Langtang Views 1“Our second day’s trek initially brought us very steeply downhill, our packs conspiring to push us ever faster down the sinuous path to the main river valley, which we then followed upriver, sometimes steeply, usually gradual climbing next to the glacial torrent thundering away on our left.
- So, what’s it worth ?
The question of value, and of values, can often be highlighted by travel in countries with which we may only have a passing acquaintance. The commonest example of this disparity is when people part with money willingly. It stands to reason, I think, that when people dive out of a …
- Quetta New Year’s Day – Bob’s story
Quetta, New Years day walk, Chiltan Hill, – Bob’s story. Ah, yes, as I was saying, our New Year’s day walk. This involved getting a bus out along Brewery (pronounced Biroori) Rd for perhaps 5 miles or so, 1½ Rupees in a bus we unexpectedly found was divided by a …
- Story behind the picture #10 Et in Arcadia ego: Fathers’ Day
I am on a sandbank in northern India. There is a full moon. The Ganges is the most sacred river of India if you speak to a Hindu for whom it is a goddess itself, bringing spiritual power from the abode of Shiva, creator and destroyer. It is a monumentally …
- Amateur Emigrants #3 From Mountain to Sea
Our Stay in Todra was blessed by a brilliant combination of rest and recreation. Good simple food and a room or roof to relax on was a salve to the constant driving we seem to have done. Our scrambling and hiking up the steep sided gorge behind the Hotel Yasmina …
- Amateur Emigrant #2 Imperial cities, eternal desert
Having left the craggy heights of the Rif mountains, we now headed toward the ancient city of Fes, home to one of the most intact medieval medinas in the world. Our route took us through undulating farmland and scattered villages, underlining the value of agriculture here. At the beginning of …
- The Tackety Boot
Boots were never destined to be the darlings of the catwalk, except perhaps for the sometimes frivolous, rarely practical iterations seen on leggy models. But they do reflect a wide range of uses, some highly specific to certain activities, some merely clumpy, common or garden varieties, and some strongly associated …
- Departures: trains and boats and planes
Having spent so many years working in travel, I’ve lost count many years ago of the number of times I’ve left the front door not knowing if I’d ever see, or be seen again by those I care for. Of course, in reality, we all do this, every day, accidents …
- What was the worst thing…?
What was the worst thing…. A very common question people seem to ask, whether a customer on tour, or an acquaintance who finds out the work you do is what’s the worst thing that happened to you ?
- Story behind the Picture #14 Portals to Enlightenment
Few things have simultaneously puzzled, intrigued, tortured, enraptured, dominated, bedevilled and promised enlightenment and salvation to the hapless human race than religion.
