About

At the source of the Ganges River

My name is Simon Collins. I live in Manchester, England although I'm originally from Lincolnshire on the East coast.

Two years ago I was working in IT and growing weary of the nine to five routine. I woke up on new years eve. morning 2001 and decided to go travelling. It was the middle of the dotcom downturn and economically it seemed like a good time to go. I had just bought a house but that could easily be rented out. In short there was nothing to stop me heading off on the trip of a lifetime.

I had wanted to travel for years but there always seemed to be something I needed to do first, be it another course or another job. Perhaps I just did not have the courage to step into the unknown. This time I had no excuses for not going.

I spent six months planning and organising before leaving my job in June 2002 and heading off to India.
India is an amazing place. I originally planned on spending two months there but ended up staying for five and a half. I continued to South East Asia and over the final six months of my trip visited Thailand, Laos, Cambodia, Vietnam, Malaysia and Japan before heading home in June 2003.

Travelling gave me the time to reflect on my life and future direction. I found the writings of Hermann Hesse and Paulo Coelho tremendously inspiring. I named this site after the title of Hesses' Journey to the East, although I have not yet read the book, the title seemed appropriate.

While travelling I had become interested in photography. On my return I decided to put my photos on the internet as a resource for people planning trips to these countries and for anybody interested in travel photography. My aim in picking the photos was to enable the viewer to get a feel as to what its like to travel in a particular country. I have included informational notes in the picture titles where possible.

I am now developing a new career in web design and pursuing my interest in photography. I also intend to continue travelling and to enjoy this wonderful world we live in.

I hope you enjoy the site