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the end of Tibet

We had finished dinner and the rain was setting in when I decided to put on my biking kit and head up the mountain pass.  The valley I was in, the Phobjikha Valley, at 10,000 feet, is a sanctuary for the Black neck crane, a medium-sized crane in Asia that breeds on the Tibetan Plateau […]

Luo Fu Shan

The Pearl River Delta, in the early 2000’s, was a place of heavy industry, pollution, run off, waste and ruin. It was rubble and rebar.  Home to factories like Yue Yuen (a company that produces the majority of the shoes for Nike, Crocs, Adidas, Reebok, Asics, New Balance, Puma, Timberland and Rockport)  and Samsung, the […]

WPIG Cambodian rockers edition

This week, Cambodia, the land of funk, rhythm, blues, and rock.  That’s right, this slice of southeast Asia is steeped in the cult of rock and let me tell you there are some gems to look out for.  Anthony Weersing and Tyler Dillon have put their collective minds together to bring you an hour of […]

Gilded Splinters

As a kid growing up in the South, you hear a lot about the Civil War. I was told stories of Generals, of Robert E Lee, a well rehearsed account of what happened, from one particular point of view, the white south.  I was seldom taught the history outside of this perspective, it was either […]

red hero prius

The drive from the new Chengis Khann International Airport to city center in Ulaanbaatar is 55 km. Initial planning for the airport was done in 2006 with a US$385 million 40-year loan agreement signed between the Government of Mongolia and the Japan Bank for International Cooperation. It was built and opened on the 4th of […]

Pig Tails – Joe Perez and the Merchant Marines

This week, a conversation with Joe Perez, Trufflepig’s new Operations Manager. Previous to the travel business, Joe worked on a number of ships with the Merchant Marines. He describes a different pace of life in international waters: days are counted differently, maps become faulty and you quickly realize there is a difference between Magnetic North […]

the sweet and lowdown

There was a time period at the end of the 70’s, when rock and roll belched up 15 minute ballads sticky with hairspray, and the efficiency of a 2-4 beat and counterculture got lost in the woods and egos of stadium shows. We ended up with “Paradise By The Dashboard Light”. Fortunately punk rock and […]

WPIG: gobble gobble gobble

Drop it like it’s hot, peoples –  pick up them vibes, grab a wishbone, call a friend and celebrate thanks. We figured we could all use the funk to soak up some of that gravy. Here are 45 minutes of funk, rock, soul, jazz, all loosely based on the theme of that holiday we all […]

lord god bird

I like Pete Wells; I like to read his reviews of restaurants in the New York Times. He can be tough and snarky, but at least he is also witty and right. A Pete Wells classic from his review of Per Se: “I don’t know what could have saved limp, dispiriting yam dumplings, but it […]

the moxie and pluck of Burt Kerr Todd

the post office essays There is a particular magic we humans get to do. We can have an idea then translate it into a series of symbols which others, years later, can read, so that the idea enters into their mind. We can write and create books and essays and letters, and mark down our […]

Pig Tails – Maremma, Cuba, and Naples

Meredith is back from a few weeks on research in Italy, with tales of a missed flight, loose knees, and pure flexibility. The world has changed, and we with it – the tempo is different, and in this makeshift podcast we try to capture a feeling, that thing we all chase when we leave our […]

waterlogged

“They’re feckin’ crazy for it, the whole island, two years ago you would find no one out there, now, twice a day, heaps of em.”  – Pat of Inis Meain.   During the various covid lockdowns in Ireland a trend took hold, and something elemental and primal came to the surface in this island country: the […]

the razzle and the dazzle

I used to watch this man construct a handmade parasol in Myanmar.  He was on a long drive from the airport in Heho to Inle Lake in the hill country of the Shan state. He would make the most intricate workings, all out of bamboo and a home smelted blade and lathe, he would perform […]

On The Chasing Of Whales

The Post Office Essays There is a particular magic we humans get to do. We can have an idea then translate it into a series of symbols which others, years later, can read, so that the idea enters into their mind. We can write and create books and essays and letters, and mark down our […]

WPIG – Sea Shanties

This episode of WPIG the Pig prattles on about Sea Shanties. Those foot stomping songs that feel like the pulsing waves of a tide coming in. But not just that, sticking with the water theme, we talk of rivers and bayous to boot. And hell, really any song that makes you want to run off […]

The Good Abbot Wang

The Post Office Essays There is a particular magic we humans get to do. We can have an idea then translate it into a series of symbols which others, years later, can read, so that the idea enters into their mind. We can write and create books and essays and letters, and mark down our […]