Travel

This is a “Special Edition” of my Hong Kong at night film. The beautiful skyline of Hong Kong at night! Come with us through the brightly lit, and empty of people, Business District and then over the river to Kowloon Bay to look back. The buildings all come to life with colours and lights embedded [...]

Jaisalmer is a town located 575 m west from the state capital Jaipur. It lies in the heart of the Thar Desert On the road, and neatly tucked into our bus seats, we were also well placed for scamming. A guy came up to Wendy and handed her a phone. She took it and the [...]

Cesca left me snoozing in our room and went out to the roof top café/restaurant to take some photos of the city. The city is blue, blue of the Brahmin caste we were told, but I can’t help wondering if there is another reason for its popular -nay ubiquitous-shade. I heard one rumour that it [...]

As a traveller you know, and even expect, the unknown to occur. You want this; for some it’s the whole point of leaving their home in the first place. It’s usually to do with the fun stuff like walking the Great Wall, eating Sushi in Tokyo Fish Market or jumping off a bridge in New [...]

Udaipur is famous for many reasons. To those in the west it is mostly known for its gleaming white Jag Niwas hotel found in the middle of one of its many lakes. To the Indians themselves is it known as a home of the great Maharana family. To the travellers, who could never afford a [...]

Ask a hundred people where in the world they would like to visit most of all and a significant percentage of them will say Agra, home of the Taj Mahal. Indeed there are tours (and we met a few people on such) that fly into Delhi, drive to Agra for a day and then drive [...]

Many Indian cities are a jumble, a mix of the ancient and modern, but nowhere I have ever been compares in this regard to Varanasi. I come from a country, and from a city, which has a long history and many ancient sites of worship, but even the 1000 year old site of Saint Pauls [...]

There was only one time in our journey around India that I didn’t feel entirely safe, one moment where I thought to myself, “Ah, this is potentially a dangerous situation” and took measures accordingly. That was in my first hour in Varanasi. We arrived on the train from Bodh Gaya relaxed and ready for more [...]

Eating food in India is no joke. On one hand there are high-end coffee cafes that have prices that could only make sense to the gainfully employed. High-end coffee needs to be carefully metered out as it is too comforting and familiar a western experience to eat in such a cafe. Not only does it [...]

“Who are your inspirational hero’s?” I asked a friend. “Dunno. King David, I guess, would be one.” “Awesome answer,” I said impressed that he hadn’t picked a modern actor or, worse, a footballer. “How about you?” “My grandfather, Ghandi and the Buddha,” I said quickly. “You’ve obviously thought about this!” “Lots. My grandfather is easy; [...]

here are two questions I am most asked about travelling the world. The first is, “What was our favourite place?” This is by far the harder of the two. There is so many wonderful places and so many moving times to be had when travelling that cutting them down to just one place is impossible. [...]

Varkala is a very popular tourist destination with western travellers. Similar to Goa in many respects, it is a large beach front collection of Happy Bars and cheap hostels. Our taxi from the bus station tried ever so hard to force us to chose the hotel he wanted us to go to, to the point [...]

Kerala the beautiful; the green of a million palm trees, the blue of warm waters. Kerala the red of the sun at set; its light rays refracted to a ruby colour that captivates the mind. Kerala the advanced; an Indian state with amazing reading levels, excellent English, vibrant and – for India – safe roads. [...]

Welcome back! This is the second podcast in the This Is India collection. It tells of Cesca and my journey high above the sweltering plains of India to the mountain retreat of Ooty. We recorded it last night and both really enjoyed revisiting what was one of the most pleasant sections of our trek around [...]

Bangalore is a strange place because it is just like cities at home. Almost slap bang in the middle of India, it sits like a jigsaw piece put in the wrong box. To some, it is the epitome of the “two tier” society outsiders see when they look this country. But that is just in [...]

Hello and welcome to an experiment! Cecsa and I have sat down and recorded a podcast of our time in Anegundi in India. This is a total-first for us and so please strap yourself in as we try and capture our feelings about the amazing Hampi area without really knowing what the hell we are [...]

The most common question I have been asked by people after returning home is, “which was your favourite country to visit?” For Cesca and I it has to be the majestic New Zealand. Not because it is terribly exotic. as everything is familiar (especially the road names), but rather because it is so much like [...]

I lay on my back and tried to relax. The sound of rolling waves crashed back and forth in the distance, which helped. However, the sun was beating down, heating the air and leaving me gasping like I had my head in an oven. It was also making the sand hot to the touch and [...]

One of the unique things about India, and one that you never quite come to terms with, is the trains. I would even go as far as to say that if you could understand Indian trains, then you might well lay claim to being truly at home in India. For almost everything that there is [...]

The November terrorist attacks on Mumbai was something we had worried about before landing in the city, but to look at the place it was as though they had never happened. In any city with such a varied and ethnic population, it had probably not fully been disseminated. Sometimes, I have wondered about the quick [...]

In 2009 Cesca and I visited the amazing slopes of Wudang Mountain. The mountain is located roughly in northwestern part of Hubei Province of China.  This peak is part of the larger Wudang Shan mountain range that runs through the area, but it is this particular peak that is the most famous. This is due to its very long and interesting [...]

**UPDATE – LOTS OF NEW IMAGES!* Welcome back to the travel blogging. Our amazing, 12 month, around the world journey had so far taken us to the far side of the world, the jungles of South East Asia and now was to come our most incredible experience yet. Now we had arrived in India. Over [...]

Many people speak of trekking in the north of Thailand, but such over-popular options are not the flavour we go for. Instead, we had read of tours starting from Bangkok that would combine the amazing jungles around the Burmese border with a trip to the Bridge on the River Kwai and the Death Railway. Our [...]

