The ‘high-wall’ of a mine has been the undoing of many a geologist (if an opencast mine is targeting something flat and dipping, like a coal-seam, the high-wall is the side of the pit above the deepest bed you are uncovering). Sometimes the undoing is accidental – the… Read more
Monthly archives of “December 2015”
Mongolia – From Death-threats to a camel-ride
It’s March 2009 in Mongolia and there is an ill-feeling along the Gobi Altai. The year before, and some months after the last time I was in the area, a massive flash-flood had barreled out of the mountains. It funneled down what is normally a… Read more
Cheap Eats Nanjing 8 – Boiled Dumplings
I’ve been going to this place since Day-One. Fortunately I had a local with me at that time to point things out. Now they know me, and what I’m after when I wave and point. The specialty is traditional boiled dumplings. There are various fillings and… Read more
Cheap Eats Nanjing 7 – Eggplant and noodles at ‘Have Never Met’
A trendy (the Andy-Warholesque portraits of Mao on the walls are a sort of hint, not to mention the name) up-market (eye-catching menus) sort of place. I spotted this weeks ago, then couldn’t find it again for ages. Just a few of their offerings have an… Read more
Cheap Eats Nanjing 6 – the ‘Chicken Curry’ place
If you are like me and get a craving for cheese now and again, there are limited options in Nanjing (I haven’t yet found any shops to simply buy the stuff). One option is a pizza-joint. They are around, but what you get tends to… Read more
Cheap Eats Nanjing 5 – spicy potatoes at ‘Jie Jiao Xiao Cai’
One of the things I miss in China are potatoes – so I was thrilled to come across ‘Jie Jiao Xiao Cai’. It serves a big bowl of spicy potatoes (featured image). It’s a modern, up-market place – so up-market that everyone gets handed a… Read more
Cheap Eats Nanjing 4 – Bahali Xinjiang Restaurant
For naan bread encrusted with spices, and spicy tofu – there’s the Muslim Bahali Xinjiang Restaurant. This combination (see featured image) costs 23 RMB and comes with a full pot of tea (more if you want). It’s more than I can eat in one go… Read more
Cheap Eats Nanjing 3 – Steamed Dumplings
For a cheap, quick lunch, three of these steamed dumplings do me nicely. So far I just point to the display ones on the counter and ask for one of each. It gets me a meat one, a vege one and a bean paste one.… Read more
Cheap Eats Nanjing 2 – Biangbiang Noodles
I had to warm a little to this place – its signature dish, ‘Biangbiang Noodles’, means you are trying to eat (with chopsticks) something that is like an enormously elongated and slippery chink of lasagna. At first I found it impossible to haul the stuff… Read more
West Timor – Mine of Women and the Palm Wine Bomb
West Timor – Mine of Women, and the Palm-Wine Bomb I never thought to see a mine run by women. By why not? And why? Timor is an island north of Australia, and owes its existence to the geological collision between Australia and Indonesian archipelago… Read more