Our flight out to Western Mongolia (and the tri-corner border with China and Russia, just short of Kazakhstan) leaves in a few hours, so I’ve run out of time to post a real description of all our experiences over the last couple weeks: singing sand dunes, camel milk, horse cheese, … Continue Reading →
Your impression of some cities depends on the time of year you are there (winter in Chicago). In others, it’s the time of day (Nairobi after dark? I’d prefer werewolves). Ulaan Baatar (as with all Mongolian words, the last vowel is silent, despite the Soviet etymology of “Red Hero”) is … Continue Reading →
So you don’t want to be packed in like a sardine on a public bus, with a vomiting local child on one knee and a drunk old man’s head on the other? Charter yourself a private vehicle and travel in style (Mongolian style, that is). But you’ll want to know … Continue Reading →
Mongolia is doing its own thing. And neither the country, nor anyone in it, gives a rat’s patootie why you’ve come here, or what you might want to see or do – least of all the tourism industry. Which sounds a bit like the romantic ideal of the independent traveler … Continue Reading →
[Now you can click on the pictures to see bigger versions] At 8 cents per megabyte, internet on Kosrae would be expensive except for two factors: 1) it is nearly impossible to connect, and 2) at the speed available, the 64 megabyte card they sell could last weeks. Which matches … Continue Reading →
Kosrae, just 2,500 miles past Hawaii, is a different island from Palau. Geographically, they are both in Micronesia. Politically, they are different countries only due to the outcome of a plebiscite in 1978 when Palauans rejected the draft constitution. Similar volcanic geology, similar population size (Palau has twice as many … Continue Reading →
For a year of rest and “slow travel,” the trip has been pretty busy so far — especially considering that we are starting on a remote tropical island. Between everything we’ve been doing and the ephemeral internet connection, we’re already behind on posting… But there’s a good signal here in … Continue Reading →
It was two and a half years ago that I first wrote an intentionally cryptic “T-30 Months” at the top of the whiteboard in my office. Back then, this was just another one of my crazy ideas — like starting a farm, or buying a luxury submarine to open an … Continue Reading →
Less than 10 weeks to go! And we are not ready. Psychologically, we’ve been ready for years. Though the trip certainly doesn’t feel real yet. But in practical terms? I can’t begin to wrap my head around how much there is to do: Everything we need to do for the … Continue Reading →
Aside from the trip itself, the thing we’ve been looking forward to the most is emptying the house. Neither of us is particularly good at avoiding clutter, and over the last few years I’ve felt increasingly oppressed by the resulting coverage of every horizontal surface with accumulated souvenirs and promises … Continue Reading →