Mandvi, Gujarat

As I walked back to my room in Mandvi, I got a cheery greeting from these women—yet another example of the welcoming attitude of so many people I met in this small, coastal town. By all means visit Mandvi to see the hand-built wooden ships under construction, but the town has far more to offer.



All content © 2017 Pete McGregor

The Western Ghats of India: Top Station, Munnar

The Western Ghats in southern India are famous for several things, and this is one of those: rain. It was more like drizzle than proper rain, but I still enjoyed it after more than three months of seeing no rain other than a few light spots in Sikkim. This was the second time I'd visited Top Station; the first was the previous day when the almost cloudless sky allowed me wonderful views. Nice to see the place in such different conditions.

Back To Delhi early tomorrow; a day there, then the long journey back to Aotearoa/New Zealand begins. Almost six hours to Beijing, a thirteen-hour layover, then just over twelve hours to Auckland. Then I have to catch an overnight bus to Palmerston North -- and I'm still not back in the Valley.

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Tea tasting, Darjeeling

The views of Kangchenjunga weren't the only reason I wanted to visit Darjeeling. I drank a lot of tea during my time there, and this was an example of a tasting of four second-flush Darjeelings. I had a distinct preference for the one on the far left: the Castleton 'second flush tippy clonal'.

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Kangchenjunga from Pelling

The evening I arrived in Pelling, West Sikkim, after a long and very rough ride involving several changes of jeep, Kangchenjunga and the adjacent mountains hid behind cloud. By morning, though, most of the cloud had cleared, and I'd had a good enough sleep to get out of bed and walk down the road to watch the sunrise on these spectacular mountains.

All content © 2017 Pete McGregor

Sunrise at Darjeeling

I've posted some photographs of Kanchenjunga, the world's third highest mountain, at sunrise and sunset on my instagram page, but Kangchenjunga wasn't the only mountain in the view from the rooftop of my hotel in Darjeeling. If anyone knows for sure which mountain this is, please let me know.

I arrived today in Pelling in Sikkim, much closer to Kangchenjunga, but the mountain's remaining stubbornly hidden behind cloud and the first light rain I've seen since early November.

[On another matter, last night I posted another installment of the travel log on Pohanginapete.]

All content © 2016 Pete McGregor

Wallah at Josimath, Uttarakhand

Jumping back to much earlier in the journey ... In the early morning, this elderly wallah made chai for me at a small dhaba on the main street of Josimath, deep in Uttarakhand. It was cold then; now, it must feel arctic. The next day I was able to give him a print of the photograph.

All content © 2016 Pete McGregor

Early morning in Mandvi, northern Gujarat

In the early morning, the streets of Mandvi, the small coastal town in Kuchchh, northern Gujarat, where wooden ships are still built by hand, are populated mostly by cattle, birds, and dogs, and few humans.

All content © 2016 Pete McGregor

Street scene, Mandvi, Gujarat

In the back streets of the small town of Mandvi in Gujarat, on the coast of the Arabian Sea.

All content © 2016 Pete McGregor

The White Rann, Kuchchh, Gujarat

The White Rann (Desert) is one of Kuchchh's most famous tourist destinations. When I was there on New Year's Day, it was far from deserted. Among the thousands of others, I saw no obvious foreigners other than Kenji, with whom I'd split the cost of the day tour. I'd thought the experience would be appalling, but I have to admit I enjoyed being with so many people having such a good time. I lost count of the number of times I was asked if I'd share a selfie, but I was probably included in more photographs than I made.

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Grey-headed canary flycatcher, Jamnagar, Gujarat

In Jamnagar, a typically hectic mid-sized Indian city, sits a closed-down tea processing factory. The grounds cover 33 acres (according to the caretaker), and the primary occupants are the thorny scrub interspersed with dry clearings, and the birds. It's tranquil, and it's a great place to watch birds of many kinds if you're lucky enough to get permission to visit, as I was.

