Margilan Day Trip: Silk, Worms, and Dresses

Khushnud and I were chatting at the pottery wheel, as always.  For two people from different cultures, different generations, different religions, and opposite sexes, we found no shortage of things to talk about. At first, all we shared was a common language, Russian, and a love of pottery. Within a […]

The Student Becomes the Teacher

But by the third day, I had settled into the rhythm of life in the studio. We ate breakfast of bread, cheese, and tea and then Khushnud and I spent the morning at the pottery wheels, throwing new pieces, decorating, and trimming whatever had dried enough to handle. Before long, it […]

Detained at the Uzbek-Kyrgyz Border

While Julia was busy taking pottery classes, I got my ass in trouble. Funny story. When we arrived in Rishton, it was already dark outside, and we barely saw the surroundings.  But as we settled for the night at the pottery studio, I looked at Google Maps on my phone […]

Pottery for Pets

I woke up the next morning with my heart fluttering. It was the first day of my pottery retreat. I threw on older clothes I didn’t mind getting dirty with clay and hurried outside. I hadn’t really seen the courtyard the night before. We arrived after dark, when little was […]

First Lesson. Rishton.

It was late evening, and we had just arrived at the pottery studio of one of the most famous ceramic artists in Uzbekistan. We were exhausted and sweaty and weren’t sure if our long day of travel was over or if we would now need to look for alternative accommodation. […]

Havana Ooh Na Na

By Julia / March 9, 2023

There are two pictures I can show people who want to know the impression Havana left on me, both taken on our very first day, the first few pictures in the city. The first is the view from the balcony of our Airbnb. The second is the inside view of […]

Top 20 Things to Do in Mexico City

By Victor / March 2, 2023

As we wrote before, Mexico City is one of our favorite cities.  We’ve been there half a dozen times, and every visit we discover something new and fun.  Here are our 20 reasons why you should visit.  1. Explore Zocalo and Centro Historico The city’s main square is the most […]

More Money, More Problems

By Julia / February 16, 2023

Please start with the previous post, “Money, Money, Money,” where we ask money questions about Cuba, and then continue here, where we answer them.   As we were settling into a colectivo (a shared taxi), one of the fellow tourists started rummaging through his backpack.  Unable to find what he […]

Money, Money, Money

By Julia / February 9, 2023

The biggest headache in planning the Cuba trip wasn’t the itinerary, flights, or visa.  It was money.  Due to the official embargo, Cuban banks do not recognize U.S.-issued debit and credit cards.  So, paying with credit cards and withdrawing cash through ATMs is absolutely not possible for anyone using American […]

How to Sneak into Cuba

By Julia / January 26, 2023

There were two types of reactions to my last post about visiting Cuba and bringing gifts of hygiene supplies and medicine: “Did you really have to bring soap and pills with you? I thought Cuba had everything by now…” Or “Wait… You went to Cuba? Is that legal? How did […]

More Souvenirs: Part II

By Victor / January 19, 2023

Last month, we wrote about some unique souvenirs that we brought back from our travels.  Today is Part 2 of that post. African masks, Egypt In our collection, we have eight African masks, which is a lot, considering we haven’t really visited Africa yet.  The only nominal African country we’ve […]

Subscribe to receive our stories in your inbox

Loading