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:
Island fortress
22 Feb 2025From Pune I was headed due west over the Western Ghats to the coastal fortress of Janjira and the ancient Princely State of the same name. However, there was no transport. Everything went via Mumbai, so I took a taxi. The reason there were no buses was probably because the land was fairly sparsely populated and we had to descend through one of the few valleys of the Western Ghats, the long chain of mountains running parallel to the west…
Bijapur
20 Feb 2023Sun 19th Feb 2023. I was up and about early and off to the bus station. I’ve often found in the remoter parts of India, bus timetables are a fickle thing. The guidebook may say one thing, people at the bus station say another and then the actual buses confound them both. Today I was told there was a bus to Bijapur at 9.30 but someone else said it was better to get the bus to Gulbarga and change there….
North West
4 Oct 1994After my trip to India in 2016, I managed to dig out the photos of a previous trip I did in 1994. It was over 20 years ago but I am still amazed at the changes that have taken place over the years. Not just on the ground in India but also because it was a time before digital cameras, so I had to scan my old photos from a yellowing photo album. I’m not sure how many I took…