Protected: The unbelievable filmmaking feats of our American friends on the Kuril expedition.

Cities come in all shapes and sizes. There are the standout urban projects – like the island-city-state of Singapore. There are megacities that really lucked out with phenomenal natural beauty all around them – Rio de Janeiro, for instance. There are imperial capitals – St. Petersburg, say, or Beijing. And there are plenty of cities […]

Leaving Zyryanka, it struck me: the nearest airport with regular flights to the capital of our vast and boundless homeland is a full four days away by car! Well, if you really push it and don’t sleep at night, you could manage it in a couple of days. But if the rule is daytime = […]

Overall, the main items on the wish list for our winter Irkutsk-Yakutsk-Magadan-Yakutsk road-trip had either been checked off (the Indigirka Tube, the naleds and volcanoes of the Moma Valley, the Natalka gold deposit), or only unsuccessfully attempted because of an abnormal amount of snow (the Old Kolyma Highway). Incidentally, we canceled our attempt to get to […]

After my Korean interlude, it’s back to tales from the deep-frozen Siberian side; namely – a continuation of our drive along the winter road between the villages of Khonuu and Sasyr. The first installment is here. We’d wrapped up our naled-and-ice photo sessions, clambered back onto land, and it was time to press on!… Up […]

After our walk around central Seoul – next up: something wholly unusual: a prison! And this particular prison tells a very sad tale… From 1910 to 1945, Korea was occupied by Japan, which was extremely heavy-handed in Korean territory – and that led to spontaneous protests and the emergence of organized resistance. Naturally, the Japanese […]

Where are the best places for a simple stroll in Seoul? There don’t seem to be all that many options, but they do exist. The most notable are (i) the Seoullo-7017 walkway, (ii) a pedestrianized area along a stream with the easy-to-pronounce name of Cheonggyecheon, and (iii) Ikseon-dong – a traditional artisan/folksy district. I’ll start […]