Things I Love About Train Journeys In Russia

I love train journeys of any kind, but there is something incredibly special for me about travelling on Russian trains – especially in the Siberian region. Having been privileged enough to travel three times across the vast expanse of Russian terrain, it holds a very special place in my heart, and I never once regret…

Machines Vs Manual

Rice. The food on my plate every day. No longer from a shop or supermarket, but from the very land on which I now live. Cooking rice. Eating rice. It has all taken on a new meaning for me. I see the seed cast or the seedlings planted, I see the plants grow and the…

The Evolution Of Our Rice Mill

Keeping animals for anything other than food, breeding or for onward sale is an expensive reality, which is why where I live it is considered bizarre that Wat and I should do such a thing. However, with a little bit of ingenuity and the almost dead-cert reliance of Thais on the need for rice, things…

Test-Planting Gourds

I love my chickens. I love my growing areas. Sadly, the two do not mix! The downside about beautiful growing spaces, is that they appeal not only to me, but to the stomachs of our chickens, too. The mothers scratch and scuff around like crazy in order to find food for their chicks; the teens…

Killing Time In Komsomolsk-Na-Amur

It’s always a strange one, those days during travel, where you arrive somewhere early - somewhere you have already been to before, and then have all day to fill before you can connect to the train that will take you onwards to your next destination. Thank goodness for left luggage rooms, is all I can…

Eating At Chuchvara, Novosibirsk

Finding somewhere or something to eat in Siberia is something that has never been that difficult for us on our travels, as long as flexibility, no desirable menu in mind and no particular hopes or expectations are in order. The main stumbling block is that one of us is a vegetarian – me. Having become…