Desperately sad to leave flawless, tranquil Havelock Island, but ready to leapfrog into the next chapter of the trip (and whatever that might bring), the ferry back to Port Blair again reminded us of the many and varied kaleidoscopic contrasts India has up its sleeve – surprises ready to come flying at you when you…
Admittedly we were a bit anxious about the Andamans. All we really knew was that a guy from Alabama was killed there by an endangered tribe in late 2018 – fairly recently in the wider scheme of things. Confronted by all manner of moral dilemmas about whether we should go, but with no intention of…
We knew an extra special remembrance date would hit the calendar smack bang in the middle of the trip and so we’d aimed to be as far off the grid, and in the most spellbindingly exotic of locations, for when it did. Tucked in a tiny eastern pocket of the Bay of Bengal (technically still…
Kerala is renowned for plenty of things – you just have to scratch the surface and you’ve got its magical backwaters, the Chinese fishing nets of Kochi, and Kathakali, which is a very special kind of Keralan classical dance. But its rich, fertile soil, staggering humidity and endless water supply also lend it the perfect…
The next morning, after yet another eye-wateringly good and hearty traditional breakfast, we took a short walk up to the main road for some of the more mundane aspects of travelling like buying insect repellent, bottled water and toothpaste, and finding an ATM. But in India even small off-the-beaten-track superettes are extraordinary places to explore,…
Somewhere along the way, geography and maths got the better of us and somehow slipped from our otherwise meticulous planning. Where we’d initially calculated the car journey between our Karnataka and Kerala lodgings to take a lazy six hours (nice and easily doable, even at a snail’s pace), the day before leaving Coorg we realised…
With a five hour car journey ahead of us, the next day we scooped up our belongings, said our goodbyes to the friendly staff as they prepared for their Republic Day celebrations, had one last dip in the magnificently picturesque terrace pool, and sky-rocketed into the next part of our Indian adventure. Coorg, also known…
After breakfast, and after dipping in and out of the pool like a couple of restless otters in the burning heat of the morning sun, we were ready to change it up and explore Paradise Beach – which stretched for 1.5 kilometres beneath the steep and rocky clifftops of the estate. Vicky insisted on a…
And just like that, like no time had passed in between, we turned the key and jumped straight back into Mumbai headfirst. Determined to keep our promise and pick up where we’d left off, here we are this time in Bandra – a sophisticated, sexy, understated part of town in the capital city’s west, and…
Despite waking up fairly early the next day, we lazed about in our jarmies for a good few hours – making the most of a slow start by soaking up the action from the street scene below – before diving headfirst into god-knows-what with everyone else. Even from our second storey window, bustling Colaba was…
Fizzing with anticipation we couldn’t wait to hit the cobbles and explore vibrant, sexy Mumbai. It’s edgy, grubby, and easily takes the crown as India’s king of bling with it also being the beating heart of Bollywood. But if crows (and ravens) are a symbol of all that’s dark from the Brothers Grimm, here they all…
One of our highest priorities here in India was trying to catch a glimpse of the elusive royal Bengal tiger. We’d included a visit to Ranthambore National Park on our list of places to see, and set aside a couple of extra days for what we anticipated would be one of the most special moments…