https://withoutwings.org.uk/ A slow travel journey around the world without flying en-gb Sun, 26 Jan 2014 13:35:57 GMT https://withoutwings.org.uk/2014/01/26/moscow/ https://withoutwings.org.uk/2014/01/26/moscow/ Sun, 26 Jan 2014 13:35:57 GMT Anna Rice It was a relief to finally get off the train at its final stop in Moscow - nearly four days in a train cabin had made us appreciate the outside world again, even if it was below freezing. We only had three days here before… https://withoutwings.org.uk/2013/12/24/the-great-train-bazaar-trans-mongolian-railway/ https://withoutwings.org.uk/2013/12/24/the-great-train-bazaar-trans-mongolian-railway/ Tue, 24 Dec 2013 23:31:34 GMT Anna Rice Five days and 6,266 km from Ulaanbaatar to Moscow, in a carriage turned into a travelling bazaar of jeans, blankets and shop mannequins. https://withoutwings.org.uk/2013/10/25/mongolia/ https://withoutwings.org.uk/2013/10/25/mongolia/ Fri, 25 Oct 2013 22:22:13 GMT Anna Rice Two nights in a ger camp in the Gobi Desert, driven out from Ulaanbaatar — mutton stew, wild horses, and keeping the fire lit through −10°C nights. https://withoutwings.org.uk/2013/05/14/morning_mongolia/ https://withoutwings.org.uk/2013/05/14/morning_mongolia/ Tue, 14 May 2013 21:01:12 GMT Anna Rice And so began our journey from Beijing to Ulaanbaatar... We boarded the train early, on a cold April morning in Beijing. The train wasn't heated except for a small corner where a samovar (or hot water tank) was slowly bubbling away. The hot water tea… https://withoutwings.org.uk/2013/04/20/beijing/ https://withoutwings.org.uk/2013/04/20/beijing/ Sat, 20 Apr 2013 13:25:43 GMT Anna Rice Although we'd already taken the high-speed train for a brief stop-over from Shanghai to Hangzhou, our journey to Beijing would be our first long distance travel on China's fast expanding high-speed rail network ( reported to be the smoothest and fastest train ride in the… https://withoutwings.org.uk/2013/01/16/hangzhou/ https://withoutwings.org.uk/2013/01/16/hangzhou/ Wed, 16 Jan 2013 19:28:16 GMT Anna Rice The outer city high-speed rail terminal of Shanghai came as something as a surprise to us, though given the investment China has been inputting into its rail links over the past few years it probably shouldn't have. It was light, bright, and shiny with something… https://withoutwings.org.uk/2013/01/11/shanghai/ https://withoutwings.org.uk/2013/01/11/shanghai/ Fri, 11 Jan 2013 19:51:47 GMT Anna Rice The overnight sleeper from Hong Kong to Shanghai — 1,991 km in twenty hours, with green tea on tap and a Chinese couple redrawing our route. https://withoutwings.org.uk/2013/01/03/hong-kong/ https://withoutwings.org.uk/2013/01/03/hong-kong/ Thu, 03 Jan 2013 08:46:43 GMT Anna Rice Hong Kong is familiar to most people as a nexus of capitalism and is often portrayed as the world's busiest city, where individualism and the rule of the dollar note have always gone unquestioned. However, it is actually a much more complex social and historical… https://withoutwings.org.uk/2012/12/01/2405/ https://withoutwings.org.uk/2012/12/01/2405/ Sat, 01 Dec 2012 15:24:14 GMT Anna Rice Yangshuo to Hong Kong after three days of food poisoning: bus, overnight train to Guangzhou, an hour to Shenzhen, then the border on foot. https://withoutwings.org.uk/2012/09/29/riding-bikes-through-the-karst-peaks-of-yangshuo-guanxi-province-2/ https://withoutwings.org.uk/2012/09/29/riding-bikes-through-the-karst-peaks-of-yangshuo-guanxi-province-2/ Sat, 29 Sep 2012 15:23:24 GMT Anna Rice The moment we arrived at the Yangshuo Mountain Retreat, we knew we were somewhere special. We were dropped off by taxi on a deserted, wet mountain road which wound its way through immense karst peaks (irregular limestone formations) that dominated the plains of the valley… https://withoutwings.org.uk/2012/08/29/riding-bikes-through-the-karst-peaks-of-yangshuo-guanxi-province/ https://withoutwings.org.uk/2012/08/29/riding-bikes-through-the-karst-peaks-of-yangshuo-guanxi-province/ Wed, 29 Aug 2012 14:15:24 GMT Anna Rice Nanning to Yangshuo by train and bus: 5 hrs 30 in third class to Guilin, then forty minutes on the local service into the karst peaks. https://withoutwings.org.uk/2012/07/10/hanoi-to-nanning/ https://withoutwings.org.uk/2012/07/10/hanoi-to-nanning/ Tue, 10 Jul 2012 11:27:49 GMT Anna Rice 396 km from