Datong: Buddhism on a big scale

View the full set of Datong photos here

We were catching the train out of Beijing so said our goodbyes to Rich (although we were coming back in a couple of weeks – view the TripLine map to see our route) and headed to the supermarket to buy some snacks for the journey. I waited […]

Beijing – The beating heart of China

See the full set of Beijing photos here

This travelling lark is not all beer and skittles. After an overnight bus from Manali to Delhi and a red-eye flight from Delhi to Hong Kong my body packed it in and gave me a fever, diarrhoea and vomiting for two days, although not before I had […]

Delhi, India: An end to our Indian dalliance

View all our photos of Delhi here

When we arrived back at the place where we began our Indian travels, Delhi, we mopped up the remaining sightseeing activities. Top of our list was a city tour led by former street kids with an organisation that provides health, housing and education to thousands of kids living […]

Manali, India: Wandering with the livestock

While it is true, beloved reader, that you don’t experience our travels with all your senses, this is in part a blessing. While you don’t smell the incense burned in the 4WD every morning before driving through northern India’s Spiti Valley, you are also spared the ass-numbing drive over terribly rocky mountain roads and the […]

Tabo: The mountains are my god

View more photos from Kalpa to Tabo, Tabo, Tabo to Kaza and the towns of Kaza, Kibber and Kee monastery.

Our speed on this journey was woefully slow thanks to the poor condition of the roads. If we saw that a town was 60 kilometres away we thought “that should only take about three hours”. […]

Rakcham: The end of the road

We drove towards the Sangla valley, through dry hill country filled with gum trees and burning-off, making it smell just like an Australian summer. We found eucalypts in almost every country we visited and while the locals don’t always appreciate their water-guzzling ways, the trees seem to thrive, growing tall very quickly. In this valley […]

Shimla, India: Oh I do like to be beside the mountains

Full set of Shimla photos

We arrived in the faux English town of Shimla, former colonial capital in summer, after having our fill of being stuck in the tiny hatchback taxi and driving at 30km/h along sickness-inducing windy roads, so getting lost looking for the hotel was not our ideal scenario. The accommodation we booked […]

Rewalsar, India: Relaxing with the religions

Full set of photos for the road to Rewalsar and the town of Rewalsar itself

We picked up a slightly calmer driver in Mcleodganj who drove us to Shimla via Rewalsar. It was a revelation to be in a car that was not constantly honking, although others amply supplied the deficit. Once you get down […]

Mcleodganj: Hanging with the hippies

Full set of Mcleodganj photos here

From Amritsar we switched from ordeal by train to taxi. There are not as many train options to head into the mountains and a car taking us to Mcleodganj was reasonably priced – but where the train at least glides smoothly through the landscape, the roads in India take […]

Amritsar, India: Golden Town

Head here for more photos and videos of Amritsar

Turkey was great fun and easy to travel in. This does not make for particularly interesting reading. Drama and suffering make much more compelling topics for art. There are not many successful artistic depictions of happiness, so while Turkey was a good experience, writing about […]