Tag Archives: on the water We were in the waters of the fabled Spice Islands of Indonesia. Today, this archipelago is home to countless islands covered in thick rainforests. The landscape is scarred by years of volcanic eruptions and the underwater-scape comprises stunningly pristine coral reefs populated by every colour fish you can think of. The Banda Islands are not […]  I’ve heard it described as a chocolate-box scene: you know, like those pastel-painted views of idealised or conventionally pretty locations that were on the front of old-fashioned chocolate or sweet tins. They are not wrong! Dal Lake, Srinagar, in India’s Kashmir, is impossibly beautiful. The way the autumn light filtered through the willow trees at […]  Istanbul is the heart of Türkiye – economically, culturally, and historically. It is quite literally at the crossroads of Europe and Asia – sitting, as it does, either side of the Bosphorus Strait: part of the imaginary divide between the two continents. Strategically located along the historic Silk Road, it commands the only sea route […]  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, […]  It was like a dream – indeed, a dream come true! Kashmir had been on my ‘list’ since long before my first-ever trip to India, but opportunities had never quite lined up for me. The beauty of the landscape is legendary. The land itself – the valley running between the Great Himalayas and the Pir […] |
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