Globalwanderings is the personal photoblog of Richard Cain showcasing some of the amazing places I have experienced while living and working throughout Asia and more recently, Europe. In 2009, me and my wife Jackie left Asia to renovate a farmhouse and live a new life in deepest Portugal. We are now renovating our second house and that story is told on a blog called The House on a Hill. We also run the podcasting site podcastsinenglish.com for learners and teachers of English as a foreign language.
Latest posts:
Diu – the end of the line
25 Feb 2026INDIA 26: Gujarat Stage 7. So I clambered aboard the bus for the final leg on land, the relatively short hop from Sasan Gir to Diu. We past through a lot of scrubby forest and I kept my eyes peeled for lions, as I knew they were there, but all I saw were a few deer. We did actually stop at one point, in the middle of nowhere, I think it was just for the driver to get some paan…
The lions of Gir
23 Feb 2026INDIA 26: Gujarat. Stage 6. The Gir National Park was another place I visited in 1994 and very different now! I could tell that in my research for the trip. In 1994 the only place to stay was the Government rest house. Now there were hundreds of places. Obviously due to the success of the lions. There were 284 in 1994 and almost 900 today. So, like in 1994, the chances are I would get to see at least one…
Junagadh
20 Feb 2026INDIA 26: Gujarat. Stage 5. Another bus trip. This time more traditional in that we went down old, secondary, tree lined roads with crop fields on either side. An added bonus was that I sat up front with the driver (who was a surprisingly careful pilot) and he dropped me off right in front of my hotel. The Click Hotel (3700Rs/£30 per night) Strange name but I believe part of a chain. Either way it was very comfortable and highly recommended….
Jamnagar
17 Feb 2026INDIA 26: Gujarat. Stage 4 I had been looking back through my India diary from 1994. All the bus trips seemed to be on ancient, packed, uncomfortable, rough old buses, the journeys lasted forever and it was boiling hot. The buses still looked pretty old but the modern journeys were actually quite comfortable, organised (everyone had a seat number) and the highways fairly pot hole free. I was slightly concerned that my next journey – a seven hour trip to…
Bhuj and about
16 Feb 2026INDIA 26: GUJARAT. Stage 3. Interestingly Damraj from the Desert Riders asked why I was going to Bhuj and it seems I had similar questions when going to the same place in 1994. However my diary at the time said it was a pretty good place, full of interesting people and buildings. I was fascinated to see how much had changed in 30 years. But first, I had to get there. Dhamraj had kindly made arrangements for me to be…
Random posts:
Hoang Lien Son Mountains
4 May 200326th April 2002 Day One Hanoi to Mai Chau My two years in Vietnam was coming to an end but there was time for one last big bike trip up north. Looking at the map, I had been to most places but there was a gap, the spine of the Hoang Lien Son Mountains. I hadn’t heard much about it but there was a road marked on the map (no doubt just a track in places) and there would be…
Bagan
3 Jan 2003As I said in my previous post on Mandalay, the flight to Bagan was (for once) without incident and on time. I stayed in the centre of backpacker ville – lots of traveller restaurants and hotels. The place seems to be really taking off. I booked in to the New Park hotel. $7 for a nice room – big and table and chair outside and I’m glad to it’s still in business today. Like Christmas, I had forgotten it was…
Old Nicosia
29 Dec 2008The day we explored Nicosia was the worst weatherwise of our holiday. Cold and dreary – just like a typical British weekend! It didn’t dampen our spirits though as there were plenty of things to do. Old Nicosia town is completely encircled by a number of bastions, built in the middle ages and as you can see from the map below still pretty much intact. It also means that the old city itself has been relatively untouched by development and…