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:
Langtang Trek
7 Apr 1999Before I start this post I must make a reference to the horrendous earthquake and subsequent avalanche in 2015 which completely destroyed Langtang village where I stayed on this trek. Since then it has been completely rebuilt. Some other places I stayed remarkably are still there. Diary entry, Tuesday 30th March 1999, Langtang View Hotel, Dunche. Got a taxi from Hotel at 6am. Already light and not too cold. At bus station went straight to ticket window and got last-but-one…
Varanasi
13 Feb 2017Varanasi is said to be one of the oldest cities in the world, one of the most sacred to Hindus and one of the most colourful and fascinating cities on Earth. That’s some intro. But it is also one of the noisiest places on Earth. Once out of the train station I was assailed by an army of autorickshaw drivers and soon one of them was weaving me and the rickshaw in and out of some of the most crazy…
Mandu
20 Feb 2017So I emerged from the tortuous 14 hour overnight bus trip in Indore. Although the bus disgorged its passengers in an unremarkable side street, a helpful autorickshaw driver was immediately on hand to take me to the Gangwal bus station where I could get a bus to Dhar and from there another bus to Mandu. I arrived at Gangwal just in time to be ushered onto the Dhar bus which was due to depart almost immediately. However, I did manage…