Thailand, again we arrived in Thailand, but this time by air. The siege of Bangkok airport, which had messed us about so much the last time, was over. The president was back in country (he sneaked in via Chiang Mai) and the king was appealing for calm. In fact, the situation in Thailand was no [...]

The travel blogging is back! Note: This is the third part of a complete three part article that completes our time in Vietnam. This entry continues our adventures in Halong Bay and the wonder that is Tet in Hanoi. The next day we were taken to a large island and dropped off. There we were [...]

Travelling in the hotter parts of the world brings you face to face with all sorts of creatures that you’re not used to. For an Englishman, normally to be found in the company of nothing more exciting than a fox or a cow, suddenly coming in contact with everything from camels to alpacas can be [...]

Note: This is the second part of a complete three part article that completes our time in Vietnam. We continue with our trip into Halong Bay The trip cost us $85, and we were lucky, others on our boat later told us what they had paid anything from $80 to $160 each for exactly the [...]

The travel blogging is back! Note: This is the first part of a final three part article that completes our time in Vietnam. The next part will be auto posted in 4 days and the third part 4 days after that. This was the last stop on our tour of Vietnam and almost the last [...]

This is a cross post written by Basho, originally posted on www.rohantime.com Shimla, Himachal Pradesh, Northern India. Escaping to the cool of the mountains was essential after the 40 degree heat of the deserts of Rajasthan. Up here the bright sun is tempered with the breeze blowing off the snow covered mountains of Tibet, visible [...]

This is a cross post written by Basho, originally posted on www.rohantime.com Why this train? This night on this train? The Calcutta to Delhi train is one of the classic overnight Indian journeys. In India the train service is split into multiple classes. You have the scrum and battle of unreserved third, and frankly that [...]

How does it make one feel to be in one of the most “holy” cities in the world?

Donate to orphans and download now!

The gems of Vietnam?

The magical night skyline of Hong Kong

A few weeks ago the CEO of Rohan clothing emailed me and asked if I would write them a guest post about for their new website Rohantime.com.

We meet with the crazy Cao Dai!

The missing Laos post by Cesca is found

Despair and hope in the Cambodian capital

Khmer temple images from our collection

Spiderville stands between us and the wats, can we escape the 8 legged freaks?

“Life is a musical thing and you’re supposed to sing or dance along the way"

We visit the amazing Angkor Wat, Cambodia

Get up close with a wild Tiger!

Our Journey continues into the Heart of South East Asia: Laos!

Our mental historical maps get changed forever

The after effects of the war in South East Asia

"Lets go tubing!" This video highlights the crazy day my friends and I had while tubing the legendary Mekong river in Vang Veng, Laos, South East Asia in November 2008.

Existence by virtue of land and sea

Heaven is but a boat journey away...

The hottest cold city in the world!

Will the second time be any better than the first?

A short (10 minute) film highlighting New Zealand. Includes whales in Kaikoura, Fjords, Glaciers by Helicopter, The far north, the Volcanic heart, the sounds and a trip through the forests of this magical country!

Central North Island simmers and steams, bubbles and spews...

Bilbo: "I want to see mountains again, mountains Gandalf!

Basho and Cesca meet Tane Mahuta - The God of the Forest

We visit New Zealand's great beach - 90 miles of freedom!

Cesca skydives 15,000ft and Basho jumps the 134m highwire Nevis bungy!

Basho and Cesca visit the largest city in New Zealand

We fall in love in the real MiddleEarth!

A writers guide to what to take!

Victoria's mighty city of lights!

A driving journey of great beauty

A short fun film highlighting our trip to Australia, showing some of the fantastic things we saw in this wonderful country. A tribute to the nation before we move on to New Zealand… Oh! comments about the new intro welcome!

WWOOFing for the 1st time on KI

Welcome, Here is the latest short film for your enjoyment.  This one shows our amazing time at Uluru over sunset and sunrise.  See how the colours of the rock change in response to the light! As always comments are most welcome, Regards, Basho

We find bliss in the rain forests of Australia

A train ride to remember!

Beating about the bush! AKA: "A dingo stole my marshmallows!"

The wonder of Byron Bay!

Here is the next in the line of Basho Films. I am working hard on the next one and have something a little special in mind from then on.  I love creating them and hope to show some vastly improved technique over the coming months!  I have some simply amazing footage of Kangaroo Island coming [...]

Diving on the PADI Advanced course!

We visit the home of The Crocodile Hunter, Crikey!

All praise the god of wine!

I finally found enough bandwidth to upload my first travel film; San Francisco! I hope you like it and all comments are very welcome.  This is the first of a ongoing set of films outlining our travels over the next year.  Next to come is Sydney (complete) and Hunter Valley (half done). Enjoy: San Francisco!

I can see my house from here!

Fantastic! Yeah, that'll be right!

24 hours in "The City!"

What do you need for a year long adventure?  Don’t ask me, it’s my first time!  Nevertheless, I am taking all this: Shown here is: Rohan Cloud-base jacket Rohan T Plus Rohan Ultra-T Rohan Travel linen shirt LS Rohan Expedition 2 shirt LS Rohan Expedition shirt SS Rohan Souk shirt SS Rohan Micro grid stow-away [...]

The flat is empty – everything is in storage. I leave work tomorrow for good – can’t wait! The bags are packed – full to the brim for a year’s worth of travel! Basho is going global. On the 22nd of June, Cesca and I are leaving these shores to go on another adventure: Bilbo: [...]