Five centuries ago, Japan was divided and at war. Hundreds of domains, many more warlords, and constant battle destabilised the country for decades. Soon, the ruling military class started clearing…
Out of Service: Escaping Tokyo’s Timetable
Tokyo is a world unto itself, with a population larger than most countries, innovation and creativity to match, and a public transit network that knows no equals. Over forty railway…
The Seventh Floor
Recently I came across an article by an interior designer, showing off a bar they opened about two months ago. Intrigued, I tried to locate it on a map of…
Warm Energy
Compared to the massive bulk of China, at first glance Taiwan looks like a tiny rock off the coast of the continent, where steep gorges cut the volcanic mountains into…
Soft Dream
There is a mysterious country hidden between the flashy magnets of Thailand and Vietnam, hidden beneath the towering trees of a verdant jungle, where the monsoon rains filter through the…
Death by Fat Monkey
The Ankorians wrote on banana leaves. As their society collapsed, and monks stopped meticulously copying manuscripts, the scrolls of leaves rotted away in the humid climate, and their history was…
Cut in Two
I’m going to leave my home. Today is the day. Most likely never to return. I will miss playing cards at the kitchen table. Indi taught us one of her…
Tales from the English Pub
Two weeks ago I had the great fortune to travel around Northern England with a friend of mine. He had just returned from his second semester in Cairo, studying Arabic,…
Counting Down
And now the news, both good, and less so. In one week, I’m set to leave home for about a year, transplanted from Europe to Asia. However, in that time,…
Carthago Delenda Est
On a two day visit to the Eastern stretch of the Magreb, where the Atlas mountains dive into the Mediterranean and host the capital of Tunis upon the bay, I…