Hanoi to Nanning by sleeper, with a 1.30 a.m. border check at Đồng Đăng and an unheated Chinese carriage waiting on the far side. https://withoutwings.org.uk/2012/07/09/hanoi/ https://withoutwings.org.uk/2012/07/09/hanoi/ Mon, 09 Jul 2012 13:44:57 GMT Anna Rice We stepped off the train in Hanoi at 5am in the morning and were greeted by the chill of a misty platform which was quickly filling up with taxi and tuk-tuk drivers. We had been advised to always go with one of the green and… https://withoutwings.org.uk/2012/06/28/the-reunification-express/ https://withoutwings.org.uk/2012/06/28/the-reunification-express/ Thu, 28 Jun 2012 20:26:32 GMT Anna Rice A thousand miles from Ho Chi Minh City to Hanoi in a four-berth sleeper, on the line the French built, the war split and Vietnam reunified in 1975. https://withoutwings.org.uk/2012/05/20/imperial-history-of-hue-and-trains-to-hanoi/ https://withoutwings.org.uk/2012/05/20/imperial-history-of-hue-and-trains-to-hanoi/ Sun, 20 May 2012 10:10:22 GMT Anna Rice Huế is a town with a rich history and a turbulent past which has dragged it through everything from the feudal dynasty of the Nguyễn Lords in 17th-19th centuries through to the Tet offensive and massacre at Huế by Communist forces in 1968 and the… https://withoutwings.org.uk/2012/05/15/the-fabric-of-hoi-an-and-the-imperial-history-of-hue/ https://withoutwings.org.uk/2012/05/15/the-fabric-of-hoi-an-and-the-imperial-history-of-hue/ Tue, 15 May 2012 07:56:56 GMT Anna Rice Hoi An is a small town, almost half way between Ho Chi Minh City/Saigon and Hanoi on the East coast of Vietnam. Very accessible by train and then bus or taxi from nearby Danang, it provides a compelling antidote to the hectic city life of… https://withoutwings.org.uk/2012/05/12/leaving-cambodia-crossing-the-mekong-delta-and-a-very-short-trip-in-saigon/ https://withoutwings.org.uk/2012/05/12/leaving-cambodia-crossing-the-mekong-delta-and-a-very-short-trip-in-saigon/ Sat, 12 May 2012 15:14:36 GMT Anna Rice Kep to Ho Chi Minh City through the new Hà Tiên border: a dirt track, a casino, then four hours of coach and chain ferry along the Mekong. https://withoutwings.org.uk/2012/05/10/kampot-pepper-and-le-bout-du-monde-in-kep/ https://withoutwings.org.uk/2012/05/10/kampot-pepper-and-le-bout-du-monde-in-kep/ Thu, 10 May 2012 17:47:53 GMT Anna Rice The riverside idyll of Kampot lies just an hour and a half's drive west from Sihanoukville. There used to be a train which ran between the two every other day but the passenger line has been suspended due to bad tracks, so we opted for… https://withoutwings.org.uk/2012/04/21/phnom-penh-and-sihanoukville/ https://withoutwings.org.uk/2012/04/21/phnom-penh-and-sihanoukville/ Sat, 21 Apr 2012 06:33:54 GMT Anna Rice Siem Reap to Sihanoukville by bus — four hours on half-made road to Phnom Penh, two more to the coast, to collect a Vietnamese visa in minutes. https://withoutwings.org.uk/2012/04/19/angkor-wat/ https://withoutwings.org.uk/2012/04/19/angkor-wat/ Thu, 19 Apr 2012 07:55:04 GMT Anna Rice I have heard Angkor Wat spoken of as many things - 'pineapple towers', rubble mountain, overgrown jungle, the Tomb Raider set, magical this, spiritual that, enchanting, devastating and even 'Disneylandish'. But none of these really prepare you for the experience itself. It's one of those… https://withoutwings.org.uk/2012/04/17/siem-reap/ https://withoutwings.org.uk/2012/04/17/siem-reap/ Tue, 17 Apr 2012 13:47:25 GMT Anna Rice We had originally planned to spend our first day exploring the ruins of Angkor Wat but found ourselves completely exhausted after the long day of travel from Bangkok. Instead we rested in the comfortable hammocks of the Khmer family-owned Golden Temple Villa and later made… https://withoutwings.org.uk/2012/04/16/a-dusty-border-crossing-and-a-beautiful-train-ride-thailand-to-cambodia/ https://withoutwings.org.uk/2012/04/16/a-dusty-border-crossing-and-a-beautiful-train-ride-thailand-to-cambodia/ Mon, 16 Apr 2012 14:10:50 GMT Anna Rice Bangkok to Siem Reap overland: a £1.50 third-class train to Aranyaprathet, the Poipet border on foot, then three hours by shared taxi. https://withoutwings.org.uk/2012/04/15/moths-monks-and-prickly-heat-in-bangkok/ https://withoutwings.org.uk/2012/04/15/moths-monks-and-prickly-heat-in-bangkok/ Sun, 15 Apr 2012 13:10:43 GMT Anna Rice Our first