Our hiking guides, Rhythm and Eddie, have journeyed over nine hours by bus from Yangon to Kalaw, in the Shan State of Myanmar, to lead us on a 10km walk into the hills behind the town. They are sprightly and … Read the rest
Is that really Lenin in the Mausoleum?
Descending into the cool darkness, I hold tightly onto the railing being careful not to slip on the shiny black marble stairs. As my eyes adjust to the dim lighting, a uniformed man points urgently towards my chest. He has … Read the rest
Visiting the Street Art Museum in St Petersburg
“Street Art” and “St Petersburg” are seldom heard in the same sentence. Yet, here I am in St Petersburg on my way to a Street Art Museum.
Getting to the Street Art Museum
Getting out of the city centre by … Read the rest
Communal Living in St Petersburg
Doctor Zhivago, in the epic drama, returns to his Moscow home to find it occupied by several working-class families. Bolsheviks had taken over the large house, divided it into tenements and handed the accommodation over to strangers.
Today in Russia, … Read the rest
Moscow’s GUM Store on Red Square
Mention Moscow’s Red Square and rows of tanks and military parades might come to mind, not a world class shopping centre. Yet, along the eastern border of Red Square an intricate neo-Russian façade opens into GUM, a large shopping mall … Read the rest
Two Men walk into a Pub
Two young men walk into a pub. They wear new royal blue work shirts with khaki pants. It’s early autumn evening and the Oriental Hotel in Tumut is filling up with dinner guests. (This story takes place before COVID and … Read the rest
Finding All the Tea in China
Something marvellous is unfolding inside the delicate glass teapot. I watch mesmerised as the tightly rolled ball of tea leaves slowly opens to reveal a golden yellow flower. This, the Princess Flower Tea, is my tea of choice when visiting … Read the rest
Pottery Collector Survives the Bushfire
A small sign propped against a fence in the main street of the little village of Bemboka points to the Australian Pottery Gallery. After following more signs through Bemboka’s back streets, we arrive at the gallery but no one seems … Read the rest
Harvest a Pearl at Broken Bay Pearls
Chris digs his thumbs into the muscular flesh he holds in the palm of his hand. After a long minute, his thumbs find the hard, round bead he’s been searching for. A brown stained seed pops out. Our disappointment is … Read the rest
Patonga is a sleepy hollow North of Sydney
By exploring Patonga (a Guringai word meaning oyster), I’m breaking two of my self-made rules. Patonga isn’t a suburb of Sydney, but being easily accessible by ferry from Pittwater, it’s a sleepy hollow worth visiting. And, instead of travelling by … Read the rest