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The Blog
Short essays on Portugal, our travels & tea,
random musings and writings
and galleries of our photography
Cameron Highlands, Malaysia
Welcome!
You will find, from Elizabeth:
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An ever-growing series about the Teas of the World
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Travel essays and our musings on country and place
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Our experiences and adventures as we make our new home in Portugal
And from Vientiene, galleries of his photography.
We try to publish every few weeks so subscribe to avoid missing a post!
Enjoy!
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2022 Year in Review
As we launch into '23, it’s time for a quick reflection on '22, which was an about/face on '21. A busy year of renovating + social catch-ups
Jan 12, 202311 min read
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2021 Year in Review
What happened and didn't happen in our 2021 as we continued settling in and exploring Portugal. Golegã, renovations in the Alentejo + more
Dec 31, 202111 min read
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In Our Face: How Travelling for Tea turned our teashop climate positive
In the last month or so, we finally finished the research, thinking and calculations to take our teashop MatchaAlternatives.com, carbon...
Dec 9, 202112 min read
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Gallery 30: Christmas in Manila, Philippines 2019
At the end of 2019 we had just spent two months in Phnom Penh, Cambodia in a serviced apartment to focus focus focus on launching our tea...
Aug 15, 20213 min read
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The Sounds of the Alentejo
What is the Alentejo truly like? Take an immersive sound journey to this beautiful rural region covering a third of Portugal
Jun 29, 20215 min read
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2020 Year in Review
2020 was a year to end all years. Here's what our 2020 was like, starting out in the Philippines, Brunei & Malaysia, then on to Portugal
Dec 31, 202011 min read
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Moving to Portugal Update 3: Why we chose the Alentejo
An update on us, and why we chose Portugal as our new home. And we have a home now!
Nov 5, 202013 min read
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Generous Taiwan
Our visit to Taiwan in July
2018 was characterised by tea, dumplings and over-the-top kindness, plus a dose of intense history.
Jul 31, 20208 min read
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Back to Basics in Busan (& Gallery 25)
In Busan, the second city of South Korea and our home for a few weeks in July 2018, we were deluged with ‘foreign’. And it was brilliant.
Apr 28, 20209 min read
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Covid-19, Portugal & Present Digital Nomad Life (March 2020)
What life is like for us, other digital nomads and people around with world navigating the coronavirus, travel bans and lockdowns.
Mar 18, 202012 min read
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Gallery 24 Prague, Czechia 2019
We visited Czechia in May 2019 for a culture-filled week with my artist sister. This album captures that week, with plenty of art and sweets
Feb 23, 20202 min read
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Penang Portraits & Gallery 21: "Of Tea, Cooks & Mermaids"
This piece is about our time in Penang in April & May 2018, and the people we met. This kindness and welcoming spirit was not an outlier...
Nov 18, 20197 min read
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Sofia, Bulgaria: What’s it Like Thirty Years After the Fall of the Iron Curtain?
What evidence of 45 years of Soviet socialism could we see? What was Bulgaria like under the Communist Party? And the economics?
Aug 30, 201910 min read
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The Sad Woman in St Pancras
1-2 minute read. Note: We are currently on a whirlwind visit to the UK, next stop Bulgaria. The below piece is a new style I'm...
Jun 26, 20193 min read
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2018 Year in Review
12-15 minute read. Note: We are currently in southern France, house-sitting through April this year. // Welcome to 2019! The start of a...
Jan 14, 201912 min read
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Walking Lucy in Ha Tinh, Vietnam
5 minute read. Note: We are currently in Spain, although this post is about Vietnam. // Heat is the defining feature of Vietnam in June....
Oct 21, 20187 min read
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Entering the Pool in Penang
4 minute read. Note: We are currently in Indonesia, even though this post is about the pool in Penang. // One. The white-blue sky...
Jul 21, 20186 min read
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Vestiges of Britain in Penang
6 minute read. Note: We are currently in Vietnam, even though this post is about the end of Penang. // I am here on the balcony at the...
Jun 10, 20187 min read
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The Things We Packed
We are at the t-minus nine days point now and it is time to concentrate on packing. Considering we’re wandering digital nomads we have...
Mar 12, 20186 min read
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2017 Accomplishments
In 2017, we visited the UK, the US, Denmark, Norway, Thailand, Japan, India and Hong Kong. Boy did we accomplish a lot. Such as... In...
Dec 31, 20175 min read
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