Category: South Asia

Destination: South Asia

Gay travel guides

What’s it like travelling as a gay couple in Asia

103 | 8 February, 2019 | Gay Stories, Global stories, India, Romance, South Asia, Southeast Asia, Sri Lanka

“Why should I spend my tourist dollars in a country that wants to throw me in jail?!”This was our dilemma before setting off for our big travel adventures in Asia – as a gay couple.If it isn’t illegal (like in Sri Lanka, Singapore, the Maldives, Malaysia, Myanmar…), then it’s certainly not truly welcomed (think Indonesia, Russia, ...

When we almost got arrested for being gay in Delhi

99 | 8 February, 2019 | Gay Stories, India

Don’t get us wrong, we absolutely fell in love with India.But its government has had issues accepting its LGBTQ community over this past decade. It all started in 2009 when the Delhi High Court invalidated a very old law dating back to 1861 (Article 377 of the Indian Penal Code), which criminalises gay sex with up ...

Gay Sri Lanka travel: a complete gay guide for the LGBTQ traveller in 2019

56 | 7 February, 2019 | gay interviews, Sri Lanka

“Funny Boy” is a Sri Lankan book Stefan grew up with and loved (written by Shyam Selvadurai and highly recommended to any LGBT traveller visiting Sri Lanka).It tells the story of a young Tamil gay boy called Arjy growing up in 1980s Sri Lanka during the civil war era, struggling to come to grips with his homosexuality ...

Gay Nepal: Interview with Kathmandu local boy Tilak

53 | 8 February, 2019 | gay interviews, Nepal

Nepal ranks as one of our favourite destinations. It has some of the most beautiful scenery we’ve ever seen, particularly on the Annapurna circuit, and foodies will be excited to taste the many types of dal bhat. The icing on the cake, Nepal is a gay friendly country – by Asian standards of course.Before arriving ...

How to visit the Maldives on a budget?

44 | 8 February, 2019 | Maldives, Travel Guides

The Maldives has always been one of those luxury tropical getaways we’ve always dreamed of visiting but dismissed due to the high costs.But, since 2009, the Maldivian government officially allowed tourists to stay with the local population rather than just on the privately owned pricey resort islands. This has allowed backpackers and budget travellers to enjoy the pristine waters ...

Romance

Nothing says ‘I love you’ quite like the Taj Mahal

9 | 8 February, 2019 | India

A guy built this entire beautiful marble mausoleum in memory of his late wife.This caused us a BIG problem: World War III almost broke out between these two greedy boys as Stefan demanded the same from Sebastien…A demanding Stefan temporarily appeased by Sebastien’s fake promises…Ok we’re joking. Stefan is not that much of a diva (except ...

Ella Rock Hike: the complete step-by-step guide in 2019

54 | 8 February, 2019 | Sri Lanka, Travel Guides

Our favourite trekking experience during our travels in Asia was the Annapurna Circuit in Nepal. However, the 2 hours trek to Ella Rock from Ella town in Sri Lanka certainly rivals this for scenery. But finding the trail can sometimes be challenging, so here’s the ultimate guide to trekking to Ella Rock, easy peasy!A word about EllaElla ...

Best Safari in Sri Lanka: Yala versus Udawalawe

53 | 14 January, 2019 | Sri Lanka, Travel Guides

Train from Nuwara Eliya to Ella, a journey through the clouds

43 | 7 February, 2019 | Sri Lanka, Travel Guides

The train journey from Nuwara Eliya to Ella was one of our favourite ever train rides on our travels, rivalling our experience with the Trans Siberian railway.This train powers up through Sri Lanka’s southern hill country, through the tea plantations, into the clouds and then weaves in and out of the many mountain tunnels as ...

Thoddoo island: a paradise island for fruit lovers

36 | 8 February, 2019 | Maldives, Travel Guides

We spent 10 days in the Maldives in November 2014 on Thoddoo island.Since 2009, the Maldivian government dropped the ban from allowing local islands to operate guesthouses, therefore breaking the monopoly enjoyed by millionaire resort owners and bringing tourist dollars into the rural economy.This has made budget travelling to the Maldives accessible for backpackers like us.We were ...

