WorldWideWanderers

The “Beast from the East” almost prevented our wanderings as heavy snow showers resulted in our Heathrow flight being the last plane to leave Newcastle that day. We felt very lucky to be able to meet our friends at Heathrow and make the connection with our overnight Jet airways flight to Mumbai and then transferring to a small domestic flight to the city of Vadodara in the Indian state of Gujarat. We noticed an immediate difference, -4c suddenly changed to a sweltering 36c!! What a first day in India – next morning the colourful Hindi celebration of Holi was in full swing - as Hindus of all ages celebrated the festival by throwing multi-coloured paint powder over themselves and their friends ending up in a myriad of rainbow colours accompanied by much shouting, laughing & merriment ... read more

A relaxing 2 day cruise on the RV Kindat Pandaw downstream on the Ayeyarwady River transported us from Mandalay to Bagan - famous for the 3800 Buddhist Temples and Stupas in the area. On arriving in Bagan the vistas were amazing with numerous brick-built Stupas, with many different shapes, tall and thin, short and squat, bell-shaped or pointed, scattered apparently randomly across the countryside. As we slowly made our way along narrow sandy tracks on a horse and carriage we watched Stupa after Stupa pass serenely by and occasionally a special dazzling golden pagoda would be spotted in the distance. We would stop at occasional temples where 13th Century Buddha Statues would be found within small central chambers. In addition to the culture we also visited a local village, colourful markets, a lacquerware workshop, watched hot-air ... read more

Travelling further south we are aiming for Shiraz, but we have a lot of Persian history to learn about, and see, on the journey. Initially we head into the mountains, passing through remote rural villages - the going is slow. We stop, for an enjoyable picnic lunch, and eventually reach our destination for the night, at a home stay in the small village of Faraghe. We stroll around the village, sampling hot breads straight from the wood-fired ovens, and later sample figs and pomegranates picked from the orchard trees. We enjoy a simple but tasty home-cooked meal around a blazing brazier. The following morning the history commences when we visit the Tomb of Cyrus the Great, the founder of the Persian Empire, a high stone tiered edifice. Iranians are forever drinking tea, lightly spiced with mint, ... read more

On our way to our third and final Indian State of Karnataka we initially take our first Indian mainline train, from Cochin to Coimbatore, in the relative luxury of a “2nd Class air-conditioned Chair Carriage” as opposed to the overcrowded stereotype of Indian trains in the unreserved 3rd class carriage!! We then have a 4 hour drive up a fairly hair-raising narrow road, with so many hair-pin bends we lose count, into the Western Ghats where we spend another couple of nights in Tamil Nadu in the hill station town of Ootacamund or Ooty for short! Set within the high hills, surrounded by tea plantations, this former British Raj town is pleasantly cool compared to the high humidity and temperatures on the coast of Kerala! Ooty is famous for the “Nilgiri Mountain Steam Train” - also ... read more

We are wandering around Southern India - our third visit to India - on a small group tour. Our arrival into Chennai brings back the reasons we like India so much - the colours, spicy curry aromas, mayhem, hot weather, friendly locals, street food stalls - as the India tourist poster states - Incredible India - we are certainly glad to be back. Initially, a few days of rest recovering from jet-lag, visiting a FabIndia shop to purchase another couple of colourful shirts at very reasonable prices, trying out the Southern Indian curries and acclimatising to the hot and slightly humid weather prior to the tour commencing. We travel to Mahabalipuram, stopping off at Kanchipuram to visit magnificent Hindu temples - alive with activity, colour and chanting. Our hotel is situated on the beach overlooking the ... read more