impressions of Bangkok were of a strange, hedonistic city combining old-world markets, beautiful temples, seedy strip clubs and slum-like houses with manic motorbikes, gigantic shopping centres, banks and LCD screens. The heat was intense on the first day we arrived and a dust-like… https://withoutwings.org.uk/2012/04/12/trang-to-bangkok-by-bus/ https://withoutwings.org.uk/2012/04/12/trang-to-bangkok-by-bus/ Thu, 12 Apr 2012 12:05:09 GMT Anna Rice 828 km and thirteen hours overnight by double-decker bus from Trang to Bangkok, after Chinese New Year sold out every sleeper train for weeks. https://withoutwings.org.uk/2012/03/28/islands-without-airports-part-one-koh-lipe/ https://withoutwings.org.uk/2012/03/28/islands-without-airports-part-one-koh-lipe/ Wed, 28 Mar 2012 12:08:59 GMT Anna Rice Koh Lipe has no airport and no jetty — you arrive by ferry from Langkawi, transfer to a longtail boat, and are stamped in at a hut on the sand. https://withoutwings.org.uk/2012/02/29/langkawi/ https://withoutwings.org.uk/2012/02/29/langkawi/ Wed, 29 Feb 2012 07:10:45 GMT Anna Rice Watching great hornbills on Pulau Langkawi, a few kilometres south of the Malaysia–Thailand border, after the dawn ferry across. https://withoutwings.org.uk/2012/02/28/penang/ https://withoutwings.org.uk/2012/02/28/penang/ Tue, 28 Feb 2012 07:10:57 GMT Anna Rice After we had spent a few days in the highlands, we had to brave another hairy trip through the winding mountain roads (it turned out that the driving was just as crazy on the descent). The journey to Penang took only a few hours and… https://withoutwings.org.uk/2012/02/27/amok-and-mango-salad-cambodian-cuisine/ https://withoutwings.org.uk/2012/02/27/amok-and-mango-salad-cambodian-cuisine/ Mon, 27 Feb 2012 05:58:44 GMT Anna Rice Amok curry, green mango salad and morning glory — the dishes the Khmer call distinctly Cambodian, and the influences they were drawn from. https://withoutwings.org.uk/2012/02/26/thailand/ https://withoutwings.org.uk/2012/02/26/thailand/ Sun, 26 Feb 2012 15:00:53 GMT Anna Rice There is perhaps nothing more satisfying than enjoying a good Thai curry in Thailand, where the taste is different enough from the varieties you've tried back home to make you wonder... This je ne sais quoi is partly thanks to the fantastic range of fresh,… https://withoutwings.org.uk/2012/02/25/the-cameron-highlands-the-land-of-tea-and-strawberries/ https://withoutwings.org.uk/2012/02/25/the-cameron-highlands-the-land-of-tea-and-strawberries/ Sat, 25 Feb 2012 11:08:14 GMT Anna Rice I was quite looking forward to the bus ride up to the Cameron Highlands, envisaging a slow drive along winding jungle paths into the green, misty hills. This was before I had experienced driving in South East Asia however, having only had a little taste… https://withoutwings.org.uk/2012/02/25/street-food-in-penang/ https://withoutwings.org.uk/2012/02/25/street-food-in-penang/ Sat, 25 Feb 2012 08:33:43 GMT Anna Rice Malaysian food is drawn from Malay, Indian, Thai and Chinese influences, resulting in a fusion of flavours and textures that's difficult to find anywhere else. Penang especially is renowned for its food, and some of the very best can be found on the street or… https://withoutwings.org.uk/2012/02/25/hawai%CA%BBi/ https://withoutwings.org.uk/2012/02/25/hawai%CA%BBi/ Sat, 25 Feb 2012 06:24:08 GMT Anna Rice Books, Nooks and Crannies (14 Waianuenue, Hilo, HI 96720 ) This charming little bookshop in Hilo opened in 2010 after the closure of the local Borders store (its owner even bought some of the old Borders furniture and book shelves). The booksho p has since… https://withoutwings.org.uk/2012/02/05/kuala-lumpur-2/ https://withoutwings.org.uk/2012/02/05/kuala-lumpur-2/ Sun, 05 Feb 2012 11:28:01 GMT Anna Rice Our guesthouse in Kuala Lumpur (referred to as 'KL' by just about everyone in it) was a very laid back place and a good introduction to the beginning of our journey across South East Asia. It was here that we were introduced to the quirks… https://withoutwings.org.uk/2012/02/05/kuala-lumpur/ https://withoutwings.org.uk/2012/02/05/kuala-lumpur/ Sun, 05 Feb 2012 06:45:51 GMT Anna Rice Off the AS Carelia at Port Klang in the early hours of 6 January, a US$300 port-agent bill, then the one-hour Komuter train into Kuala Lumpur. https://withoutwings.org.uk/2012/02/05/tropical-storms-and-navigating-the-malacca-straight/ https://withoutwings.org.uk/2012/02/05/tropical-storms-and-navigating-the-malacca-straight/ Sun, 05 Feb 2012 06:18:33 GMT Anna Rice A piracy warning faxed to the bridge off East Timor, a tropical storm in the Timor Sea, and the run down the Malacca Strait towards Port Klang. https://withoutwings.org.uk/2012/02/05/the-malacca-strait-onward-to-south-east-asia/ https://withoutwings.org.uk/2012/02/05/the-malacca-strait-onward-to-south-east-asia/ Sun, 05 Feb 2012 04:48:38 GMT Anna Rice Christmas aboard the AS Carelia: dinner on Christmas Eve in the crew's mess, then gale-force winds off the Whitsundays that threw us out of bed. https://withoutwings.org.uk/2012/02/05/new-zealand/ https://withoutwings.org.uk/2012/02/05/new-zealand/ Sun, 05 Feb 2012 03:47:22 GMT Anna Rice Auckland and Tauranga aboard a container ship: 24 hours in port, twenty crew, meals with the officers, and the Rena's oil still on the rocks. https://withoutwings.org.uk/2012/01/27/the-as-carelia/ https://withoutwings.org.uk/2012/01/27/the-as-carelia/ Fri, 27 Jan 2012 11:27:13 GMT Anna Rice Boarding a container ship at Brisbane for 6,800 nautical miles to Malaysia — then the only vessel taking passengers from Australia to South East Asia. https://withoutwings.org.uk/2012/01/02/melbourne-to-brisbane/ https://withoutwings.org.uk/2012/01/02/melbourne-to-brisbane/ Mon, 02 Jan 2012 09:46:58 GMT Anna Rice There is no direct train: 1,965 km in two XPT legs via Sydney, 10.5 hours by day and an overnight run into Brisbane Central at 5.30 a.m. https://withoutwings.org.uk/2011/12/31/melbourne-excursions/ https://withoutwings.org.uk/2011/12/31/melbourne-excursions/ Sat, 31 Dec 2011 13:19:17 GMT Anna Rice During our time in Melbourne we made several weekend excursions to the surrounding countryside, in an attempt to explore some of the beautiful coast and bushland that Victoria is famous for. On Melbourne's doorstep there are opportunities to spot some of Australia's extraordinary wildlife including… https://withoutwings.org.uk/2011/12/30/melbourne-markets/ https://withoutwings.org.uk/2011/12/30/melbourne-markets/ Fri, 30 Dec 2011 09:07:28 GMT Anna Rice As Spring gave way to summer in Melbourne, there was more and more to explore every day as new craft, food and festive markets began to explode onto the scene. Melbourne is known for its permanent markets too, however, and below is a short round-up… https://withoutwings.org.uk/2011/12/28/the-melbourne-food-bazaar/ https://withoutwings.org.uk/2011/12/28/the-melbourne-food-bazaar/ Wed, 28 Dec 2011 08:26:27 GMT Anna Rice Melbourne is a food lover's paradise, a fact which Sydney is all too aware of and is constantly trying to challenge in a friendly, one-upmanship sort of a way. There is an emphasis on fresh, local (or at least Australian grown) produce but not in… https://withoutwings.org.uk/2011/12/28/chasing-freedom-and-yarn-street-art-in-melbourne/ https://withoutwings.org.uk/2011/12/28/chasing-freedom-and-yarn-street-art-in-melbourne/ Wed, 28 Dec 2011 07:58:19 GMT Anna Rice Street art in Melbourne's laneways — Hosier Lane, the yarn bombers, and a city that gave up trying to scrub its graffiti off. https://withoutwings.org.uk/2011/12/27/crazy-for-coffee-cafe-culture-in-melbourne/ https://withoutwings.org.uk/2011/12/27/crazy-for-coffee-cafe-culture-in-melbourne/ Tue, 27 Dec 2011 07:30:34 GMT Anna Rice Never will you look at a cup of the black stuff in the same way again after sampling Melbourne's most sacred beverage - for here it has become a form of high art - and not just where taste is concerned. Care and detail is… https://withoutwings.org.uk/2011/12/26/finding-our-feet-in-fitzroy/ https://withoutwings.org.uk/2011/12/26/finding-our-feet-in-fitzroy/ Mon, 26 Dec 2011 07:50:52 GMT Anna Rice It didn't take long for us to fall in love with Fitzroy and its surrounds; its streets never failed to entertain, subtly changing overnight, just enough to keep you on your toes. One day a shop-front would be filled with yarn or paintings, the next… https://withoutwings.org.uk/2011/12/25/melbourne-from-the-cbd-to-fitzroy/ https://withoutwings.org.uk/2011/12/25/melbourne-from-the-cbd-to-fitzroy/ Sun, 25 Dec 2011 10:58:07 GMT Anna Rice The YHA Central hostel is a relatively new outfit, located on Flinders Street in the building of an ex-city hotel and so it provided an