Blue whale watching in Mirissa, Sri Lanka

29 | 8 February, 2019 | Sri Lanka, Travel Guides, wildlife Safaris

Whale watching is particularly big with the 3 countries who are unfortunately pro whale hunting: Japan, Norway and Iceland.We encountered this when we entered a whale bar in Tokyo by accident.We’ve since been more curious about whales, spotting orca killer whales in Puerto Madryn, Argentina, so we jumped at the chance to see these magnificent endangered species in the flesh ...

Luxury

Elephant safari at Udawalawe in Sri Lanka, a unique experience

17 | 8 February, 2019 | Sri Lanka, Travel Guides, wildlife Safaris

Udawalawe National Park in south Sri Lanka is considered to be the Sri Lankan national park that best rivals the savannah reserves of Africa:A photogenic elephant posing with a peacock at Udawalawe National ParkThe National Park was established in June 1972 as a sanctuary for wild animals displaced by the construction of the Udawalawe Reservoir ...

How to get an Indian visa in Kathmandu, step-by step guide

94 | 8 February, 2019 | India, Nepal, Tips and Planning, Travel Guides

We arrived in Kathmandu, geared up and ready to spend our time in Nepal trekking in the mountains. Our first week was mainly taken up getting our Indian tourist visa.The process for getting an Indian visa in Kathmandu is relatively simple, bureaucratic, takes 7 working days and requires 3 visits to the Indian embassy in Kathmandu. ...

How to visit the Maldives on a budget?

44 | 8 February, 2019 | Maldives, Travel Guides

How to book the best houseboat in the backwaters of Kerala in Alleppey?

24 | 8 February, 2019 | India, Tips and Planning

The backwaters of Kerala are a network of inter connected canals, rivers and lakes with a number villages. One of the highlights for travellers in India is to rent a house boat in Kerala and drift along the backwaters for a day or two and watching the world go by around you.Naturally this was high up on ...

Tips for planning your Annapurna Circuit trek in Nepal

8 | 8 February, 2019 | Nepal, Tips and Planning

Nepal is nicknamed, “the ceiling of the world”. It has 8 of the world’s 10 highest mountains and 100 mountains exceeding 7200m.The two most popular treks are to Mount Everest’s base camp (at 5,380m / 17,651 ft) and the Annapurna trek to the climax point of ‘Thorung La Pass’ at 5,416 metres (17,769 feet) altitude.We trekked the ...

Our Sri Lanka travel video

15 | 1 February, 2019 | Sri Lanka, Travel videos

Our Sri Lanka travel video includes our favourite memories as we ate our way through this tropical pearl shaped island.we started in Colombo and used nearby Negombo as our base then started a some incredible train journeys from Kandy to Nuwara Eliya through the tea plantations and then through the clouds from Nuwara Eliya and to ...

Our India video travel diary

11 | 11 June, 2017 | India, Travel videos

India shocked us but we quickly fell in love with it as we made out way through this beautiful country and colourful culture. We spent a month dancing through India, from Bollywood dancing in Delhi to visiting the breathtaking monument of love, the Taj Mahal, through Rajasthan, over to Varanasi then down south to Kochi in Kerala. Spending ...

Our Nepal video

8 | 11 June, 2017 | Nepal, Travel videos

When we arrived in Kathmandu, we were shocked by the chaos and mayhem everywhere on the road. It was certainly a good preparation for India, which we visited after Nepal. But we quickly fell in love with this amazing country. The scenery of the Himalayan mountains was breathtaking and probably our favourite memory of Nepal. In Kathmandu, we discovered ...

Our Maldives video diary

1 | 11 June, 2017 | Maldives, Travel videos

We spent 2 weeks in the Maldives in November 2014, doing lots of snorkelling and some scuba diving. The weather in the Maldives is tropical so unpredictable. It can be stormy with heavy rain one minute, and sunny blue skies the next. Thoddoo Island is located 67km away from Male, the Maldvian capital, in the north Ari atoll. The weather was ...