Gavin Thomas (www.gavinthomas.net) was born in the USA and spent his early years in south London before heading off to boarding school in Suffolk – an early taste of the itinerant life which he is still waiting to grow out of. He subsequently studied classical music at Durham University and the Royal College of Music and worked for several years as a music journalist, whilst also stretching his legs with a series of increasingly lengthy forays through Europe, the Middle East and India. In 1996 he embarked on a two-year round-the-world-trip which started in India, continued via Southeast Asia, Australasia and South America, and ended with an extended spell in hospital after being shot by bandits in Mexico.

He worked as a travel editor with Rough Guides from 1998 to 2005, during which time he also authored the first edition of The Rough Guide to Sri Lanka. He has worked as a freelance travel journalist since 2005, and has recently written the new Rough Guide to Dubai and (with Daniel Jacobs) The Rough Guide to Rajasthan, Delhi and Agra, as well as contributing regularly to The Rough Guide to Classical Music. When not on the road, he can be found at home in Buckinghamshire with his wife and two young children.