ideal jump-off point to go out and explore the CBD and its surrounds. Our first day in Melbourne was bright… https://withoutwings.org.uk/2011/12/24/sydney-to-melbourne-on-the-countrylink/ https://withoutwings.org.uk/2011/12/24/sydney-to-melbourne-on-the-countrylink/ Sat, 24 Dec 2011 10:40:13 GMT Anna Rice Eleven hours and 953 km from Sydney Central to Southern Cross on the CountryLink XPT, through Cootamundra, Wagga Wagga and the spring Yarrow fields. https://withoutwings.org.uk/2011/12/24/sydney/ https://withoutwings.org.uk/2011/12/24/sydney/ Sat, 24 Dec 2011 10:29:18 GMT Anna Rice Leaving the boat for the last time was a strange, if not liberating, experience. Our YHA hostel was located very nearby, on the crescent of the hilly Rocks area of Sydney (which wasn't climb up to while carrying so many over-packed bags). From the hostel's… https://withoutwings.org.uk/2011/12/23/arriving-in-sydney-3-weeks-and-7415-nautical-miles-from-l-a/ https://withoutwings.org.uk/2011/12/23/arriving-in-sydney-3-weeks-and-7415-nautical-miles-from-l-a/ Fri, 23 Dec 2011 10:02:29 GMT Anna Rice Twenty-two days and 7,415 nautical miles across the Pacific from Los Angeles, and the ten-metre swell that carried us into Circular Quay a day early. https://withoutwings.org.uk/2011/12/21/life-at-sea/ https://withoutwings.org.uk/2011/12/21/life-at-sea/ Wed, 21 Dec 2011 21:13:15 GMT Anna Rice What 23 days on the Pacific is actually like: the equator, the International Date Line, six time-zone changes and a fortnight chasing flying fish. https://withoutwings.org.uk/2011/12/21/new-caledonia-2/ https://withoutwings.org.uk/2011/12/21/new-caledonia-2/ Wed, 21 Dec 2011 21:08:54 GMT Anna Rice Île des Pins and Nouméa: an unplanned early call after rough seas, Cook's pines, and rock with 2–3% nickel from the old Australian continent. https://withoutwings.org.uk/2011/12/21/suva-fiji/ https://withoutwings.org.uk/2011/12/21/suva-fiji/ Wed, 21 Dec 2011 20:58:34 GMT Anna Rice Suva, Fiji: a bus into the hills to Colo-i-Suva's waterfall pools, a regrown mahogany forest, and a capital shaped by three coups since 1987. https://withoutwings.org.uk/2011/12/16/samoa/ https://withoutwings.org.uk/2011/12/16/samoa/ Fri, 16 Dec 2011 23:37:29 GMT Anna Rice Samoa on Moving Planet Day, 24 September 2011 — the island that switched sides of the road in 2009 and skipped a day to jump the date line. https://withoutwings.org.uk/2011/12/07/pago-pago-tutuila-island-american-samoa/ https://withoutwings.org.uk/2011/12/07/pago-pago-tutuila-island-american-samoa/ Wed, 07 Dec 2011 04:19:50 GMT Anna Rice A day ashore at Pago Pago, American Samoa — an island tour in a home-built bus, the 2009 tsunami's unfinished rebuilding, and the last tuna cannery. https://withoutwings.org.uk/2011/12/05/hilo/ https://withoutwings.org.uk/2011/12/05/hilo/ Mon, 05 Dec 2011 13:17:25 GMT Anna Rice Five days out of Long Beach to Hawaiʻi: rain-soaked Hilo, Waikīkī and Diamond Head on Oʻahu, then Kona for coffee and a hillside hot-tub garden. https://withoutwings.org.uk/2011/12/05/hawaii-hilo-and-kona-on-the-big-island-and-honolulu-on-oahu/ https://withoutwings.org.uk/2011/12/05/hawaii-hilo-and-kona-on-the-big-island-and-honolulu-on-oahu/ Mon, 05 Dec 2011 04:16:29 GMT Anna Rice Our first stop in the South Pacific was Hawaiʻi which I had been looking forward to visiting, especially since learning about indigenous Hawaiian culture from a Hawaiian man (who was going home to Hilo) on the boat. Not surprisingly, prior to Western contact, Hawaiʻi's native… https://withoutwings.org.uk/2011/11/30/passenger-liners-and-the-environment/ https://withoutwings.org.uk/2011/11/30/passenger-liners-and-the-environment/ Wed, 30 Nov 2011 06:31:58 GMT Anna Rice The Cruise Line International Association (a body representing the interests of North American cruise companies) reported in September that the cruise industry is one of the fastest growing areas of tourism. The environmental practices that cruise companies choose to either adopt or neglect will therefore… https://withoutwings.org.uk/2011/11/30/back-to-a-life-on-the-ocean-waves/ https://withoutwings.org.uk/2011/11/30/back-to-a-life-on-the-ocean-waves/ Wed, 30 Nov 2011 05:23:11 GMT Anna Rice Twenty-three days from Long Beach to Australia aboard the ms Volendam — and why a cruise liner was the only way there without