All content © 2016 Pete McGregor

Tuba wallah, Bundi

I had a great time photographing in Bundi. Sometimes I couldn't get a smile while I had the camera up, but that was because it disappeared as soon as I raised the camera and reappeared afterwards. I think many people have the idea that portraits must be formal and smiling's forbidden.

Merry Christmas from Udaipur. Tomorrow evening I catch a sleeper bus all the way to Jamnagar in Gujarat.

All content © 2016 Pete McGregor

Jeep driver at Rudraprayag

I'd already scored the front passenger seat in a jeep going from Rudraprayag to Rishikesh, but other jeep drivers kept trying to steal me. Maybe that's how this guy scored his black eye ;-)

Speaking of eyes, keep one out for new photographs on my Instagram account.

All content © 2016 Pete McGregor

Lunch stop on the way to Champawat

After crossing the far western border from Nepal to India, I caught a shared van from Tanakpur to Champawat. We stopped for lunch at one of the typical roadside dhabas. The kitchen staff thought being photographed was hilarious. Great, good-humoured fun all round.

I'm back in Almora, heading for Kausani tomorrow after a few days in Naini Tal. The nights are bitterly cold, and I don't know whether I'll be able to cope with Josimath, so I might be heading for Delhi again sooner than intended.

All content © 2016 Pete McGregor

Road crossing, New Delhi

Although a few places around the aptly named Connaught Circus do have traffic lights and pedestrian crossings, getting to the other side of the street is often a matter of stepping out into the traffic and assuming it'll swerve around you. The locals are much better at this than I am.

All content © 2016 Pete McGregor

Even the mynahs have a hard time

For all its charms (and there are many), Delhi isn't the cleanest of places, and most  of the birds I've seen haven't been in great shape. The air alone is currently among the worst in the world. Even though mynahs and crows are among the most adaptable and resilient of birds, they can do nothing about air quality.

(Just like last time, I'm having difficulty processing the photographs. Android isn't designed for high quality photoprocessing of RAW files - even the Lightroom app is lousy. Photomate R3 seems to be the bes of a bad bunch. Snapseed would be good, but the RAW files need to be converted to DNG, and the converter apps are appalling. I'm afraid you'll have to put up with approximations. Sorry.)

All content © 2016 Pete McGregor

Good cheap food at the Capital Hotel Restaurant

In New Zealand you'd pay almost ten times what you pay for a good meal here at the Capital Hotel restaurant. ('Restaurant' might convey slightly the wrong impression, though, as you can probably tell from this photograph.) The bonus is that you get waited on by these guys. Little wonder I like eating here.

All content © 2016 Pete McGregor

Chai wallah, Pahar Ganj, New Delhi

I'd rushed outside to photograph the early morning Sikh ritual, but I couldn't get a good angle for a photograph. I did notice the chai wallah, though. The chai cost me 10 rupees: an affordable luxury despite my almost complete lack of cash.

I hope the vast queues at the ATMs will subside in the next day or two so I can withdraw cash and be able to enjoy frequent cups of this wonderful drink (which bears almost no resemblance to the 'chai latte' in New Zealand.

In case you're wondering, I'm in India again. My arrival in the wee hours of Saturday morning coincided with the chaos following Prime Minister Modi's sudden announcement that 500 and 100 rupee notes were no longer valid, effective immediately.

All content © 2016 Pete McGregor

Evening; the road from Manali to Leh

India still calls me back. I still have things to do there, people to see. But even if I did those things and met those people again, I doubt the ache to return would diminish. More probably, it would increase. India does that.

This is where we stayed the night before continuing to Leh the next day.

All content © 2014 Pete McGregor

Last days in Leh

One of the last views I had of Leh, shortly before I left for the last time.

All content © 2014 Pete McGregor

Conifer forest, McLeod Ganj (Dharamsala)

Somewhere around here I picked up my first ever leech. A small (but messy) price to pay to be able to enjoy sights like this.

All content © 2014 Pete McGregor