…from the road less traveled.
Who knows? Maybe you’ll find some inspiration for that next big trip.
We went to Iraq in part for its jaw-dropping 7000 years of history. But we also wanted to experience Iraq’s well-known culture of ingrained hospitality. So after a couple of days of getting turned away from closed monuments in Baghdad but heartily welcomed by nearly every person in the street, we set off for Mosul.
Everyone knows it’s not easy to get into Turkmenistan. Ok, a lot of people probably haven’t heard of Turkmenistan. But once you do, you mainly hear how hard it is to visit. Starting our pre-travel research, I read: ‘The country is known for its autocratic government and large gas reserves’. Sounds fascinating, right? Well, having got the visa, we can say that yes, it definitely is.
Determined to salvage the day, it seemed Milton had hired a fixer. ‘This is Maputo. He knows another way’ he said, and pointed at the ten year old boy now standing next to him. We didn’t know what to say. What we did know was that we definitely had to see what this was all about. So we piled back into Milton’s sedan, this time with a child-fixer up front muttering in Portuguese.
We got a taste of the mountains ahead on the bus ride to Syrabru Besi. The road was worse than the trek itself could possibly be. It involved teetering on hairpin bends of the sort that made me close my eyes, although I noticed that other passengers seemed to relish the views of certain death, should anything go wrong. Then, we set off on the trail and spent seven days hiking the Langtang valley.
I’ve been to India many times before, but I just keep going back. India never ceases to amaze me. In part because no matter how much time I spend there, it still feels like I’m just scratching the surface. Here are a few of the things that – for us anyway – make a trip to India….such a trip.
We had a night train to catch to Varanasi. ‘The City of Learning and Burning’, on the banks of the Ganges: Varanasi is one of the holiest places in all of India.
Bhutan: a tiny Himalayan kingdom with a pricey entrance fee, and a border crossing in the middle of a city that straddles two countries. Standing on our hotel balcony in India, we looked across the street and into the next country. Surrounded by mountains, Bhutan really is a world of its own.
Bangladesh: really? What should you expect? Here are some surprises and random quirks you will just have to get used to, when you travel in South Asia’s forgotten country.
By train, or bus, or boat, or rickshaw – it’s rare that we’ve not been able to get somewhere we want to go. Except the time India wouldn’t let us in in the first place. However, once we’re inside the country we’ll find a ride one way or another. And keep in mind, India is huge. Bangladesh, on the other hand, is tiny. But it doesn’t always feel so tiny, when you’re traveling by public transport.
When we reached the Wagah border in Pakistan, we’d been on the road for almost seven months. Starting all the way back in Cameroon, we’d seen some wild places and done some amazing things. Still, we were looking forward to a bit of a break someplace restful and chill – like…India?
We went to Iraq in part for its jaw-dropping 7000 years of history. But we also wanted to experience Iraq’s well-known culture of ingrained hospitality. So after a couple of days of getting turned away from closed monuments in Baghdad but heartily welcomed by nearly every person in the street, we set off for Mosul.
Everyone knows it’s not easy to get into Turkmenistan. Ok, a lot of people probably haven’t heard of Turkmenistan. But once you do, you mainly hear how hard it is to visit. Starting our pre-travel research, I read: ‘The country is known for its autocratic government and large gas reserves’. Sounds fascinating, right? Well, having got the visa, we can say that yes, it definitely is.
Determined to salvage the day, it seemed Milton had hired a fixer. ‘This is Maputo. He knows another way’ he said, and pointed at the ten year old boy now standing next to him. We didn’t know what to say. What we did know was that we definitely had to see what this was all about. So we piled back into Milton’s sedan, this time with a child-fixer up front muttering in Portuguese.
We got a taste of the mountains ahead on the bus ride to Syrabru Besi. The road was worse than the trek itself could possibly be. It involved teetering on hairpin bends of the sort that made me close my eyes, although I noticed that other passengers seemed to relish the views of certain death, should anything go wrong. Then, we set off on the trail and spent seven days hiking the Langtang valley.
I’ve been to India many times before, but I just keep going back. India never ceases to amaze me. In part because no matter how much time I spend there, it still feels like I’m just scratching the surface. Here are a few of the things that – for us anyway – make a trip to India….such a trip.
We had a night train to catch to Varanasi. ‘The City of Learning and Burning’, on the banks of the Ganges: Varanasi is one of the holiest places in all of India.
Bhutan: a tiny Himalayan kingdom with a pricey entrance fee, and a border crossing in the middle of a city that straddles two countries. Standing on our hotel balcony in India, we looked across the street and into the next country. Surrounded by mountains, Bhutan really is a world of its own.
Bangladesh: really? What should you expect? Here are some surprises and random quirks you will just have to get used to, when you travel in South Asia’s forgotten country.
By train, or bus, or boat, or rickshaw – it’s rare that we’ve not been able to get somewhere we want to go. Except the time India wouldn’t let us in in the first place. However, once we’re inside the country we’ll find a ride one way or another. And keep in mind, India is huge. Bangladesh, on the other hand, is tiny. But it doesn’t always feel so tiny, when you’re traveling by public transport.
When we reached the Wagah border in Pakistan, we’d been on the road for almost seven months. Starting all the way back in Cameroon, we’d seen some wild places and done some amazing things. Still, we were looking forward to a bit of a break someplace restful and chill – like…India?