My first footfalls on the winding road of foreign travel came in 1976. Along the way I've passed through or halted in many countries in Europe, Australasia and Asia, with time away from 'home' (somewhere I have defined as different locations at various times - currently it's Austria) presently totalling over eight years. Here is a collection of pages on this site of interest to travellers. I hope you'll find my information and pictures helpful and inspiring for planning your trip (or maybe for remembering one you went on), as you will the selection of external links over on the right side
 

Hard information and a few soft options

Tips and hints for budget travellers in Asia
FAQs with my own answers about how to take your money and how much it will cost, how to stay healthy, how to use Asian toilets, how to choose hotel rooms, travelling in the monsoon, dealing with beggars. Nearly forty topics are covered. View online or download either e-book (CHM) or Adobe Acrobat (PDF) format. 

Blogging about my highs and lows
My written journals from on the road in India. The current trip runs until October 2010, visiting Himachal Pradesh and other upland regions of India. You can access previous blogs back to 2002 - journals of three months' journeying through the high lands and hilly lands of India, most with photos.

Other travellers whose sites I like
These sites are a mixture of old and new, with photographers, walkers, cyclists and writers. Throw another log on the fire and keep surfing...
 

Security and safety make sense wherever you are

Security and privacy when you use public computers
Read this if you are expecting to use Internet cafés when you travel to send and read email. My own tips for dealing with the risks to your online privacy.

Take your own portable email and Firefox browser
Do you send email from Internet cafés when you are travelling? Minimise the risk of losing your personal information (often called "identity theft") with cafeKlysm. It's my personal bundle of (mostly open-source) portable software. You get portable email and instant messaging programs to load on your USB flash drive, plus added security features and my 30-page help file.

Make your own money belt and stay secure
My own pattern for a simple, zipped security pouch you can sew yourself, and which you can adapt to suit your needs. It costs less than half what you'd pay for a ready-made belt and probably lasts as much as three times longer. You can make the belt with a sewing machine (or by hand) and it's simple enough to put together even if you are a beginner.
 

A feeling for foreign travel - read about it, see the photos

Travel-related downloads
A journal from a woman's first visit to Rajasthan, a desktop rack of international clocks and other useful downloads to smooth your trip.

Travel Photo Gallery
Some of my pictures from around thirty years of wandering or living in Australia, Austria, Burma, Finland, India, Ireland, Indonesia, Nepal, New Zealand, Malaysia, Thailand, Singapore, Pakistan and Scotland.

Panorama photographs
Very large photographs you can pan around and zoom into and out of. Viewpoints that extend 270° in some cases. Presently featuring five panoramas from India and four from Austria. You can view them in either the QuickTime or Flash formats.
 

Now over to you...

Take a survey - drugs, trekking permits, changes...
My current survey covers the phenomenal changes which have taken place in India over the past 25 years - or even over the past 5. Were those days long ago when you travelled there really 'golden,' or is India generally better for the visitor today? Take this survey to add your opinion, or look at the result of surveys run from this site before.

Send an electronic postcard
Send a card with a choice of photographs from my collection. Each card can be customised with font, background colour and (if you wish) music. Simple to send, and unlike many sites, the card your friend sees is advertisement- and spyware-free.