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My Love for Laos Restored by Looms and Rice
A month ago, I read about Living Land Farm in a Lonely Planet Guidebook and immediately clocked it as something I wanted to do. I’d been looking forward to it for several weeks and it lived up to my expectations. At Living Land Farm I learned how to... Grow, harvest, and prepare RICE.
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High Heat and Home Visits in Hanoi, Vietnam
In Hanoi, I walked. And I sweated. Walking at all meant wiping my upper lip, wiping my forehead, feeling water prickle at my hairline, feeling sweat stick my shirt to my back, running down my neck and into the collar of my shirt.
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Cooking in Communal Kitchens: Cheap, Yummy Hostel Dinners
When I arrived in New Zealand, my observations of the people around me led me to understand that hostel cooking is basically like college cooking: ramen, pesto pasta, frozen pizzas, and microwave meals. But I didn't just want cheap and easy. The most important factor is yummy!
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A Backpacker’s Life, Introvert Style
How, you might wonder, does someone who loves spending weeks at home just reading and writing, deal with the constant change of location? How does an introverted, large-group adverse, anti-heavy-drinking, control-loving, homebody juggle her dichotomous desire to cheaply travel and explore the rest of the world? I'm here to give you the answer: small routines and big organization skills.
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Easy, Yummy Hostel Dinners: One Pot Veggie Risotto
When I arrived in New Zealand, my observations of the people around me led me to understand that hostel cooking is basically college cooking: ramen, pesto pasta, frozen pizzas, and microwave meals. But I didn't just want cheap and easy. The most important factor is yummy! After six months these are my go-to hostel dinners. This One Pot Veggie Risotto is super easy and so yummy, but it does take about a half an hour, so it's one of the longer recipes on here. But so much reward for just a little work.
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Easy, Yummy Hostel Dinners: Almost Instant Pizza
When I arrived in New Zealand, my observations of the people around me led me to understand that hostel cooking is basically college cooking: ramen, pesto pasta, frozen pizzas, and microwave meals. But I didn't just want cheap and easy. The most important factor is yummy! Pizza isn't usually my go to, but since so many people around me were cooking up frozen pizzas in the hostel ovens, I started to get a craving. But not for frozen pizza. I wanted a yummy pizza that didn't taste like cardboard.
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The North of the South: Picton to Golden Bay
Crossing the Cook Strait between the North Island and the South Island felt like embarking on a completely new adventure. Perhaps it was the high expectations. Afterall, nearly every person I've spoken to, kiwi and traveler alike, told me the South Island was the best island, that it would blow my mind, that it was far more beautiful. All of these expectations bubbled in the back of my mind like a boiling pot even as I tried to suppress them. High expectations often lead to disappointment.
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The Lone Mussel: My Moana Moment
I'm wandering along the beach in Whiritoa. There's no particular hurry and I feel the sand shift beneath my feet. The soft sound of the waves, sussurating in a steady rhythm, creeping up the sand and retreating with gentle movement...and leaving something behind... Disney-princess style.
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4 Days in New York City During Covid
Day 1: All the Busy, Bustling(?) Tourist Spots Covid is good a for a few things. One of them being LESS PEOPLE. Even on the streets of New York City. Masks were required on the subway and in a few buildings, but we mostly enjoyed the perks of the Covid rather than the downsides. We started out our first afternoon with a walk through Times Square, which was way less busy than I remember from a quick visit in 2018. We peeked in at Union Station, saw the St. Patrick’s Cathedral, and found a great rooftop bar to enjoy the Empire State Building. We ended the night with sushi in…
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Covid Catastrophe in the Czech Republic
I can't say that I didn't know any better. But we thought we were untouchable. We thought the chaos wending it's way through the world was ridiculous. There was no precedent for everything shutting down. Surely in a week or two everything would be back to normal. Do you remember when we all thought that?
