Changes In Longitude

Chapter 1: Gonna Fly Now (Part 1)

Michael — Sun, 12 May 2013 14:15:05 +0000

During May we are providing excerpts from the first two chapters of our forthcoming book in progress: Changes in Longitude: How One Couple Chucked it All to Travel the World. Chapter 1: Gonna Fly Now (Part 1) We tossed our keys into the mail slot of the row house we had been renting for the past year [...]

Prologue to a journey: One night in Saigon

Michael — Mon, 06 May 2013 10:45:00 +0000

During May we are providing excerpts from the first two chapters of our forthcoming book in progress: Changes in Longitude: How One Couple Chucked it All to Travel the World. PROLOGUE During a nighttime stroll we had gotten lost in the dimly lit, maze-like streets of old Saigon. A series of turns led us into a [...]

Picher Oklahoma: A modern American ghost town

Michael — Mon, 22 Apr 2013 10:45:20 +0000

Picher, Oklahoma is a harsh example of the effects mining can have on an area. Once a major producer of lead and zinc, the town is now a ghost town as the lead came back to haunt them. The air, soil and water around Picher became contaminated with leftovers from the mining operations known as [...]

Jerusalem, it’s complicated

Michael — Mon, 15 Apr 2013 10:45:35 +0000

Jerusalem is the most difficult city to decipher on earth. That’s not just us saying it. Try finding it on Google Maps. For security reasons high-resolution satellite pictures are not available, reducing the city to a fuzzy haze. This complexity continues at ground level. Considering its significant impact on religious and world history, the area [...]

Postcards from Pyongyang: Images of North Korea

Michael — Mon, 08 Apr 2013 10:45:59 +0000

We’d like to share some images of North Korea from postcards we picked up in Pyongyang. Some of them display the incessant propaganda while others are images of the modern city center. Unless you’ve avoided all media, you’ve probably noticed that North Korea has been in the news quite a bit lately. When Kim Jong Un started [...]

A visit to the Cambodian Landmine Museum

Michael — Mon, 01 Apr 2013 12:55:34 +0000

The Cambodian Landmine Museum and Relief Centre may be the only museum in the world that prints this disclaimer on their tickets: “Everything on display has been inspected 100% free from explosives.” Would that the fields in the nearby countryside were so safe. It was founded by Aki Ra, whose parents were killed by the Khmer Rouge [...]

Photos from the epic Good Friday procession in Malta

Michael — Fri, 29 Mar 2013 10:45:19 +0000

The Good Friday procession in Malta is an epic event, with several parades around the Mediterranean island clocking in at two plus hours. We attended the Good Friday procession in the village of Zebbug (olives in Maltese). The town basically shuts down for the day as hundreds of its residents take part in the parade. [...]

Mostly free things to do in Auckland

Guest — Mon, 25 Mar 2013 10:45:46 +0000

I grew up in New Zealand and was always looking for free things to do in Auckland. From nature hikes to museums to contemporary art, here are a few of my favorites. 1) Stroll the boardwalk between Mission Bay and St Heliers Bay Auckland has one of the most beautiful harbours in the world so [...]

Is dulce de leche the best flavor in the world?

Michael — Mon, 18 Mar 2013 10:45:36 +0000

Dulce de leche seems simple. It’s made up of just two ingredients: milk and sugar. The milk and sugar are slowly cooked so the sugar caramelizes, creating an intense, complex sweetness that is the best flavor on earth. The birthplace of dulce de leche is South America. During our time in Buenos Aires, our mission was to sample [...]

Free things to do in Cairns, Australia; even free scuba

Guest — Mon, 11 Mar 2013 10:45:37 +0000

Cairns is a popular jumping off point to explore the Great Barrier Reef. There are many free things to do in Cairns, we’ll even give you some tips on how you can scuba for free. Since Australia is so expensive, you have to take advantage of “free.” Here is a short list of free adventures I went [...]