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 passed 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:
Orchha
24 Feb 2017It was fairly straightforward to get 2 buses back to Indore and I arrived in plenty of time to get another overnight train. And shock, horror, this one left on time and I got a good night’s sleep! In fact the only delay was right at the end of the trip but I arrived safe and sound in Jhansi at 11.30am. Jhansi was a bit strange, mainly because it was election time and so all the shops were closed and…
Central Highlands
5 Jan 200222 Dec 2001 For our second bike trip in Vietnam, me and Alan decided on the Central Highlands. Like up north we were expecting to meet many ethnic minorities, or Montagnards as they were known here, and although we knew they didn’t wear the flamboyant clothing of those up north they did live in some interesting houses. Also the landscape promised to be impressive and hopefully not as cold. Rather than waste a couple of days driving down the very…
Hiking in the Serra da Estrela
25 Aug 2016In the middle of the boiling hot summer that was August 2016 we decided to take a few days away in the mountains of the Serra da Estrela. We had managed to book a house in the village of Videmonte, not far from Guarda, big enough for two adults and two hairy ones. It was a fairly short drive so we decided to stop off on the way in Guarda for lunch and a bit of a mooch. Like many…