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:
Where the mountains meet the sea
15 Jun 2026…or another title: Asturias take three. This time was to be a fairly short trip based around the seaside town of Ribadesella. It’s a five hour drive so we decided to stop for lunch half way in Ribadeo, at a previous favourite restaurant, the Marinero. Another couple of hours and we were settling into our cottage, Casa Cantero. It is situated just outside Ribadesella but a short walk brought us to an attractive little park with a bar and a…
City break
25 Apr 2026We’d been wanting to visit our friends in Paris for quite some time and as luck would have it our time had come. Our pet sitter from a few years ago would be happy to stay and look after Betty while we were away. So preparations were made. We’d always wanted to go by train but didn’t realise how difficult, or expensive it would be. I will spare the details but it turned out many times more expensive than flying…
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….
Random posts:
Udaipur
15 Feb 2019The beautiful lakeside town of Udaipur is supposed to be one of the most romantic places in the world and a travellers’ favourite. I was about to find out. The seven hour bus journey from Jodhpur wasn’t too bad. The station is in the modern, eastern end of the town but soon I was headed by rickshaw into the old town cum tourist centre attractively situated next to shimmering lake pichola. My chosen hotel, the Little Prince Heritage Home, was on…
Banana republics
20 Apr 1996It was Wednesday 20th March and I’d spent just over a month travelling from Hawaii through the USA and Mexico and now I was walking along a dusty road into Guatemala. The first person I saw was a smiling man who was able to fleece me of my Mexican Pesos. Anyway, with a wad of cash I hopped on an old American school bus (common transport in Central America) and headed off. Before I knew it the bus was packed…
Tomar
11 Jul 2010Our friend Sarah (an American, living in Paris whom we met in Jordan) was over for a short stay, so it was the perfect time for our first visit to Tomar, home of the Knights Templar of Crusader fame. Having done little research prior to our trip, in many ways made it even more enjoyable. The town itself, with a pedestrianised centre full of old buildings, narrow lanes and an impressive town square is charming enough – and we were…