Before I Ran Headlong Into the Firewall, I Loved Beijing
First of all, the subway made sense. Bless Beijing for having the Olympics, because it made our first trip on the metro – from Beijing Central to our stop on Line 2 –… Continue reading
Category Archive: Personal Narrative
1 Comment
Trans-Mongolian Journey: from Ulaan Baatar to Beijing
We woke to new scenery. After a day of the Gobi (like all deserts seen from a train, beautiful at first, and stultifying after seven hours of exactly the same), the small but… Continue reading
The quirky case of Ulaan Baatar, Mongolia
Tomorrow, I’ll get on the train to Beijing. I’ve been in Ulaan Baatar one less week than originally planned, but about five days too many. I know, I said I liked the city.… Continue reading
My First Meal in Mongolia
This was my first meal in Mongolia. I wasn’t really sure what it was, but this really nice Mongolian kid named Tolgi, who was studying to be an English teacher and who had… Continue reading
Adventure to Lake Baikal’s Olkhon Island (and a really cute kitten)
On the microbus from Irkutsk to Olkhon Island, the Russian men around me seemed to keep talking about the fact that I was a woman traveling alone and, if I guessed right, making… Continue reading
Before Autumn in New York City
The sun was radioactively orange, emerging from the silhouettes of old factories whose destiny within the decade will be live-work lofts. The color felt unreal, only elsewhere available in the artifice of nail… Continue reading
House-Hopping, and an Appreciation of Dish Sets
My friends are amazing. They’ve emailed me out of the blue many times in the last month and a half to say, “Hey, I’m gonna be out of town for X number of… Continue reading
Checklist Travel and Thoughts on Leaving Alice Springs
As you may have noticed, there were a lot of emotions in Alice Springs. A great upwelling of hope, that push at your sternum like the rumblings of first love, a deep despair… Continue reading
Spring Onions, Bacon and Other Stories from Alice Springs
Most tourists don’t come to Alice Springs to be in Alice Springs. For many, it’s just a launching point to get to Uluru (formerly known as Ayers Rock), the massive and ancient swooping… Continue reading
Slowing Down: from Kakadu to the Ghan to Uluru
The day I got on the Ghan in Darwin, I’d been having a rotten morning. I’d woken up at 4am to a shaking and rumbling. My first trained thought was, “Oh, god, an… Continue reading
Round and Round I Go: A Trip in the Kimberley
Somewhere on that burnt red off-road track, after my sleepless and sick night of camping in Broome, when my feet burned from sand fly bites and my stomach burned from Sambuca and smoke,… Continue reading
Broome Adventures: Bouts with the Mozzies
I go to bed cradling a bottle of mosquito spray. I know, it’s come to this. I hold the bottle close at night so that when I wake up at 3am to pinpricks… Continue reading