Nepal Blog Our flight from Delhi to Nepal gave us a good view of the distant Himalayas as we approached Kathmandu and the surrounding valley. We arrived on a day in which the air was unusually clear, with blue skies and the tops of snow-covered mountain peaks showing behind the surrounding hills.Kathmandu is a crowded, noisy, dirty place ­- with a great atmosphere in the old parts of the city, dating back to the 15th century and earlier. The traffic was as cra...

We were met at Delhi airport by Randeep, who was to be our driver for the next 9 days. After the chaos and crowds of Mumbai, Delhi seemed surprisingly well laid out and organised - at least in the centre where there are some impressive government buildings and monuments. It seemed more like Washington DC or London than the India we had seen so far. Old Delhi, however, was as chaotic as Mumbai. We drove by the Thieves Market, where our driver said that if he left ...

We flew from Mumbai to Goa, where we stayed a short way from the beach in Calingute. The place was full of package tourists, mainly Russian and European. Apparently, there is now considerable Russian investment in parts of North Goa, a fair bit of it funded by the Russian mafia, who like to go there to play (and drink and fight - according to the locals).We did find our way to an interesting night market north of Calingute. Many of the clothing and apparel stalls...

We arrived in Mumbai after spending another night in Bangkok airport (which we are getting to know quite well). I had visited Mumbai (or Bombay as it is still called by many Indians)about 8 years ago. Just as when I first visited, I found the sights,sounds, smells and overall atmosphere were almost overwhelming at first. But surprisingly, it does not take long before you begin to take for granted what would have shocked or amazed a few days previously. (One of t...

Well - here is the story from Cambodia. We flew into Siem Reap in Northern Cambodia and checked into a great little hotel a few blocks off the main street. Tourism for Angkor Wat and the surrounding temples has taken off in a big way and there were several higher end hotels evident.Ours was a very reasonable, great quality place a few blocks off the main street which catered to the backpacker crowd rather than the package tourist. The tourist core of Siam Reap ...