A short flight from Calcutta took us north to Bagdogra where our new guide and driver were waiting to drive us up into the mountains, starting from a height of 500ft and ending at 7000ft in Darjeeling. The road was steep with multiple hairpin bends and some fairly rough potholed stretches.Darjeeling is situated in a pine-clad valley, with the town clinging to the steep mountainsides, consisting of small houses, shops and taller concrete townhouses linked by numerous small narrow streets, alleys and steps. We walked up the hillside, slightly out of breath, due to a combination of the steepness and also the altitude, to the Mall. The Mall, which sits high up on the mountain should have spectacular views but we were thwarted by low cloud and mist, is a square surrounded by small shops selling ... read more

Accommodation - Karavansara Hotel Siem Reap Weather - Hot and sunny with occasional clouds 35c There is really only one thing to do in Siem Reap and that is to visit the Temples of Angkor. Our first visit was to Angkor Thom - the capitol city of King Jayavarman VII's vast Khmer empire in the 12th century. The complex was built as an impregnable fortress at the heart of his empire. At the exact centre of Angkor Thom is the Bayon Temple - with 216 smiling faces and extensive bas-relief decoration. The faces are thought to represent King Jayavarman himself as a reflection of his god-like status. A very impressive awe-inspiring start to the temples of Angkor - especially when WanderingAlison was able to stand nose-to-nose with the King!! In the late afternoon we visited Angkor ... read more

Accommodation - Veranda Natural Resort - Kep Accommodation - 4 Rivers Floating Lodge - Koh Kong Weather - Hot & sunny with blue skies and occasional clouds 32c On our transfer from the Cambodian border to Kep we stopped at an interesting cave temple of Wat Kirisan built into the base of a small mountain. Walking through the caves revealed steep limestone cliffs covered with foliage and occasional hidden shrines with gold and silver buddhas. Kep is a somewhat sleepy seaside town, on the Gulf of Thailand, famous for its regional green fresh peppercorns, blue crabs, prawns and other seafood. Kep was Cambodia's first seaside resort, founded by the French in 1908. Fine french-style mansions now lay deserted, burnt out and abandoned following Khmer Rouge invasions during the civil war. We were staying at the Veranda ... read more

Accommodation - Liberty Central Hotel Weather - Hot, sunny & blue skies - 30c 'Chuc Mung Nam Moi' - Happy New Year in Vietnamese. What a day to arrive in Ho Chi Minh City - Saigon - the Vietnamese New Year's Eve (Tet). The city is in full 'Tet' celebrations. Having arrived at our hotel at 20.00hrs we head out at 21.30hrs, jet-lag keeping us awake, to join in with the fun. Within walking distance of our hotel the streets are ablaze with festive lights hanging across the streets, in the trees, on buildings and there are vast crowds of locals all arriving on an almost never ending stream of motorcycles from every direction. 2014 is the Vietnamese Year of the Horse - which explains why there are so many images and statues of horses!! We ... read more

Accommodation - LaLit Laxmi Vilas Palace Weather - Sunny & blue skies - 28C During our journey to Udaipur we stopped at Ranakpur the site of one of the largest Jain temple complexes in India. Set within the wooded hillside of the Aravallis mountains the central Chaumukha Temple was built in 1439, and is in stunning condition, composed of 29 halls supported by 1,444 ornately carved marble pillars, none of which are alike. On our journey we also saw examples of rural indian life, with an oxen-operated persian style water wheel, a camel carrying dried sugar cane stalks, a village water pump and a visit to a Bishnoi village. The Bishnoi tribe follow strict conservational religious beliefs, protecting the flora and fauna, strict vegetarians and live in tidy small hamlets. The married women wear ornamental nose ... read more