I arrive at the Guerlain Spa located in Edinburgh’s Waldorf Astoria Caledonian Hotel on a grey, grizzly weekday afternoon. Even the nearby castle looks sad…

“When arriving at a five star resort, it is best to avoid doing so in a tuk-tuk…” Alwynne Gwillt arrives at the final stop of her India tour in traditional style…

“We began our experience with Vaamika by way of a SunRay speedboat – a sexy, cream and tan leather beast that motored us out to the island from the mainland just as the sun was waning…”

There are times in life when one finds oneself in the oddest of situations, unable to entirely process the experience and not knowing if it is a good thing or not…

“We had been travelling on India’s train network for nearly 20 hours, finally landing at New Jalpaiguri – the last major train station before the ascent into the West Bengal mountains…”

“As the boy and I drift quietly up the Massif de Beauregard in our swinging gondola, all I can focus on is my pounding heart.” Alwynne faces her fear of the skis on a trip to La Clusaz.

“Edinburgh was freezing the night I headed to the Scotch Malt Whisky Society on Queen Street. I’d spent 15 minutes slipping and scuffing my way down tall hills in too-tall heels, wishing we had opted for a cab instead.”