Field Notes

  • The container and the thing

    The container and the thing

    There’s a bridge in Hanoi that rusts and rattles and carries the city’s history in its steel bones. Long Biên isn’t a typically beautiful bridge. But every time I saw it or crossed it, whether on the back of a Grab bike weaving through scooters and delivery drivers, or walking it with a friend while…

  • Who do you think you are?

    Who do you think you are?

    The day before I boarded the ship, I was in the lobby of a hotel in Punta Arenas, doing what I do in hotel lobbies: eavesdropping. Two older men were talking nearby. They had the easy confidence of people who have covered a lot of ground and are comfortable telling you about it. One leaned…

  • Leaving well – the Hanoi edition

    Leaving well – the Hanoi edition

    Noticing the small things through a big change.