I'm Richard Cain and with my partner Jackie McAvoy have been living in Jordan since September 2007. I work at the British Council in Amman while Jackie is an author. Expect all the latest articles to be based around the Middle and Near East. The photojournals on Thailand are from the previous two years. More go up every month.

• The King's Highway (updated 5 May 08)

  

  The King's Highway is the name given to the modern incarnation of the ancient route which travels almost the entire length of Jordan from Amman in the north to Petra in the south. Giants throughout history have trodden its path from Moses through the great Roman Emperors to Richard the Lionheart. Not surprisingly it is therefore the site of many historical monuments and also not just a few natural ones including Jordan's 'Grand Canyon'.

   

• Petra (updated 1 May 08)

  

  I first visited Petra when I was living in Cairo in 2000 and so some of the photos on this page are from that trip. Pre-digital camera days for me meant that the scanned photos lack the sharpness of the other photos taken on a more recent trip in April 2008.

  Petra. But what an amazing place. Emerging from the canyon almost too narrow for a horse and cart and then to be confronted by the ancient treasury chiselled out of the sandstone cliff has got to be one of the most amazing sights in the world.

   

• Oases and Desert Castles (updated 29 Mar 08)

  

  Jordan's deserts comprise 80% of the land area but only 5% of the population. the biggest desert starts as the suburbs of Amman peter out and continue East to the Iraqi, Syrian and Saudi borders. The area is mainly desolate as you'd expect but there are a few highlights, both natural and man-made. One of these is Azraq oasis which used to provide water for roaming herds of animals. Unfortunately since the 1960's it has had to supply water to Jordan's burgening population and has therefore become an environmental disaster to such an extent that the the wetlands dried up completely. Since 1994 water has been pumped back into the wetlands but into a tiny area compared to previous years. However, it is still an important stopover point for migrating birds which can still be seen, mainly in spring. And that is why we chose this time of year to visit.

  In addition to the Oasis we also wanted to see the nearby Shaumari reserve. Established in 1975 it was set up to reintroduce wildlife that had disappeared from the region most notably the Arabian Oryx.

  The man-made highlights of the region are the so-called 'desert castles', only one of which being a castle - Azraq - famous for sheltering Lawrence of Arabia during the arab revolt in 1917. Other so-called castles include Qasayr Amra, a former bath house complex built around 700AD and Qasr Kharana a building standing alone in the deep desert, its function and history almost completely unknown.

   

• Cairo revisited (updated 22 Feb 08)

  

  I lived for a year in Cairo in 2000. I returned on business for a week in January 2008. While I was stuck in meetings for most of the week, Jackie was out taking photos - here are a few highlights

   

• Thai videos (updated 13 Feb 08)

  

  It's winter in Jordan but it is forever summer in Thailand. I've put a page together that contains all our videos from Thailand. A few from the globalwanderings pages, a few from podcastsinenglish.com, our podcasting site for learners and teachers of English, and a few that have never even seen the light of day before! I hope you enjoy them.

   

• Snow! (updated 6 Feb 08)

  

  Think of Jordan and you generally think of desert. And you'd be right 90% of the time. However, in January 2008 we had a couple of days of quite heavy snow. Locals said they hadn't seen it like this for over 20 years and everything came to a complete standstill. If you are from colder climes you may think the following pictures are nothing special, except perhaps for photos of palm trees covered in snow, but for Jordanians it was a very strange sight. All the more strange for me was the fact that the streets were absolutely deserted. The government had told everyone to stay indoors because it was dangerous. This was a few inches of snow we were talking about.

   

• Aleppo (updated 27 jan 08)

  

  If anything the souk in Aleppo is even more fascinating (and labyrinthine) than its counterpart in Damascus. Like Damascus, it is in the heart of the old city, surrounding the great mosque and consisting of a seemingly infinite number of small covered passageways down which travel people, donkeys and increasingly, small suzuki pickups often no wider than the alley itself. The only major difference is that the whole city both new and old is overlooked by the magnificant citadel. We took a couple of days to explore both.

