AT THE ICONIC ROBERT MONDAVI VINEYARDS Several years ago I took a course at the West Coast campus of the CIA in America. No it wasn’t what you are thinking, no cloak-and-dagger stuff – the CIA was the Culinary Institute of America and the course was an Introduction to Californian Wines J J Now I…
The silver Mustang arrowed its way across the flat desert scrubland. All around was a blinding brightness as the rays of the afternoon sun beat mercilessly down. The way ahead gave no indication of what lay just over the horizon. The giant chasm of the Grand Canyon carved out by a single river, the Colorado,…
Guest Blog by Tarini Pal Last month, I was lucky enough to watch a former frontman of one of the most critically acclaimed and influential groups in the history of rock music perform live in Pasadena: Roger Waters of Pink Floyd.
My spirit and strength had been taxed to its limit by the rigours of this difficult trek around Manaslu.
Parades, Parties and Passion So have you ever wanted to go to Carnival? To me the word evokes images of wild street parties, mesmerising samba music, throngs of costumed revellers and general bacchanalia. And of course, who doesn’t know that the festival is associated with Rio? That pulsating Latin city hosts the largest single celebration…
Rafting the perilous and imperilled Tiger Leaping Gorge.
The trek to Kala Patthar will take all your energy and will, but it will reward you with views you will never forget and emotions that may surprise you. This is the journey dreams are made of.
One of my particular passions is whitewater rafting. I’ve done plenty of the usual weekend jaunts to Rishikesh but I was hooked when I went on my first major expedition on the Siang (the Brahmaputra in Arunachal Pradesh). This was the first “open” descent of a magnificent river with some huge Class IV+ rapids and…
When trekking—whether in the Himalayas or elsewhere—always expect the unexpected. The truth of this maxim has been evident on every trek I have undertaken. Circumnavigating the towering Manaslu in central Nepal proved to be no different, but that’s not how it started out. That very first morning, as our group moved out of the road…
