Journey through Southern India is a delightfully irreverent yet insightful travel memoir that invites readers to join two wisecracking retirees on an extraordinary three-week odyssey across the dazzling landscapes of southern India. It neatly fills in some of the geographical gaps left after the duo’s tour of northern India, described in author Mark Probert’s 2021 book, Journey through India (2021).

The two British pensioners’ latest ‘trip of a lifetime’ proves to be an unforgettable tour brimming with strange encounters, near-misses and life-affirming moments. This book’s refreshing candour and gentle wit sweep readers into a kaleidoscope of rich experiences. With travels taking in the bustling streets of Mumbai and the serene backwaters of Kerala, ancient temples of Hampi and the modern experimental township of Auroville, the cricket world cup and the world’s largest bust, this fast-moving narrative is an immersion into a dazzling world of vibrant colours, exotic aromas and cacophonous soundscapes. From your armchair, you can meet an internationally famous yoga guru, swim in the Arabian Sea and celebrate Diwali in what was once the world’s second-largest city, Hampi.

Whether dodging Delhi belly with a thimbleful of Imodium, nearly causing an international incident at the Auroville exhibition centre or finding themselves accidentally stoking political fervour at a Mumbai rally, Mark and his best friend Nick gamely stumble into experiences that would shake travel certainties in even the most daring souls. Yet it is his openness to adventure, self-deprecating humour in the face of chaos and profound appreciation for the diversity of the human spirit that makes Mark such an enchanting and compelling guide on this intercultural exploration of India’s intoxicating extremes.

Fun yet thoughtful, and written in richly descriptive prose, Journey through Southern India takes readers far beyond a typical tour itinerary to deliver an authentic, amusing and surprisingly moving account of a traveller’s quest for perspective, connection and meaning amid the beautiful contradictions of the subcontinent. This is a perceptive, open-hearted memoir of an unforgettable journey – one that inspires us to live every adventure to its fullest.

Mark Probert (mgprobert.com) has spent a lifetime travelling. Now retired, he lives with his wife Jan in rural Dorset, England. A career in mapping took him all around Britain and to many ‘interesting’ places on four continents – from Albania to Zanzibar. He has lived all over the UK, from Sutherland to Southampton, and in Fontainebleau, France. As retirement approached, Mark set off to do some of the trips he’d always wanted to do – the ones he’d put off until there was more time. He described one journey, from Land’s End to John O’Groats by motorcycle, in his first book Another Journey through Britain, published in 2020. He has written three further travel narratives: Journey through India (2021), about a five-week back-packing adventure; Journey through Wales (2023) and Journey through Southern India (2024).

Introduction
1 Bollywood and Boligarchs
2 Keeping our day flexible
3 Schrödinger’s airport
4 Jai Shri Rami
5 The day after the night before
6 The largest bust in the world
7 It’s just your chai talkin’
8 The Queen of the Arabian Sea
9 Venice of the East
10 Goddess Parvati, Jasmine and a Tyrannosaurus Rex
11 Fare forward voyagers… but don’t be late
12 Cooum River, wider than a mile
Reflections
Acknowledgments