Grey Bricks of Beijing

Rail The plan for China was to catch an overnight sleeper train between cities. Not only would this save us the cost of accommodation but it would also be cheaper than flights. For our very first train journey; Shanghai to Beijing I decided to book us a private cabin trading all the cost savings to …

A Sea of Tourists

Storm Mountain We had originally only planned to spend a weekend in Kyoto however leaving the chicken farm early meant we now had an extra week to kill. As we had not budgeted for this extra week we decided to get ourselves a cheap Airbnb in the outskirts of Kyoto and live thriftily for a …

The Not So Great Escape

Our stay at Takayama had come to an end and even as I reflected on the life our kind hearted hosts lived we were already on our way to our next Japanese farm. The journey deep into rural Wakayama would take 8 hours and be by bus, shinkansen (bullet rail) and train. What would await …

Geopolitics and Mountain Worship

How to Chop Wood My first WWOOFING experience started with several days of chopping wood in the blazing sun. It was hard work but the crack of splitting wood from a well placed blow was enough instant gratification to keep me engaged for days. As with most things the initial attempt made it quickly clear …

Tokyo Oddities

Tokyo Alleyways The first glimpse I got of the Tokyo suburbs gave me pause. I have seen the pictures of Shibuya and Akihabara before our trip to Japan, what I did not expect however was the glaring oddity of almost every scene we came across. I have lived in many countries and Japan is the …

Malaysia Musings

The Art of Blogging I'm still not sure how to structure these blogs. I tell myself these are for me to look back on so it doesn't really matter but I can't help but strive for some semblance of structure and readability. Perhaps even the occasional elegant turn of phrase. Is it hubris to crave …

Homeless and Unemployed

We have ended our lease in Sydney with no forwarding address. I have left my job with no plans of new employment in the near future. Nay and I now join the ranks of the homeless and unemployed with the great privileged of having done so by choice. Ending a lease with nowhere to go …