The diary describes Laing's journey through Bombay, Madras (from whence he visited Ceylon) and Calcutta. It ends at Mirzapore, 17 March 1874, on his return journey from a visit to Delhi. The text is on the right-hand pages. The left-hand side is either blank or has pictures, menus, programmes and other material stuck in, with miscellaneous additional information recorded in writing. There are inserted photographs, as well as illustrations in colour of the Taj Mahal and of Indian decoration. The entries for 13-18 October 1873 are said to be 'described in previous Diary'. The diary is stored at RCMS 21/1.