
Once Upon a Time in India
India never fails to surprise me – it’s good that way. This time, with the magical Himalayan former Kingdom of Ladakh. If you’re in India during the monsoon, head on up. There’s plenty to do, and little rain.
…from the road less traveled.
Who knows? Maybe you’ll find some inspiration for that next big trip.

India never fails to surprise me – it’s good that way. This time, with the magical Himalayan former Kingdom of Ladakh. If you’re in India during the monsoon, head on up. There’s plenty to do, and little rain.

‘Orderly’ and ‘dull’: two adjectives that have probably never before been applied to India, and never will be again. But, we’d just come from Pakistan…

Lahore is lovely, but sometimes you have to look hard – at first glance you might see only the nearly constant chaos. Just keep looking, it’s worth it.

While domestic tourism in Pakistan has taken off, international visitor numbers are low. Pakistan is still off-the-beaten-track, but maybe not for long.

We travelled by road in Pakistan from Gilgit to Islamabad on the night bus in the mountains. Then we carried on to Peshawar – for a total change of scenery.

Travelling the Karakoram Highway in Pakistan. You can go by bus, but any trip here will involve at least a bit of hiking – hiking on foot and hitchhiking.

Travelling by road from Kyrgyzstan to Pakistan through Xinjiang in western China: checkpoints, surveillance, checkpoints, questions, and more checkpoints.

Why go to Kazakhstan? There are lots of things to see and do in Almaty, Turkistan and Semey…just expect some long train trips and curious questions.

A beach-hopping holiday in South Goa at Cola and Agonda. Then, back up north and on to the temples and palaces in Orchha, a magnificent historical town.

Getting train tickets in India is sometimes easier said than done. But, once your tickets are sorted, the Taj Mahal in Agra is an easy day trip from Delhi by train.

India never fails to surprise me – it’s good that way. This time, with the magical Himalayan former Kingdom of Ladakh. If you’re in India during the monsoon, head on up. There’s plenty to do, and little rain.

‘Orderly’ and ‘dull’: two adjectives that have probably never before been applied to India, and never will be again. But, we’d just come from Pakistan…

Lahore is lovely, but sometimes you have to look hard – at first glance you might see only the nearly constant chaos. Just keep looking, it’s worth it.

While domestic tourism in Pakistan has taken off, international visitor numbers are low. Pakistan is still off-the-beaten-track, but maybe not for long.

We travelled by road in Pakistan from Gilgit to Islamabad on the night bus in the mountains. Then we carried on to Peshawar – for a total change of scenery.

Travelling the Karakoram Highway in Pakistan. You can go by bus, but any trip here will involve at least a bit of hiking – hiking on foot and hitchhiking.

Travelling by road from Kyrgyzstan to Pakistan through Xinjiang in western China: checkpoints, surveillance, checkpoints, questions, and more checkpoints.

Why go to Kazakhstan? There are lots of things to see and do in Almaty, Turkistan and Semey…just expect some long train trips and curious questions.

A beach-hopping holiday in South Goa at Cola and Agonda. Then, back up north and on to the temples and palaces in Orchha, a magnificent historical town.

Getting train tickets in India is sometimes easier said than done. But, once your tickets are sorted, the Taj Mahal in Agra is an easy day trip from Delhi by train.