   

• Hama, Krak des Chevaliers and Apamea (updated 18 jan 08)

  

  Hama is a medium sized town midway between Damascus and Aleppo and so an ideal place to stop for a few days to explore the hinterland. There are plenty of things to see including two of the highlights of Syria, the crusader castle of Krak des Chevaliers and the Roman ruins at Apamea.

  Hama is also a worthy stop in itself. It is situated on the banks of the Orontes River in one of the few fertile areas of Syria. It has a pleasant central market area and a small, attractive and partially reconstructed old town. However, it is most famous for its water wheels which have been in place here for over 1500 years. In the middle of town there are a couple which form the centrpiece of an attractive park (were it not for all the litter that is a blight on most of Syria).

   

• Palmyra (updated 10 jan 08)

  

  Palmyra is probably the most well-known of Syria's attractions. It is certainly also one of the most impressive historical sites of the region. Its position, in the middle of the Syrian desert, only adds to its aura and even if you are bored with yet another ancient pile of rocks and stones you can't fail to be impressed by the desert surroundings. This whole scene dominated by a magnificent arab castle. The Palmyra page also exhibits some fine desert scenery from the trip there and back. And a video of the site itself. Enjoy...

   

• Damascus (updated 10 jan 08)

  

  Damascus lays claim to the title of the oldest continuously inhabited city in the world dating from 3000BC, preceding the Egyptians who actually captured it in 1500BC. However, most of the present day city is definitely Arabic in nature including Great Mosque and the surrounding souks and old city. This is where we concentrated our time in this intriguing, colourful and bustling of cities.

   

• Introduction to syria (updated 3 jan 08)

  

  We went to Syria for two weeks over the Christmas period 2007. Not long, but long enough to glimpse the major attractions and convince us that we needed to go back again - at a warmer time of the year. We stayed in Damascus a couple of nights before heading off to the desert and the legendary site of Palmyra. We then headed back towards the coast to Hama which we used as a base to explore the famous crusader castle of Crac des Chevaliers and the 'dead cities' and then on to Aleppo with its famous souk and citadel. Then we headed back to Damascus for a final few nights - to explore the old town further and stock up on souvenirs. Overall it was everything and more than we expected. But in addition to the major sights our memories will be of the overwhelming friendliness of the Syrians and the fantastic food.

   

• northern ruins (updated 2 Nov 07)

  

  Once settled in, it was time to explore the countryside. Here are photos from two trips we did in October. For the first, we headed off past Madaba to Herod's temple overlooking the Dead Sea and site of John the Baptist's beheading, for the second we explored the Roman ruins of Jerash and Umm Qais. Both trips were actually more memorable for the stupendous views rather than the sites themselves.

 

• Home sweet home (updated 16 Oct 07)

  

  Six weeks in Jordan and still not totally settled into our new home. The phone is now connected but we are still waiting on our internet connection. 'It's Ramadan' being the ready made explantation for things not being done on time. Still, the house is taking shape and this page features a few pics from the day we moved in and a month later. It also features the newest resident (pictured left), Gerrard, who was rescued off the street and has quickly made the place his home as well.

 

• First impressions (updated 16 Sep 07)

  

  Welcome to Jordan! We arrived in this land of contrasts at the end of August 2007. Some people told us it was boring and quiet, yet others told us it was dangerous – how could it not be nestled between Iraq, Saudi Arabia, Syria, Israel and the Palestinian Territories. Despite these contradictory warnings, in our first week we only find positives - the people are friendly and welcoming, the weather is great, the food is delicious, apparently crime is almost non existent and despite Amman not being one of the prettiest capitals in the world it is a fine place to live. This page has a few opening photos from our first couple of weeks.

