Vietnam became a colony in the 1880’s, when France took control by force. Like most of South East Asia it was occupied by the Japanese during World War II. After the war, Ho Chi Minh, leader of the Viet Minh, communists from the northern part of Vietnam who had resisted…
Asia
Things you can do on a motor scooter
We’ve seen a lot of things done on a small motor scooter during on our travels. Here are some of them: Lean against it while trying to look cool for the opposite sex Make out with one’s boyfriend or girlfriend in the park while balancing on the kickstand Pull a…
Quotes from His Holiness the 14th Dalai Lama
These words are from the leader of Himalayan Buddhism, a man who describes himself as ‘a simple Buddhist monk’. They had resonance for us, so we wanted to share them with you. “This is my simple religion. There is no need for temples; no need for complicated philosophy. Our own…
Elephant Training
We’ve been looking for the right opportunity to get up close and personal with elephants. We wanted to find a place where the elephants were not there just for tourists to sit on like an amusement park ride, and we wanted to go only where the elephants were well cared…
Durga Puja
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…
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…
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…
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…
Doha First Class
On our flight from London to Mumbai on Qatar Airways, we had a short stopover in Doha, the capital city of Qatar. The airport is basically a transfer station for those flying elsewhere, but it had an amazing duty free shop selling both the full suite of luxury goods, and…