It’s always hot, and often wet in the tropics. At certain times of the year I really miss England’s seasons.There is no spring in India, the seasons segue from winter to summer here. Kerala is at its hottest in April and May, when pre-monsoon steamy white heat reduces the tumbling torrent of Cochin’s street-life to a dried up trickle. Tourists are the only fools to go out in the midday sun. Even the mad dogs sleep.

Every month in the Itinerant Writers Club we write a 500 word essay on a given theme. This month it was “on the road”.

You have a cold? Try a pinch of tiger, or a smattering of red panda. A Chinese medicine maker’s pantry is spread over the hills of Darjeeling, but this zoo is doing all it can to protect the animals.

I entered the competition with a piece about trekking in the Himalayas with Jamie, and I’ve just been told that I won. Not only that, but Helen Moat from our own Itinerant Writers Club was runner up! You can read our winning entries on the Sheldrake website.

We love publishing gripping stories of exciting but harrowing adventures in exotic locations, such as The Backpacker or Lost in the Jungle, where the author barely survives the ordeal. Unfortunately for readers (fortunately for travellers), that kind of journey doesn’t happen very often

Bradt and the Independent on Sunday have announced their 2012 annual travel writing competition. This year the theme is ‘A Close Encounter…’.

Every month I select one of the stories from our Itinerant Writers Club assignments to highlight on the blog. Each story must be no more than 500 words and must follow a theme. The theme for March was “On the road”. Here Aidan Williams tells us about his journey from Vietnam to Cambodia.

The vendor wanted ten rupees (about 12p) for a gloopy crimson drink in a hastily wiped glass. In a nod to hygiene the sidekick wore [read more]

I was thrilled to learn that my piece on a walk round Jaipur was joint runner-up in the Walkopedia travel writing competition.

My piece on our first walk round Kolkata has been chosen by the Guardian to appear in their blog, and is currently being showcased on [read more]

Jamie and I have been writing about and photographing the places we visit on our website, followtheboat, since we moved onto s/y Esper just before [read more]

Every month I select one of the stories from our Itinerant Writers Club assignments to highlight on the blog. Each story must be no more [read more]