A Date With Malaria Part Three

Before I begin the final part of my experience with malaria in a West African nation on my own and thousands of miles away from my friends and family – oops, sorry too much there, I think it’s really important to remember that malaria is still a killer, despite the work that has gone into …

Continue reading A Date With Malaria Part Three

Trip of a Life Time Part Six – Egypt – Alexandria and Cairo

Moving on from one legendary country (in my mind pre-trip) to another, Egypt is one that can easily catch a traveller’s imagination, right? The pyramids, right? Deserts, oasis, camels, Cairo, I half didn’t think it was possible to go there until I started planning this trip, and come mid-April 1999 I was on my way …

Continue reading Trip of a Life Time Part Six – Egypt – Alexandria and Cairo

Trip of a Life Time Part Five – Denmark and Russia

Hello folks. Slowly, I am coming out of hibernation here with the next instalment of my recounting the story of my very first solo, round the world trip in 1999. I need to learn to balance all the things I do it seems – work, writing and other important hobbies for me. This means a …

Continue reading Trip of a Life Time Part Five – Denmark and Russia

Train Journeys – Nha Trang to Hue

  If I have a main regret about my time in Vietnam, it’s probably that I didn’t spend as much time on the rails as I could have. Yes, there was the toy train at Da Lat which I’ve mentioned before and deserves a ‘train journeys’ of its own one day (And I’d say will …

Continue reading Train Journeys – Nha Trang to Hue

Trip of a Life Time – Part 4 – More on India.

    Through the night my first overnight, long bus journey in India. Sleep did not come… pretty much at all. Just before dawn, whilst it was still mostly dark, I arrived in Delhi at a bus park where I was to change buses to go to Jaipur. I found the second bus, and the …

Continue reading Trip of a Life Time – Part 4 – More on India.

Train Journeys – Guilin to Shanghai

Everywhere I go, as you might have gathered, if I can take a train or two, I do. I took a couple in China, both over-nighters, and the most memorable was the one from Guilin to Shanghai. Leaving Guilin in the evening, and not arriving until mid-afternoon in Shanghai, I went the soft sleeper which …

Continue reading Train Journeys – Guilin to Shanghai

The Kindness of Strangers

On Saturday I wrote a blog about my time in India in 1999. I talked about my experiences in Jalandhar where I was taken in by a family thanks to meeting someone on a bus and spending a few days staying with them, completely impromptu. It turned out to be probably the most rewarding experience …

Continue reading The Kindness of Strangers