I was pretty stoked to get my Bedouin shot chosen by Lyn Hughes as her photo of the week on the MyWanderlust website. Lyn is owner/editor of the independent travel magazine and recently visited Jordan herself, so perhaps my shot brought back a few memories for her!
MyWanderlust Picture of the Week Read Post »
As I heave myself on to the local ferry, camera slung over my shoulder, a group of kids lean over and shout ‘Which country? Which country?’.
‘England’, I reply, ‘but I live here now. I’ve been in Cochin for two years’. The children look puzzled until I add ‘I’m now Indian, India is my home. Look!’. I hold up my wrist next to theirs and joke ‘Same colour!’. The children burst into fits of giggles and I half smile, hoping I can convince them that India is indeed my home, at least for the moment.
[S02E02] Lonely Planet has this down as a must-do before you die, and having spent a couple of days on the backwaters of Allepey, we concur. This is a bird-watchers and fish-eaters paradise. We take a gentle motor through the backwaters, viewing sunken rice fields and people-watching the locals as they go about their business on the famous river banks of Kerala.
The Backwaters of Allepey Read Post »
[S02E01] Finally, after a year’s absence! Welcome to the brand new followtheboat podcasts! In this first episode we take a nice, gentle stroll around Fort Cochin, the area in Kochi where the European adventurers settled after opening up trade routes between Asia and Europe. It’s a typically warm day so Liz hides under the shade of the tree-lined avenues, forever surrounded by the cawing of crows.
The Crows Of Fort Cochin Read Post »
Our last blog post on our trip to Sikkim ends with a photo-montage of the Limboo people. As you read in our last post we spent some time with out guide, Perna, and his family. They reside in the village of Darap in an old house passed down through the generations. Perna lives in relative luxury with a TV in his room, but the main house is like something out the dark ages. We were privileged to be allowed to spend a morning with these gentle people, even more so that they patiently allowed us to snoop around their house and photograph them going about their daily chores, which was mainly drinking salted tea and cooking pop-corn.
Photographing The Limboo People Read Post »
Liz has very kindly omitted the tale of our 17km trek to Kechopari Lake. In a nutshell it is the story of a 40 year old man realising his limitations. Realising them in a way that involves clutching the left arm, breathing like a 100 year old, having to walk backwards up hairpin tracks to avoid the constantly seizing leg muscles, all the while watching his girlfriend skip gaily by, light as a feather, hopping from leaf to cobweb like a woodland fairy.
Kechopari Lake Almost Gave Me A Heart Attack Read Post »
I’m really pleased to announce that Liz has won a travel writing piece, which will feature in tomorrow’s Daily Telegraph in the UK. If you happen to be near a news agent then please do buy a copy. If you can’t get to one, don’t worry, we’ll be publishing it on followtheboat in due course, but not before her well-deserved moment of glory. Well done, Liz. Here’s an excerpt…
Telegraph Publishes Liz’s Winning Piece Tomorrow Read Post »
In the previous post we finished somewhere in the middle of the Western Ghats, lost, yet the journey up until that point had been fascinating. Not only were the local people preparing for the fantastically named ‘Pongal’, a celebration not too dissimilar to Harvest back at home, but Tamil Nadu was over-run with pilgrims from all over India. As we drove in one direction, so there were thousands of pilgrims walking barefooted the other way, heading towards the temple in Palani that wouldn’t look too out of place in a James Bond film.
Pongal, Pilgrims And Palani Read Post »
Over the next month we will be serialising our road trip of Kerala and Tamil Nadu, the two southern-most states of India. We cover 1,200km, ascend over 2,000m, get lost in the mountains, rub shoulders with gods and relax in tea plantations. The eight or so posts will come out on Mondays and Thursdays, where each new episode continues from the last. They return to what followtheboat was always about: documenting our observations of the people we meet and places we visit through words and pictures. Lots of pictures! We start by taking in the incredible Western Ghats, the huge mountain range that divides India and dictates the monsoons. Just don’t hire the driver we had the misfortune to end up with…
Getting Lost In The Western Ghats Read Post »
This is the last podcast from our first series, but don’t worry, we return summer 2011. This podcast started off as an exclusive interview with Lo Brust, the organiser of the Vasco Da Gama rally. Recorded a few months ago before the Chandlers were released by their Somali pirate captors Jamie and Lo disucss piracy, sailing tactics and whether there will ever be another Vasco Da Gama rally. That interview concludes with a catch-up, the day before Lo left Cochin marina last week with the fifth Vasco Da Gama rally.
A Very Special Podcast Read Post »
Once again Jamie gets confused as to what day it is in this podcast, but a sharp knock by a fishing boat against Esper’s hull soon brings him back to the real world.
It seems we are not the only boat to suffer damage, however, as other vessels on the rally have their own problems. Still, let’s not let this mar the celebration of a wonderful crossing of the Arabian Sea. Eight days and 960 miles later Mumbai’s hazy skyline makes herself known to a tired but elated Vasco Da Gama Rally.
Coinciding with the Chandler’s release from Somalia by pirates this week we return to the high seas, now entering the middle of the Arabian Sea. We are in the same area the Chandlers were two years ago.
What was a great sail is now turning into a bit of a nightmare with steering problems and no wind. And then there are the freaks on the VHF radio…
Banana Port Control Read Post »
I am proud to announce that Jamie was awarded his Licentiateship at the Royal Photographic Society on Saturday and can now put the letters LRPS after his name. He is thrilled that all the hard work and studying he has put in over the last six months has paid off.
Encouraged by a win in the Times newspaper for best travel photograph earlier in the summer he hesitantly put his images onto the appraisal gallery of Amateur Photographer. Some of the senior members of the AP forum suggested he work towards membership of the RPS and it was their words of wisdom and constructive criticism that lead Jamie to assess his own work with a more informed eye.
Jamie Is Awarded LRPS Distinction Read Post »
This weekend I was awarded the Royal Photographic Society’s Licentiateship distinction. It is the first of three distinctions that recognises the creative and technical skill of the photographer.
Ten images are displayed and must work individually as well as together to create a cohesive presentation. I concentrated on portraits of course! The images are designed to be hung in a certain order.
Royal Photographic Society’s Licentiateship Distinction Read Post »
The second of our two-part podcast is here. This is the primary school project we’ve been working on with Nance Lake of Wybunbury Delves Primary School in Cheshire. The children are reading Kensuke’s Kingdom and wanted to learn about life at sea so they send us recordings of them asking us questions. This week we discuss the weather, getting lost and what the worst thing that’s ever happened to us.
Primary School Question Time Part 2 Read Post »