 

• Jersey (updated 15 Sep 07)

  

  After the Isle of Man we went to Jersey, another staunchly independent 'British island' and home of Jackie's family. Half the size of the Isle of Man but with the same population, it lacks the rugged beauty but is probably prettier and certainly has some of the best beaches I've seen anywhere. You be the judge.

 

• Isle of Man (updated 9 Sep 07)

  

  After leaving Thailand behind, we spent a few weeks in the UK. First stop Isle of Man, land of my birth. Here are a few snapshots of our time there.

 

• A final look at our apartment (updated 25 Jun 07)

  

  After two great years in Bangkok and Thailand, our time here is coming to an end. We've had some great holidays, as you can see from these pages, and it's very difficult to choose the best. We've loved our trips to Ko Samet, some of the many National Parks and also especially the Khmer ruins along the Cambodian border. We've also made some great friends and must now finally say goodbye to our apartment. We will be leaving at the end of July and then in August, I will be taking up my new post with the British Council in Jordan. So from Thailand and Asia Wanderings it's sayonara - but look for updates on our latest travels on the pages "Desert Wanderings".

 

• The Far North of Thailand (updated 21 May 07)

  

  I lived in Hanoi for two years and loved heading off into the mountains to explore the rugged countryside and photograph the many different hill tribes that inhabited the completely undeveloped and wild regions of the north. In fact I even designed a website of my travels with the unimaginative name of “Ethnic Minorities of Northern Vietnam”. However, I had never explored the areas of far northern Thailand which was even more famous for its colourful local people. I knew it would be more touristy and developed but I felt worth a look.

 

• Coconut Paradise (updated 17 Apr 07)

  

  It is said that in the 1970’s a few hippies stumbled across Ko Samui and found paradise, with powder-white sands, clear turquoise water and gently swaying palms. Over the next 30 years this paradise was swamped with ever encroaching development. Now, there seems to be more concrete than sand. However, perhaps not surprisingly, just across the water from Samui there are beaches near the fishing village of Khanom, which are still in pristine condition. But for how long? We went to find out during the Songkran holiday in April 2007.

 

• Nature watch - a trip to "Big Mountain" - Khao Yai National Park (updated 25 Mar 07)

  

  Khao Yai is Thailand's oldest and also one of its biggest National Parks. At an average of 700m above sea level, its climate is reasonable pleasant all year round and as it is only 2.5 hours outside Bangkok it is also one of the most popular parks. We went up for a long weekend in February 2007 and were rewarded with beautiful countryside and loads of animals including monkeys, deer, a giant red flying squirrel, porcupines indian civets and many birds including two pied hornbills. We even managed to photograph a few...

 

• The other side of the river - a trip to Thonburi (updated 5 Mar 07)

  

  Thonburi is the whole area on the other side of the river to Bangkok. Generally quieter and much less touristed, it’s still an area of much interest. Many people take a long tail boat trip along the khlongs which is well worth while, but this is the story of a walk, from a memorial garden, via back alleys and following klongs to wats, Chinese temples and a church.

 

• Walk along the khlongs of old Bangkok (updated 25 Feb 07)

  

  In the heart of Bangkok around Democracy Monument and within a stone's throw from the tourist ghetto of Khao San Road and the Grand Palace are quiet residential areas criss-crossed by canals where the pace of life resembles country villages rather than the centre of one of the busiest and loudest cities in Asia. Here we found a unique wat, old teak houses and ubiquitous food stalls.

 

• A bend in the river (updated 4 Feb 07)

  

  To many visitors to Thailand, their fondest memories come from Isaan, the North Eastern ‘bulge’ of Thailand. However, it doesn’t rate much of a mention in many guidebooks because of the relative paucity of grand Thai monuments – either man made or natural. Its charm lies in the friendly people and the more relaxed, traditional pace and style of life. That was exactly what me and Jackie were after when we went for a week’s exploring around the area of Nong Khai and a bend in the Mekong River over new year 2007.