Departure day
July 21, 2017 in England ⋅ ⛅ 19 °C
Phoebe and I are off on our travels. We will post some photos and updates via this website.
Kandy
July 23, 2017 in Sri Lanka ⋅ ⛅ 13 °C
Enjoyed our first home cooked Sri Lankan dinner. Stayed with Kushana and his family. Spent our first day walking around Kandy.
Sigiriya aka "Lions rock"
July 24, 2017 in Sri Lanka ⋅ ⛅ 27 °C
An old archeological site dating back over 1500 years. How people managed to climb up there in the first place is quite amazing. Today's modern staircase was tricky enough. Good views of theRead more
Dambulla caves
July 24, 2017 in Sri Lanka ⋅ ⛅ 27 °C
More climbing up a hill to visit the 5 cave temples filed with Buddhas of all shapes and sizes.
Phoebe had cultural overload and promptly fell asleep on the journey back to Kandy.
Little Adam's peak
July 25, 2017 in Sri Lanka ⋅ ⛅ 16 °C
We went for a short stroll up Little Adam's peak to take in the views of Ella and its surroundings.
Our journey to Ella
July 25, 2017 in Sri Lanka ⋅ 🌧 9 °C
We took a bus to Nuriwa Ella, a tuk tuk to Nuna Oya then train via one of the world's most scenic train routes to Ella. A total travel time of 8 hours at a grand cost of £8, for both of us, whichRead more
Ella rock
July 26, 2017 in Sri Lanka ⋅ ⛅ 5 °C
We woke at sunrise to trek to Ella rock. We beat the heat and tourists to the top and enjoyed the views. Back at the homestay our hosts had prepared a breakfast that was enough to feed four or fiveRead more
Kataragama & Yala national park
July 27, 2017 in Sri Lanka ⋅ ☀️ 33 °C
Kataragama is a famous pilgrimage site for Sri Lankan Hindus and Buddhists. We arrived at the start of the 2 week celebrations. During our safari in Yala national park, we saw hundreds of peopleRead more
Unawatuna rest day
July 29, 2017 in Sri Lanka ⋅ 🌧 18 °C
Yesterday we took the bus to the beach town Unawatuna. The bus was super busy, really sweaty, so Phoebe conserved energy by being the quietest she's been all week.
Today we relaxed on the beach andRead more
Galle
July 30, 2017 in Sri Lanka ⋅ ⛅ 19 °C
A morning trip to the old Portuguese / Dutch / British Fort town and our last dinner in Sri Lanka. Phoebe has had her first glass of wine in over a week but it wasn't her fave NZ sauvignon blanc.
Colombo airport
July 31, 2017 in Sri Lanka ⋅ ⛅ 29 °C
Who knew you needed proof of onward travel before being allowed into India? After a bit of stress I booked an onward flight and we were allowed to check-in.
Next stop, Delhi.
New Dehli
August 2, 2017 in India ⋅ 🌫 29 °C
I thought Times Sq in New York was noisy, this place is on a whole new decibel level. Phoebe is struggling with the spiciness of the local cuisine....
En route to Jaipur
August 3, 2017 in India ⋅ 🌙 24 °C
Early start for us to catch the 6am train to Jaipur. Phoebe opted to pass on the train food after reading a recent BBC article about how its not fit for human consumption. I suspect it was the 20 oddRead more
Barry Clark
He was having a sleep although we did see a few dead animals at the side of the tracks later in the day.
Jaipur / Amer fort
August 4, 2017 in India ⋅ ⛅ 29 °C
After a quick spin around the Pink city yesterday we decided it was time to go up to the hills of Jaipur to visit Amer fort as well as a few temples and tombs. Apparently there are more temples thanRead more
Agra / Taj Mahal
August 5, 2017 in India ⋅ ☀️ 19 °C
We traveled to Agra today, home to the Taj Mahal. Indian tourists kept asking us to be part of their photos, mainly for Phoebe's blonde hair but I did have an audition for an Indian boy band. HumidityRead more
Rest day and THE NIGHT TRAIN !
August 6, 2017 in India ⋅ ⛅ 13 °C
We experienced our first day of heavy rain and thunderstorms. Instead of going to wander around the local fort in the rain, our homestay host recommended the local hotel bar that overlooks the TajRead more
Varanasi
August 7, 2017 in India ⋅ ⛅ 31 °C
This is the holy city where Hindus come to die. The place is full of old people waiting to make their way to nirvana.
We found an organic restaurant that served some tasty veg curry. Afterwards weRead more
Boat trip along the Ganges
August 8, 2017 in India ⋅ ⛅ 33 °C
An early start for a sunrise boat trip on the Ganges. Our captain was a very old man and I was skeptical that we would go very far in his row boat. However he was as strong as an ox and rowed upstreamRead more
The journey to Nepal (via night train 2)
August 9, 2017 in Nepal ⋅ ☀️ 27 °C
We left the hostel at 10:30 last night to catch the night train. After experiencing the 6 berth non-AC sleeper it was decided that we will never do that again. We then took a bus to the border, aRead more
Pokhara
August 11, 2017 in Nepal ⋅ 🌙 26 °C
After the long journey from Varanasi we enjoyed a couple of rest days in Pokhara. It's rainy season here so not many tourists about which means no queues at the bars and restaurants.
We bought someRead more
Trek to Ngadi (13km)
August 12, 2017 in Nepal ⋅ ☀️ 27 °C
4 hr bus to Besisahar. We met Sigva (Norway) on the bus who was planning to walk the same route.
3.5 hr walk to first tea house. Fed, watered and passed out.
Trek to Jagat (25km)
August 13, 2017 in Nepal ⋅ ⛅ 20 °C
We were joined today by Xavier who wants to complete the trek in a similar time. We are slightly ahead of schedule this evening but with a few extra blisters and aches.
Trek to Dharapani (40 km)
August 14, 2017 in Nepal ⋅ ⛅ 22 °C
Today our group grew to 10. If we count the blisters and leeches then that number grows to over 100 (except Phoebe who somehow managed to escape the bloodbath).
28000 steps later and we reached theRead more
Trek to Chame (55km)
August 15, 2017 in Nepal ⋅ ⛅ 13 °C
A steep climb to 2700m today. It's starting to get cold! Phoebe has four layers on and wants my fleece.
Trek to Pisang (70km)
August 16, 2017 in Nepal ⋅ ⛅ 6 °C
Today we saw our first glimpses of the Annapurna mountains. The scenery is more alpine like, with orchards, fields of pepper and plenty of log cabins scattered about the hillsides.
We are now aboveRead more
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