What awaited us in Lho, was a truly medieval scene: On the unpaved road we walked in a mixture of drenched soil and mule dung. Chickens, cattle, dzos and an ownerless horse were blocking our progress, as the rain was just starting to fall in heavy drops like lead from a grey sky. The eyes …
Category Archives: Travel
Old is Gold
“Old is Gold” was printed in fat letters on the windscreen of the vehicle that was standing in front of our hotel in Kathmandu the next morning. While feeling slightly mocked by this statement, this slogan wasn’t helping to instill more confidence in me about travelling in Nepal. There is the common misconception, that hiking …
At the dentist in Kathmandu
Sitting in a street cafe over my copy of the The Himalayan Times, I am treating myself to the customary milky tea and a deep fried doughnut. My breakfast is not likely to cost more than 50 cent, a mere fortune compared to the 5 rupees ( 4 cent) I had paid for the newspaper…. …
Night at the Skills Lab
Not a lot of vet schools can claim to have their own subway station and the one at “Tierspital” in Zurich, is making for a pretty cool entrance. Walking up the ramp to the exit, surounded in neon-blue light, gives me the impression of walking on the bottom of a swimming pool or of entering …
Bells, whistles and nearly 3000 miles to run
Another early morning run…. Passing well attended “Shrimp Cottage” on the right side of the road, this one is taking me all the way downhill to the shore and by that, to one of the UK’s last remaining working fishing harbours, where trawlers of various shapes and sizes share the calm but tidal waters of …
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Room 214
“He’s a good chap in his way. Serious. Not one of those noisy bastards at the Continental. A quiet American.” This is, how Fowler, the main protagonist in Graham Greene’s novel “The Quiet American” describes Pyle, the charcter in the centre of his narrative. It is set during the French Vietnam war, when Greene was …
Motor scooters and Animal Doctors
There were two things that had to be done while travelling in Vietnam – taking a motorscooter taxi and visiting a veterinary clinic. Throwing all caution to the wind, I found myself on the backseat of a Honda Airblade within 30 seconds of ordering a ride on “Grab”, the Vietnamese version of Uber. How dangerous …
Trying to hit the road in Saigon
It was not even six o’clock in the morning, when I opened my eyes and I knew that it was already too late….. As the regular reader of these accounts will be aware, I like to go for a run, and – if staying in a interesting city – then ideally early in the morning, …
On the night train to Lao Cai
Lao Cai lies in the far North of Vietnam, right at the border to China. It is not the most charming place in Vietnam, but it is the gateway to the more scenic town of La Pa, to Farsipan – Vietnam’s highest mountain – and to the Great Northern circle, covering a string of formally …
A dog’s life in Hanoi
It is in the small restaurant “74”, right next to one of the main railway lines out of Vietnam’s second largest city, where I meet “Tó” , one of the four poodles of Mrs Nguyen. These much loved dogs live a typical canine urban life in Hanoi. Confined to a shop, a small restaurant or …
The Blue Vet Diary 