We spent most of last night wandering the streets of Calcutta. We had no idea where we were or exactly where we were going. It was amazing. We’re here during a major Indian festival called ‘Durga Puja’. It is celebrated in many places in India, but nowhere with the fervor Continue Reading
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Oh Calcutta
Leaving the South of India we returned to the North, catching a flight from Chennai to Kolkata, the capital of West Bengal state. Kolkata was previously known as Calcutta. Diane was a bit apprehensive about coming to Calcutta. It is India’s second largest city with over 15 million people. In Continue Reading
The Last of the Man Eaters
We’ve come to the Sunderbans, the last place in India where people are regularly attacked and eaten by tigers. It is located on the north east border with Bangladesh, which is just a few kilometers from where we write this. Sunderbans is the world’s largest river delta, where the Ganges Continue Reading
On Toileting
Be aware that the following article is colourful, and may offend the sensibilities of the faint of heart. Or, you might just laugh your a** off. As is the case with many travel epics, it has come to this, the point when the many exaltations of a grand journey are Continue Reading
A Taxonomy of Toilets
The following article classifies the many species of toilet that we’ve encountered on our journey. Although we are not trained biologists, we believe that we have now spent enough time in the natural environs of these commodes to make an initial classification possible. The Sit This is an elusive breed, Continue Reading
Begging
We expected to be encounter people begging on this trip. However at times it can be overwhelming and much more sad then we had expected. One of the toughest things to deal with, is that we’re getting used to it. This is a way of life for many people here Continue Reading
Things we like about travel
In addition to the challenges associated with extended travel, there are a lot of terrific things also. We want to highlight some of these also, in case they’re not obvious from our stories, to keep things in perspective. So here they are in no particular order… Spectacular locations – From Continue Reading
Travel Pet Peeves
As with any sustained and repetitive activity of reasonable complexity, traveling tends to have its minor annoyances. We prefer to look at these as challenges rather than problems, but they can become irritating, especially when our energy, and therefore tolerance, is low or our frustration level high. One of the Continue Reading
Kerala Backwaters
Having reached the northernmost point in India that foreigners are allowed to go to (in the Nubra Valley in Ladakh about 60 kilometers from the Chinese border), we made the turn and started heading south again. The first seven kilometers of our return journey was walking across sand dunes accompanying Continue Reading
Tibet
Over the last month we’ve spent a lot of time in northern India, especially in the cities of Leh (in Ladakh) and McLeod Ganj (in Himachal Pradesh). These areas are home to many thousands of Tibetan refugees who escaped persecution by the Chinese and have been granted asylum in India. Continue Reading