Tour operator Explore has been surprised to see an increase in last-minute bookings of high-priced trips to such places as India, Bhutan and Nepal.

I am on a hot August afternoon, sitting in a Starbucks that two years ago opened a block away from the Theresa, snatching at memories between sips of high-priced coffee.

Even high-priced commodities like spices had to be transported in large bulk in order to justify the expense and trouble of sailing around the African continent all the way to India and China.