flying. https://withoutwings.org.uk/2011/11/28/pacific-islands/ https://withoutwings.org.uk/2011/11/28/pacific-islands/ Mon, 28 Nov 2011 16:32:58 GMT Anna Rice On our journey through the South Pacific we were able to sample many of the islands' own delicacies and specific ways of preparing food. The food in Hawaiʻi represents a microcosm of Polynesian food, drawing on recipes that have been passed down for generations and… https://withoutwings.org.uk/2011/11/26/north-hollywood-los-angeles/ https://withoutwings.org.uk/2011/11/26/north-hollywood-los-angeles/ Sat, 26 Nov 2011 13:28:53 GMT Anna Rice Getting to spend some time with Naomi, Ned, Kai and Isan in their North Hollywood home was a really great way to end the American leg of our journey. Having started and finished the first cross-country part of our travels by staying with friends and… https://withoutwings.org.uk/2011/11/26/san-diego/ https://withoutwings.org.uk/2011/11/26/san-diego/ Sat, 26 Nov 2011 06:38:57 GMT Anna Rice With a bit of time left on our side in the US, we decided to take the Pacific Coast Highway through Newport and OC Country to San Diego. Despite the obvious 'cultural' link with Josh Schwartz, we found Newport to be far less 'OC' than… https://withoutwings.org.uk/2011/11/26/los-angeles/ https://withoutwings.org.uk/2011/11/26/los-angeles/ Sat, 26 Nov 2011 01:31:48 GMT Anna Rice Small World Books (407 Ocean Front Walk, Venice, CA 90291) The entrance to this great little bookshop is almost hidden among the jumble of restaurants and stalls which line the busy Venice Beach boardwalk. Its shop front is entirely obscured by the seating area of… https://withoutwings.org.uk/2011/11/26/santa-barbara-2-2/ https://withoutwings.org.uk/2011/11/26/santa-barbara-2-2/ Sat, 26 Nov 2011 00:47:41 GMT Anna Rice Santa Barbara Roasting Company (321 Motor Way Santa Barbara, CA 93101) Located a little way off the main street, not far from the beach is a small roastery with a great selection of international coffees. The smell of fresh brew oozes down the street and… https://withoutwings.org.uk/2011/11/17/san-pedro-and-the-pacific-voyagers/ https://withoutwings.org.uk/2011/11/17/san-pedro-and-the-pacific-voyagers/ Thu, 17 Nov 2011 02:29:37 GMT Anna Rice On Cabrillo beach, near the yacht club and port of San Pedro, the Pacific Voyagers had moored up their seven Vaka Moanas on the beach for a short break before their onward journey to San Diego. These were the same boats we had see n… https://withoutwings.org.uk/2011/11/17/san-pedro-freighters-and-the-pacific-voyagers/ https://withoutwings.org.uk/2011/11/17/san-pedro-freighters-and-the-pacific-voyagers/ Thu, 17 Nov 2011 00:00:04 GMT Anna Rice San Pedro is a working port town and we struggled to find much accommodation here apart from rather large chain hotels frequented by businessmen, cruise passengers and strangely rather a lot of Mexican wedding parties. It was in a café here that we estimated that… https://withoutwings.org.uk/2011/11/11/sustainable-santa-monica/ https://withoutwings.org.uk/2011/11/11/sustainable-santa-monica/ Fri, 11 Nov 2011 00:41:19 GMT Anna Rice Santa Barbara may be the official Californian home of the annual ' Earth Day ' festival (first started there back in 1970) but Santa Monica is proud to have been surfing the sustainable movement wave for some time before the word sustainable 'beca me a… https://withoutwings.org.uk/2011/11/09/the-chumash-indians-of-santa-barbara/ https://withoutwings.org.uk/2011/11/09/the-chumash-indians-of-santa-barbara/ Wed, 09 Nov 2011 03:58:09 GMT Anna Rice Like many Californian towns and settlements along the coast, Santa Barbara bears the mark of Spanish occupation in the form of its Mission (definitely worth a visit for the view from the tower alone - Santa Barbara's was the tenth to be built in California… https://withoutwings.org.uk/2011/11/06/santa-barbara/ https://withoutwings.org.uk/2011/11/06/santa-barbara/ Sun, 06 Nov 2011 01:02:14 GMT Anna Rice Leaving behind Morro Bay and its rock, we made our way slowly further south to Santa Barbara, arguably one of the last relaxed oases before you hit the urban jungle of LA. Santa Barbara prides itself on its smart, chic - with a hint of… https://withoutwings.org.uk/2011/10/30/cambria-and-morro-bay/ https://withoutwings.org.uk/2011/10/30/cambria-and-morro-bay/ Sun, 30 Oct 2011 00:57:10 GMT Anna Rice A Hostelling