Author: Amanda
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India, Part 3: Kerala
I am on a journey across southern India with my driver, Nishad, in a white Toyota. We have driven from Chennai on the east coast viewing the astounding temples of Tamil Nadu. The last of these was the holy temple of Meenakshi Sundareswarar in Madurai. Time now to take the long weary road westwards towards…
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India, Part 2: Temples of Tamil Nadu and Land of the Chettiyars
Accompanied by my imperturbable driver, I am heading away from the Coromandel Coast now through unremarkable villages and busy roadsides. Hanging on branches of trees on strings are bunches of bananas or coconuts touted by roadside hawkers. An old man sits in front of his tiny hovel, and sleek black goats pick through the rubbish.…
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India, Part 1: Coromandel Coast, Tamil Nadu
India had not been on my radar particularly. But once rooted in my head, nothing could stop me from planning a trip there. You know how it is sometimes when the name of a country keeps popping up: a friend mentions she had a cracking time there, a documentary about said country appears on the…
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Iceland: The Golden Circle and Blue Lagoon
Iceland is extraordinary. It is volcanic. Landscapes are weird and wonderful, the birds are plentiful, seals and whales frolic round the shores and the rivers are full of fish. The majority of the population of 400,000 or so is descended from Viking or Celt and the Icelandic language is much the same as it was…
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Spain, Part 2: Destination Ronda and Madrid via the Costa del Sol
I am on a short tour of some of the highlights of southern Spain. The organisation of the tour thus far has had its lapses. Bungled at the beginning and since then I have been shifted about like a supernumerary. To top it all, I have a sore throat. I managed to last through the…
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Spain, Part 1: Destination Seville
Enthusiastic as I am about travelling, I do wonder sometimes whether the whole process of trying to leave England’s green and pleasant shores for something greener on the other side, as it were, is worth the trouble. I practically abandoned all hope early on in the process of trying to get to Spain. Having booked…
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Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan, Part 2: Wadi Rum, the Dead Sea, Mount Nebo and Azrak
I am on a tour of Jordan. Waving adieu to the red sandstone city of Petra, we are driving south to the shimmering sands and rock formations of Wadi Rum, made famous by the film, Lawrence of Arabia. This is where the legendary T.E. Lawrence was encamped with the Arabs during the Arab revolt. This…
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Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan, Part 1: Ancient Sites of Amman, Jerash and Petra
Jordan. The name has connotations. To some it means the Holy sites, for example, the River Jordan where Jesus was baptised by John the Baptist, and Mount Nebo from where Moses saw the Promised Land. To others it conjures up images of the rock cut tombs of the Rose City of Petra, built by the…
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France: Waterways of Burgundy
A gentleman I know owns a boat share and invites me to crew for him. The boat, made in Holland, registered in UK and based in France, is 38 feet long, of white painted steel with a navy blue streak round the topsides, and varnished wood with blue cushions below decks. And she is quite…