India is a land anointed with many myths and before touring here we were warned of pestilence, pestering and pandemonium. The Himalayas tested us but also sheltered us, however they could not hold us long before our curiosity edged us southwards to the tribal lands of Rajasthan. From Manali we cycled 220 km to Swarghat, the …
20 Sept 2016 - Old Manali (2,050m), India I write this from a winter vacated hippie-hole in the foothills of the Himalayas. London youth shout profanities at each other in the neighbouring rooms and swagger around with an umbilical-arrogance that only the English seem to profess. I look at myself in a flecked mirror set jauntily on …
I didn't know much about Armenia when I cycled across her border one month ago and if I'm being honest I still don't. I can recite a few facts gleaned from the internet: the first country to adopt Christianity; she is at war with her Eastern neighbour Azerbaijan and has a deep wound inflicted by Turkey …
We hid in the Georgian capital for almost 3 weeks, burrowing ourselves away from the searing heat. When we ventured out we sizzled in the 40 degrees pan, our rind crisping and minds short-circuiting. Our days were spent formulating, then discarding onward plans. Researching, calculating, we composed alternative scores for month long symphonies that would carry us across the Caspian sea, to Kazakhstan's …
Georgia is a spectacular country that has held us enchanted for 7 weeks in which time we have clocked up over 750km. After our adventures in the Svaneti mountains and time with our generous hosts in Tsageri we made our way to Tskaltubo. It is a thermal spring resort where Stalin used to come for rest and recuperation, so we figured …
Once upon a time, near the Georgian town of Tsageri, two weary cycle tourists sat down beside a roadside spring to prepare a feast (well a salad). They were tired but elated after cycling for many miles and months across countries and most recently over majestic mountains. As they ate, a carriage pulled up and out jumped …
Ushguli, is the mythical place everyone seems to be heading. At 2,200 metres it is the highest inhabited community in Europe and its tough inhabitants endure 6 months of what I imagine to be a cruel winter. We the intrepid cycle the 50km from Mestia, others hike for 3 days on mountain trails. The majority of backpackers …
I write this whilst recuperating. I've been struck down by some pesky niggles, the kind that strike when you stop a few days to rest and your body kicks up a protest at past exertion. I'm lucky enough to be convalescing in the magical garden of Seti Guesthouse in Mestia. My companions are a curious …
Our crossing from Ramazan-reserved Turkey to gregarious Georgia was marked by the unnerving sight of a young woman in a bikini collecting water from a roadside waterfall and two old men sitting in the shade selling home-made booze. Water oozed from the green mountains and the whole backdrop had taken on a sub-tropical feel, as …
When we finally liberated ourselves from the spell of the stone world we cycled 71km north from Goreme to the city of Kayseri. It felt like a fleeing of sorts, from an area a little too close to suffering. As we have journeyed through Turkey reality has nipped at my conscience - blood is being …
