Yearly Archives: 2022 India is a real experience in sensory overload. That is true of all the places I’ve visited in the country, but especially true in Varanasi. Varanasi – previously known as Benares, Banaras, and Kashi – is considered the spiritual capital of India. It is one of the world’s oldest continually inhabited cities, and has been […]  It is currently winter in Australia. I’m wrapped up in a blanket and wearing my sheep-skin ugg boots. It is so cold in my house that the olive oil has solidified! Given the country’s (warranted) reputation for sunshine and glorious beaches, it might be hard to believe that winter is a real thing. But, even […]  Scandinavian travel sites call it one of Europe’s most beautiful train journeys. Even in April and May, the season that Norwegians call ‘late winter’, the views from the train between Bergen and Oslo are magnificent, alternating between stark rugged beauty and picturesque charm. My husband and I were travelling on a small ocean cruise from […]  In Cusco, a woman having breakfast at our hotel was complaining about her muscle aches and pains. She had just returned from the Inca Trail, and when I said we were starting it the next day, she looked me up and down and said: “Well, I hope you are fit!” in portentous tones. What had […]  The small, land-locked country of Nepal contains about 0.37% of the world’s total population, and much of this is concentrated in the Kathmandu Valley. Fortunately, this region – which is one of the most densely populated areas of Nepal – is also very fruitful. According to ancient Buddhist scriptures, the Kathmandu Valley was a giant […] |
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