The teenage boy a few seats ahead of me across the aisle is watching some strange Chinese film, where the climax appears to be suicide by mango. A boy wearing a crown has a breakdown in front of social media cameras before getting arrested by the military. What the hell is this?! I really want … Continue reading Somewhere over western China
Notes from the overnight train, Moscow to St Petersburg, Winter 2015 My cabin-mates are playing Current Affairs Bingo. I lie on the top bunk reading Anna Karenina, and our fellow passengers have just discovered we’re from the fabled West. They’ve exhausted the topic of Russian food and are now tackling politics. Obama in Russian is … Continue reading Notes from the night train
After all the weirdness of 2020, I came across this entry in my travel journal. I can’t believe I’m saying this, but I even miss this aspect of travel. Who’d have thought? Friday 15 August, 2014 London, UK A somewhat miserable departure. The coach is leaving from Victoria coach station around 10:30 pm. Despite this … Continue reading A somewhat miserable departure
This article was originally published in Pi Magazine about six years ago. It was never available online, so here you go. The email went around my department around this time last year. Spending a month living under a tent in the Siberian steppe with complete strangers, 2 hours away from the nearest town, in one … Continue reading In Search of the Nomads of Southern Siberia
When Emma was growing up as a profoundly deaf child in the south of England, her parents took her and her sister on holiday on a farm. There she bottle-fed three baby lambs and formed a deep bond with them like she’d never felt before. The family decided to buy the lambs, and negotiated with … Continue reading Adopting Ebenezer
The sound of Mongolia is wind. It covers everything. Wind and, in the summer, crickets singing their lives away. There is also a very peculiar species of bird – one day, one day I will find out what they are – that flies in short semi-circular arcs into the sky, and panics about crashing back … Continue reading The sound of Mongolia is wind
Turn left out of Harajuku station and, walking down Omotesando, you’ll soon notice a peculiar little stand-alone shop. All triangles and weird mascots, with a neat vending machine sitting outside for refreshments, this speciality store will charm the pants off just about anyone. It caters to all your loving needs – including those you never knew … Continue reading The Harajuku Condom Emporium
First night in snowy Moscow. Not very cold (only -1⁰C), but puddles. Everywhere. Crossing any road is a challenge; there is NO drainage system around here. Confusion about registration upon arrival. We hide in our room for a while, googling registration laws, but our research is less than fruitful. We hide in embarrassment for a … Continue reading Snippet from a Russian winter
The first entry in my travel journal from last Christmas reads as follows: Day 1 – Arrived in Florence. Followed the Red Brick Road to Car Rental. Ate chestnuts throughout the whole drive while discussing the semantics of colours. Hotel Alba is AMAZING. We have a mezzanine and a DOMED TUB ROOM (without a door); Santa Maria … Continue reading 5 reasons to spend Christmas in Tuscany
An exercise in spontaneous (if grumpy) continuous writing Jawbone over there is smouldering away, sitting across from me. A tall girl in Juicy Couture sweats and prayer beads gets on the train and blocks my view. She manages to be impossibly stylish whilst wearing a combination of what are possibly the tackiest things ever. A pink … Continue reading On the train, line 15
Anytime - Anyplace - Anywhere - Any way 