At first, the sights, sounds, smells and swarming masses of people combine to make India a little bit overwhelming.
If you can resist the urge to run back to the comforts of home and have the patience to scratch below this surface however, you will be rewarded with glimpses of a country that has both history and beauty by the bucketload.
Declared a World Heritage Site by UNESCO in 1999, Hoi An’s Ancient Town is home to more than 800 protected buildings, meaning that the overall feel as you meander down the streets of this old trading port is very much the same as it was hundreds of years ago.
Whether you’re sitting on a beach in paradise or simply wish you were, these are the songs you need in your life.
After a whole two-and-a-half weeks spent on dry land, I found myself itching to strap on a tank and get under the water once more.
The location we’d chosen for our next dive? The paradise-like Gili Trawangan, the largest of the three Gili islands and a bustling haven for party-minded backpackers. It’s also renowned for harbouring some wonderful marine wildlife, with sharks and manta rays known to make appearances, as well as regular visits from inquisitive turtles.
Although it’s not the cheeriest of subjects, bring up genocide in a conversation and it will most likely lead to Hitler’s cold and calculated “Final Solution” for the Jews in the Second World War.
While we may like to think that such inhumane killings on a mass scale are consigned to the archives of history, this is sadly not the case, as any visitor to Cambodia will discover.
Boasting more than 700 tailors, the small town of Hoi An is undoubtedly the custom-made clothing capital of Vietnam, if not Southeast Asia.
As one of the cheapest places around to get bespoke clothes made, literally hundreds of travellers flock to Hoi An each year and with a wedding on the social calendar three days after we get home in August, it seemed the perfect opportunity to join them.
High on anyone’s agenda when visiting north Vietnam will be a trip to the stunning natural wonder of Ha Long Bay, set in the Gulf of Tonkin, and our itinerary was no different.
Travelling to new countries can be a challenge. Throw in shifting your entire life and possessions to start anew in an unfamiliar environment and it can suddenly seem downright impossible.
The unbelievably clear waters of Palawan had me hooked from the first glance, and I knew that our first dive since becoming certified simply had to be here.
After partying until the sun came up in Kuta and shopping at Seminyak’s chic boutiques, an hour’s drive north introduced us to a side of Bali we had not yet seen. As the neon signs of international brands gave way to the luscious green of terraced rice paddies and intricately carved hindu shrines became more common sights than happy hour offers, it was clear we had arrived in Ubud, Bali’s cultural centre for traditional crafts and dance. It was love at first sight.
Wide Eyed Wanderings 