5 more pics from Tuscany

Florence: 5 views of il duomo e campanile

Cambodia: four vessels

Cambodia: a disagreement

Actually not a disagreement at all. This lot - assorted gods and demons who can be seen heaving and ho-ing on the walls of Angkor Wat - are Churning the Ocean of Milk. You know folks be serious about churning when their churning equipment includes 1. An actual mountain (the rod) and 2. A massive snake (the rope).

Three photos from Cambodia

From the top: Stone faces at Angkor's Bayon temple, prison cells at Tuol Sleng genocide museum, and doorway to nowhere somewhere in the Angkor Thom city.

Going out west

You were probably starting to think I was only going to blog when there was a London Olympics on and you'd have to wait till 2057 or something. You were PROBABLY WRONG, for here we are, finally getting round to looking at the photos from our break in and around Cheddar back in November.

 

Weston-super-Mare, where grey beach sludge, which happened to be exactly the same colour as my trainers, ruined my trainers. Bad music blared out and it started to rain. We stood under the pier eating our fish and chips, sheltering from the downpour. It wasn't as romantic as it sounds. 

Wells Cathedral. Blah blah misericords blah blah 14th Century clock. Bought my sister and brother-in-law some biblically themed socks in the gift shop, then went into town for a chocolate brownie.

This is Cheddar Man. He dead. That's what happens if you overindulge on cheese. On the plus side, he does have a nice roomy grave.

If I sound a bit miserable, it's because Google Chrome keeps tearing my tabs and forcing me to open hundreds of different windows. Google Chrome is a cruel mistress, as the saying goes. We did go on an amazing walk along Ebbor Gorge, past babbling brooks, o'er golden hilltops and across rocky crags, until we were stopped by a monstrous wicker bear, which Sarah defeated by wrestling to the ground.

We celebrated the bear's defeat by drinking some of this. I'm being modest: all of it.

Photos from Ireland

All taken during our April trip to Bunratty and Limerick. When did I become so obsessed with signs? Damn you, M. Night Shyamalan!

India: the end

View India 2010-2011 in a larger map

Beds slept in: 62
Books read: 43
Films watched: 37
Wedding rings lost: 1
Haircuts: 2
Curries eaten: infinite


That's that, then. I'll be back in the UK by the time this post is published, freaking out from reverse culture shock - "Where are all the people? This country is so sparsely populated! Where did all the smells go? Why is no one asking me my name, profession and salary in order to gauge my social standing?" etc. Normal Electric Goose service - i.e. infrequent posting and embedded YouTube videos you've probably seen already - will be resumed in a few days. Namaste!

India part 32: Vagator

Aside from our last night in Mumbai, Vagator was where our trip ended, with a week of luxury that came by accident about after I cleverly mucked up the honeymoon bookings back in October. I was in my 20s, then, young and foolish.

Frankly, it's too late in the day to start boring you with well-worn travelogue dialogue about how India is a land of contradictions and all that, written from the poolside, so (assuming nothing very exciting happens during the 24 hours we'll be spending in Mumbai) we'll finish with a typically Indian scene, in the form of a photograph of one of the unusual lifeguards to be found along this beautiful stretch of coast.

Signs I have seen #424-430

Signs advertising businesses in India can go one of two ways. There's the example above - self-effacing - and the below - nicely bashful.

But sometimes the modesty goes a bit too far.

Things can go completely the other way, however, with tons more swagger and own-trumpet blowing. I mean, this is all right, I guess...

And this is more cheeky than boastful...

But this is getting a bit up itself...

And this is just ridiculous...

India part 31: Arambol

We experienced the festival of Holi in Arambol, Goa, because Hindu celebrations are always the best when you're in a majority Christian area *ahem*. You know those amazing glossy pictures you see, grinning purple urchins and so on? Not representative: a lot of the folks just look like they've had an accident with a fluorescent marker, and some Westerners, hipsters undoubtedly, seemed to end up with nothing but bright red beards or green cheek streaks that reminded me of the kids at last year's Latitude festival. So, in feeble protest (also at the fact that Sarah's colour attack actually sounded quite unpleasant), all I got was a picture of a cow. On Holi. Hmmm, cow, Holi... Can anyone think of a decent two-word caption I can use for this one?

Also this:

And this.

Can you tell we're winding down a little, now?

India part 30b: Hampi and Viru - ten pics