Driving the length of the Pan American isn’t the easiest enterprise but some circumstances just make it really, really hard. We recently had that happen during our time in Peru. It all started when we crossed the border from Ecuador. We’d picked the most remote border crossing possible, high in the mountains and near a … Continue reading Escape from Peru
Last week, while in the Ecuadorian Amazon, I indulged in an Ayahuasca ceremony. It didn't go well, and afterwards I typed up a fairly straightforward account of what happened. I also managed to get my hands on the newly released ChatGPT so I had a try at seeing what it could do with the text … Continue reading Ayahuasca, with help from ChatGPT
Shortly after buying the van and getting some essential repairs done I started developing some of the usual covid symptoms. A few days and a positive test later we found ourselves having to undertake a real deep dive into the pleasures of van life - self isolating in a foreign country with no support at … Continue reading Struck down by Covid in Colorado
Last week it suddenly occurred to me that I don’t suffer from back pain anymore. That this realisation had so quietly crept up on me was a surprise. For years back pain had been a huge thing in my life. It reached its peak level about 10 years ago when I’d wake up every morning … Continue reading Yoga > Back Pain
It is day 45 of Melbourne’s second lockdown. The skies are grey and heavy rain is forecast for later. I’m sitting on a red meditation cushion which my friend Rosie made for me, and which I filled with specially ordered Australian Buckwheat husks from New South Wales. I made another cushion from blue curtain material, … Continue reading A Lockdown Retreat
For the last two months I've reentered the workforce on a 3-month contract, after having had the past 13 months off work. I'm working as a Project Manager in one of the big Australian banks, so it's very much a quintessential corporate IT gig. Before starting I actually calculated how much of the rest of … Continue reading Back to work……
Back in July I travelled with my wife on a trip from Australia to China, Korea the Philippines and then back to Australia. All up we took 6 flights. According to the website Atmosfair between us we were responsible for a total of 8,817kg carbon emissions. That's an absolutely crazy amount of damage and it completely … Continue reading Calculating carbon emissions
A few weeks ago, when we were visiting South Korea, I escaped the hustle and bustle of Seoul and spent a couple of nights at a temple with my wife. We joined a 2-night stay at Jeondeungsa Temple. This temple is nestled in a wooded valley on an island close to the North Korean border, … Continue reading Templestay Korea
All over China loudspeakers blast out public service announcements that, in Australia, would seem borderline patronizing. I heard on one train journey: "Smoking is prohibited on this train" "Take care of your children and keep them away from hot surfaces" "Be careful putting liquids on the foldout table in front of you" The most interesting, … Continue reading “Stop staring at your phones”
I've just spent a couple of days in Shenzhen and Dongguan, visiting some of the factories that will be supplying Below7 products. It's the first time I've done anything like this before and I've learned a lot. Now it's time to reflect on what I did right, what I did wrong and what I'll improve … Continue reading Visiting factories in China
Adrian Falvey 