Entries by Kaz

Discovering treasures in back alleys

In a quiet lane in the back alleyways of Georgetown, I paused outside an open door, noticing the dark silhouette of a man standing in the corner of the concrete workshop. He was hunched over an upside down cane basket, gently swinging his arms in a circular motion. As I squinted and strained to see […]

The delectable and displeasing scents of Delhi

I enter the street through the shiny glass door that sighs heavily as it opens, gently breaking the airlock that separates me from the pristine marble floor and wall tiles lining the foyer and the turmoil that lives on the other side. The doorman, an elderly gentleman dressed in a crumpled uniform hanging wearily from […]

A man, a goat and a cauliflower

‘Nothing opening until 10am’ the hotel attendant advised us with a wobble of his head, as we left to explore Chandni Chowk Bazaar, and he was right. Apart from a couple of office workers sitting on makeshift wooden stools drinking chai waiting for the gates of the DCP commission to open, the street sweepers cleaning […]

Welcome to India

A shrill high pitched wailing pierces through the darkness, I stir from my sleep and my mind scrambles to find its bearings. The lone monotone male voice strains out the adhan “call to prayer”, projected through distant tinny loudspeakers, that have long lost their ability to enhance the grating sound – and morning is broken. Yet […]

My first trip to India….

I started writing this story at 11.56pm on the evening of my arrival back into Australia, after a holiday equivalent to the experience of riding a rollercoaster at Dreamworld. The combination of suffering from jet lag, readjusting to the time difference, and the beat of the “dooff dooff” music wafting down the road from the […]

Our first morning in India

Our first morning in India! We wake early despite the fact that we arrived so late after 15 hours of travel.  I am too excited to sleep… I am actually in India!! Yahooo!!!  It was dark when we stumbled into the hotel last night and we are keen to survey the landscape of our local surroundings. […]

Fear of the unknown

We arrived at Gold Coast airport bright and early with our backpacks ready to go. I was nervous and excited about flying (after 40 years and with about 100 flights under my belt, I still experience butterflies getting on a plane!). We had traveled to Malaysia and Thailand 18 months ago as a family and […]

Go Yellow Team

Overwhelming heat and dampness hit us like a thick wet woollen blanket as we step excitedly off the monorail at Pasar Seni. For the second time today we feel the intensity of the Malaysian humidity. And now it is also pouring with rain. A quick head check, “1,2,3,4,5 kids plus me is 6 – ok, raincoats on! Has […]