There could not have been a more dramatic start to a family holiday. I was at the doorstep of the Embassy of Romania in Delhi on the dot of 12 noon, picked up our four visa-stamped passports, heaved a combined…
With a Book, Camera and Toothbrush: Female, Solo and Baggageless in Phnom Penh
I should have trusted my instincts…after all these were two very different connecting carriers, one a full-service airline and the other a low-cost airline. But the lady at the airline check-in counter assured me that my luggage would be checked…
Highway Stories in Uganda
On the road again Goin’ places that I’ve never been Seein’ things that I may never see again And I can’t wait to get on the road again (On The Road Again, Willie Nelson) Christmas Eve and we were on…
Blue Eyes Don’t Lie
It was oddly weird (or weirdly odd?) to be sitting alone in the city square of a magical foreign destination waiting to be propositioned by a drug peddler. After all I was up in the Rif Mountains, the main hashish…
Passion with Compassion
As the waves gently lapped the rocky shores and the sun set on another gorgeous day in Koh Lanta, I sipped on my lemongrass margaritas and watched nature’s brush paint gorgeous colours against the skyline. It was a surreal setting…
Of Laundry Lines and Ghost Cars…
It’s interesting how some towns define themselves for you by a certain quirkiness. It’s Sunday morning in Split, Croatia. As I do on Sundays in many little towns on my travels, I find a church I can go to.…
Mountains of Faith and Blessing
“Thank you, Lithuanians, for this hill of crosses which testifies to the nations of Europe, and to the whole world, the faith of the people of this land.” Pope John Paul II, Hill of Crosses, Lithuania, September, 1993. It did…
Wherever Beer is Brewed…
“Wherever beer is brewed, all is well – wherever beer is drunk, life is good” – Czech proverb. There was beer. Lots of it. And then there was music. Lots of it. After all, when you think about the fact…
Bollywood In The Most Unexpected Quarters
A hearty greeting from a very cheerful, aging taxi driver followed us as we stepped off the bus terminal into a taxi, wary as often happens in new surroundings of being ripped off. “Where are you from?” our driver asked.…
I’m So Glad for Octobers
“I’m so glad I live in a world where there are Octobers,” L M Montgomery, Anne of Green Gables “On the 27th (of October) I will be on my own and was wondering if you were free to take me…