I was talking to my friend Christian about my post The Story Behind The Picture when he reminded of his favourite photo from our trip to India.

We were staying in McLeod Ganj in Himanchal Pradesh, and decided to have a look around the nearby town of Dharamsala. We thought a bus might be more interesting than a taxi so headed to the bus stand. This was my first ride on an Indian bus, and I was looking forward to the amazing views on the road down the valley.

Chris bought a paper near the bus stand, and started to read it as we waited to leave, and this page caught my eye – I think it was the use of the word ‘charred‘ that was particularly diverting.

Of course our bus journey was quite uneventful, and we had a very pleasant morning looking around Dharamsala followed by lunch at The Dhauladhar hotel overlooking the Kangra Valley.

This morning, just a few weeks later, I was struck by how much lower the sun is in the sky.

Summer is gliding away.

When summer gathers up her robes of glory,
And, like a dream, glides away.

Sarah Helen Whitman

3 guys, 44 days, 11 countries, 18 flights, 38 thousand miles, an exploding volcano, 2 cameras and almost a terabyte of footage…

Incredible.

via Cameron Moll

This image visualises Lost In Translation beautifully; I want this as a poster now.

From for rainy days via FFFFOUND.

Update: Having searched around this appears to be the original image, which sadly is not available as a poster.

I spent two weeks in India in 2003. On my last day I travelled from Delhi to Agra with my travel buddy Ben to see the Taj Mahal, Agra Fort and Fatehpur Sikri.

After leaving Delhi at dawn we had an eventful trip to Agra featuring security checkpoints, dancing bears and no less than three punctures. I’d never seen a car tyre with an inner tube, and I’d certainly never seen an inner tube with so many existing repair patches already in place.

The Taj Mahal was every bit as breath taking as legend suggests. It’s hard to comprehend just how majestic this building is without seeing it for yourself. I walked around for hours in quiet awe.

Getting a good tourist free photograph of such an iconic attraction is of course very difficult so we hatched a cunning plan. Ben would stand in front of the Taj as if having his photograph taken, then on the count of three he would duck out of the way allowing me an undisturbed photograph of the Taj Mahal.

Unfortunately Ben got a little carried away, and rather than merely duck he threw himself bodily to the floor. This is why the edges of the photo are lined with bemused looking Indian tourists, and why Ben spent the rest of the day limping.

Of course the irony is that because of this the tourists make it a much better photograph.

If you know the story behind it.

As we had the kids with us we thought we’d head to the coast for the day. In true English seaside fashion it was a little misty, and chilly by the time we got there, but Southwold still showed the charm that only an off-season English seaside town can have.

More Photos on Flickr

Fantastic video – great fun and shows off Iceland wonderfully I think.

He’s immersed in his iPhone as I was in mine. I wonder where he’s going.

Should I be bothered that I recognise him? Wonder if he recognises me.

Half way through the trip I happen to look up and see a single tear roll down her cheek.

She notices and wipes away the tear.

No more tears follow.