hidden jewel of European [View Full Entry]

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We boarded our old airbus A320 at Delhi’s Palam Airport. (They like to call it Indira Ghandi International, but I prefer the old name). Indian Airlines has been operating this type since 1990. I suspected that our aircraft was one of the first batch. My seat was worn, but soft, and the leg room sufficient for a man of 6’2”. The main benefit of these airbuses is that the Indians ordered many of them with double bogie undercarriage, so rather than breaking with four wheels, we braked with 8. A major bonus at some of India’s shorter and less easy [View Full Entry]

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Leaving Bandhavgar showed us how remote the park was. We opted to drive to Kati Junction and take the train to Delhi. After changing our tickets using Indian Railways electronic ticketing system, we embarked on what we were told would be a one and a half hour ride. This turned out to be a two and half hour drive over some very bouncy, badly maintained roads. Having budgeted two hours for the journey, we had to harangue our poor driver into making the train time. With only a few minutes to spare, we arrived at a filth pit of a level [View Full Entry]

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Leaving Hyderabad proved to be much more difficult than arriving. We had been waitlisted on the Jabalpur train for a month, and promised that within a month, the confirmation would be issued. On the day of departure, nothing happened. No confirmation was forthcoming. The problem was that this train only operated twice a week between Hyderabad and Patna. A sort of cross country intercity express, that stopped at the heartland stations of India, ending in Bihar. None of its stations were linked with Hyderabad by air, and not of the cities were particularly large. This train was the fastest, most [View Full Entry]

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Hyderabad is this multi ethnic multi religious mix of bad 1980’s concrete, ultra modern euro hotels and business parks, and an ancient dusty dirty Islamic heart. We visited chowmahella palace, the residence of the 5th Nizam. This palace was a series of low bungalows that caught the breeze. Each was laid out with understated finery. This was not the gaudy palace of the vassal state of Mysore, this was a series of small buildings with large lawns, designed to house people, and get on with the business of the state. The audience chamber had a pure marble floor, and a series [View Full Entry]

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I have arrived in Hyderabad and found a connection that is fast enough to upload some photos. If you look at www.flickr.com/photos/11000760@N05/ you will find some new sets. India South 2009 has them all, but India Wildlife is also interesting. I do hope you enjoy looking at these. In the meantime here are some words to amuse you... or bore you. Christian Fishermen and Express Trains. When I say we had arrived at the southernmost point of the Indian Subcontinent, I was being inaccurate by a kilometre. We had actually arrived at the southernmost railways station in India. When we [View Full Entry]

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It never occurred to me that I had any insight into India. I worked here for 3-4 years, ten years ago, and so much has changed since then. Nothing stands still. Politics change, cities are rebuilt and people die. The world moves on. The expericences I had a decade and a half ago would be irrellevant in todays new world. And then there is India. Great, glorious, corrupt, democratic India. An amorphous and diverse mass of humanity, mountains, beaches and fields. Feeding more than a billion people, projecting force around the Indian Ocean, and yet still reliant on its poorest peasant [View Full Entry]

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I rolled over, and looked out of the window. Green India was trundling by. We slowed and screeched into Varkala station. We ground past some foreigners who were obviously on the wrong part of the platform. The ran to keep up with the train and eventually got left behind. As the train slowed and stopped no one immediately got onto our carriage. After a moment or two, sweating foreigners started to get onto the 2nd ac carriage. Mssrs Christine and Aske turned out to be two Danish journalists, laden down with two medium size backpacks and an overnight bag. They had [View Full Entry]

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I have always been a sucker for TK 1971. I love the Turkish flight to London stanstead.It takes off from Istanbul and turns north past the Nato Headquaters, over the Belgrade forest and pops out at the black sea near kilyos, there the aircraft turns left (west) and bimbles along the black sea coast into freezing, gasless Bulgaria. Just to re inforce Bulgaria’s not s nice position, the country was snow covered. The sun did shine however, over the 737-800’s wing. As soon as we took off, a film came on the TV screen. I wacked my free earphones on and [View Full Entry]

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Fun and games in the near east. Istanbul and its people. During my stay in Istanbul, Russia cut off transit gas through Ukraine and Ukraine’s gas. The Russians are ostensibly having a spat with the Ukraine, but I think that are also taking the opportunity to punish Europe. Their former satellites are freezing. Turkey’s gas has also been cut, but the Russians and Iranians increased Turkey’s supply through the Caucasus. “Its only a matter of geography,” said a journalist friend of mine. But she was wrong. Nothing in the middle east is merely a matter of geography [View Full Entry]

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