International inn in Cambria on the California coast, and how far it took its own sustainability — solar, greywater and compost. https://withoutwings.org.uk/2011/10/24/big-sur-3/ https://withoutwings.org.uk/2011/10/24/big-sur-3/ Mon, 24 Oct 2011 05:00:18 GMT Anna Rice The concept of the Great American Road Trip has been immortalised in song, speech, film, on paper and canvas and probably many other mediums over the last century or so. Highways more famous than the land that surrounds them slice through dirt, desert and rock… https://withoutwings.org.uk/2011/09/21/carmel/ https://withoutwings.org.uk/2011/09/21/carmel/ Wed, 21 Sep 2011 20:15:39 GMT Anna Rice Carmel is as it sounds: a gentle, sweet seaside town which reminded me slightly of certain pockets of the Isle of Wight (especially when the sea mist was in). We stayed in a cosy bed and breakfast, complete with porch and rocking chair, just down… https://withoutwings.org.uk/2011/09/21/monterey-bay/ https://withoutwings.org.uk/2011/09/21/monterey-bay/ Wed, 21 Sep 2011 14:12:01 GMT Anna Rice Monterey Bay Aquarium Restaurant (886 Cannery Row, Monterey, CA) The restaurant at the Monterey Bay Aquarium is well worth a visit, if not for the reasonably priced food, then at least for the panoramic view, enhanced by the placement of table top binoculars which help… https://withoutwings.org.uk/2011/09/21/big-sur-2/ https://withoutwings.org.uk/2011/09/21/big-sur-2/ Wed, 21 Sep 2011 14:10:08 GMT Anna Rice Nepenthe Restaurant (48510 Highway 1, Big Sur, CA) Nestled in the hills above Big Sur is Nepenthe Restaurant and café. Once an infamous bohemian hang out, famously patronised by Henry Miller, Steve McQueen, Kim Novak and the like, some remnants from those days can still… https://withoutwings.org.uk/2011/09/21/santa-cruz-3/ https://withoutwings.org.uk/2011/09/21/santa-cruz-3/ Wed, 21 Sep 2011 14:06:21 GMT Anna Rice New Leaf Community Market (1134 Pacific Ave, Santa Cruz, CA) Community markets, such as the New Leaf, are another big feature in California. This store had a great range of produce, with local food being the priority next to organic items from further afield (including… https://withoutwings.org.uk/2011/09/21/santa-cruz-2/ https://withoutwings.org.uk/2011/09/21/santa-cruz-2/ Wed, 21 Sep 2011 03:48:55 GMT Anna Rice We arrived in Santa Cruz just in time to catch a stunning sunset. Living up to its 'free and easy' reputation, the beach was filled with barbecues and the air of wood smoke as people began to light the first beach fires and open their… https://withoutwings.org.uk/2011/09/20/san-francisco-3/ https://withoutwings.org.uk/2011/09/20/san-francisco-3/ Tue, 20 Sep 2011 06:15:43 GMT Anna Rice Due to the delays with the train getting into San Francisco (see Chicago ) we only had a few days left on our hostel booking and further accommodation bookings down the coast meant that this visit would have to be brief. After catching a connecting… https://withoutwings.org.uk/2011/09/20/bodega-bay-2/ https://withoutwings.org.uk/2011/09/20/bodega-bay-2/ Tue, 20 Sep 2011 01:46:20 GMT Anna Rice Terrapin Café (1580 Eastshore Road, Bodega Bay, CA 94923) A short walk from the bay itself, the Terrapin Creek Cafe sits in a quaint egg-blue building. It was set up by two restaurateurs from San Francisco (who married each other and moved here) and serves… https://withoutwings.org.uk/2011/08/22/big-sur/ https://withoutwings.org.uk/2011/08/22/big-sur/ Mon, 22 Aug 2011 00:56:37 GMT Anna Rice The Phoenix at Nepenthe, Big Sur (48510 Highway One, CA) Though technically not a bookshop in its own right, an interesting books section has been created at the The Phoenix store which is attached to the (once) b ohemian restaurant Nepenthe. The majority of books… https://withoutwings.org.uk/2011/08/22/cafe-gratitude/ https://withoutwings.org.uk/2011/08/22/cafe-gratitude/ Mon, 22 Aug 2011 00:07:17 GMT Anna Rice Farmer's Market (Ferry Pier, San Francisco, CA) You can't set foot in California these days without bumping into a farmer's market. They are as popular as coffee houses and have fast become weekly events in many towns along the West Coast and beyond. The Ferry… https://withoutwings.org.uk/2011/08/21/descartes-coffee/ https://withoutwings.org.uk/2011/08/21/descartes-coffee/ Sun, 21 Aug 2011 05:08:41 GMT Anna Rice Descartes Coffee ( 327 N Michigan Ave , Chicago , IL 60611 ) Descartes Coffe e is the antithesis of Starbucks (despite playfully hijacking their logo style and lights). It's a small, independent coffee shop that is located in a few places around the city,… https://withoutwings.org.uk/2011/08/17/santa-cruz/ https://withoutwings.org.uk/2011/08/17/santa-cruz/ Wed, 17 Aug 2011 22:30:53 GMT Anna Rice Bookshop Santa Cruz (1520 Pacific Avenue Santa Cruz, CA 95060) The future looks bright for this great, not so little, independent bookshop in Santa Cruz which has been going since 19 66. Earli er this year, the Santa Cruz branch of Borders shut its doors,… https://withoutwings.org.uk/2011/08/15/california-zephyr-chicago-to-san-francisco/ https://withoutwings.org.uk/2011/08/15/california-zephyr-chicago-to-san-francisco/ Mon, 15 Aug 2011 03:47:44 GMT Anna Rice Chicago to San Francisco by Amtrak sleeper: 2,438 miles, three nights and ten hours late, over the Rockies, the salt flats and the Nevada desert. https://withoutwings.org.uk/2011/08/13/chicago/ https://withoutwings.org.uk/2011/08/13/chicago/ Sat, 13 Aug 2011 18:57:13 GMT Anna Rice We took the overnight train to Chicago, not getting much sleep but passing through idyllic-looking rural farm land along the way. The Chicago stop-over was supposed to be brief - a one night stay in the downtown hostel with a quick visit to Lake Michigan… https://withoutwings.org.uk/2011/08/12/san-francisco/ https://withoutwings.org.uk/2011/08/12/san-francisco/ Fri, 12 Aug 2011 22:18:32 GMT Anna Rice City Lights (261 Columbus Avenue at Broadway, CA 9413) This independent book shop/publisher needs little introduction being one of the more famous names in independent book selling across the wo rld. It was started back in 1953 by poet Lawrence Ferlinghetti (who was famously charged… https://withoutwings.org.uk/2011/08/09/new-york-and-washington/ https://withoutwings.org.uk/2011/08/09/new-york-and-washington/ Tue, 09 Aug 2011 16:01:24 GMT Anna Rice New York had been experiencing a heatwave when we arrived and although we apparently missed it at its most brutal, it was still around 101 Fahrenheit whic h made the rubber soles of my shoes feel as if they were melting into the already baking… https://withoutwings.org.uk/2011/08/05/southampton-to-new-york/ https://withoutwings.org.uk/2011/08/05/southampton-to-new-york/ Fri, 05 Aug 2011 01:41:47 GMT Anna Rice Seven days and 3,190 nautical miles from Southampton to New York aboard the Queen Mary 2 — what a one-way transatlantic crossing is actually like. https://withoutwings.org.uk/2011/08/04/new-york-bookshops/ https://withoutwings.org.uk/2011/08/04/new-york-bookshops/ Thu, 04 Aug 2011 22:00:07 GMT Anna Rice Housing Works Bookstore and Café at 126 Crosby Street, New York — second-hand books and coffee, with the takings going to an Aids charity. https://withoutwings.org.uk/2011/08/03/about-2/ https://withoutwings.org.uk/2011/08/03/about-2/ Wed, 03 Aug 2011 21:01:02 GMT Anna Rice We are Anna Rice and Alex Hayton and for the next year we will be embracing slow travel by trying to journey around the world without getting on a plane. Armed with a well-thumbed copy of the Ethical Travel Guide and a small Eee PC,… https://withoutwings.org.uk/2011/07/12/8-days-to-go/ https://withoutwings.org.uk/2011/07/12/8-days-to-go/ Tue, 12 Jul 2011 15:14:09 GMT Anna Rice There are now eight days to go until we head off from Southampton to New York. After months of moving house (twice - Anna from Farringdon in May, then both of us from Tooting Bec in early June) and boiling our lives down to whatever… https://withoutwings.org.uk/2011/06/20/east-to-west-or-west-to-east/ https://withoutwings.org.uk/2011/06/20/east-to-west-or-west-to-east/ Mon, 20 Jun 2011 19:03:25 GMT Anna Rice One of the first decisions we had to make when planning the trip was whether we wanted to travel from East to West or vice versa. There seemed to be a certain air of comfort in travelling Eastwards, getting the train or boat to France… https://withoutwings.org.uk/2011/05/16/about/ https://withoutwings.org.uk/2011/05/16/about/ Mon, 16 May 2011 13:14:26 GMT Anna Rice After nearly six years of living/working in London, the daily northern line commute/high speed pace of everyday life had started to grate. Much as I love London, I had begun to feel like I was seeing more of the underground and office than anywhere else…