Tag Archives: arts and crafts

Any visitor to these pages knows I love markets. So, on my first day in Srinagar, the largest city and summer capital of the union territory of Jammu and Kashmir, India, I was in my element. The itinerary had us walking through various old streets and markets. I was travelling with a small group of […]

View full post »

Kashmir. That fabled landscape of snow-capped mountains and lush valleys – once a princely state under the British Raj – has long been on my wish list. Today, portions of the overall region are administered by China, India, and Pakistan, with the actual boundaries frequently in dispute. This often renders the area unsafe for tourists. […]

View full post »

I loved the unique charm of Fort Kochi (Cochin). Kochi, the financial and commercial capital of Kerala, is a major port city on the Malabar Coast, home to shipping, industry, and the only international marina in India. Called the Queen of the Arabian Sea, with its commanding location on the southwest coast of the Indian […]

View full post »

The American novelist, short story writer, and essayist, Henry Valentine Miller (1891-1980) was enamoured of Greece. I must say: I was too. I didn’t travel in the same style as Miller: he was there for nine months – originally at the invitation of author Lawrence Durrell – and spent his time in the company of […]

View full post »

The first day I was on Dal Lake – the centrepiece of Srinagar in the North Indian territory of Jammu and Kashmir (J&K), I felt like I was in a dream – or a Monet painting (see: Floating in a Dream). The air is hot and thick. The stillness is punctuated by the plunk of boat oars in the water, […]

View full post »