My first mixed-gender sauna experience at Vabali, Berlin
A July 2021 visit, a tightly held towel, and a garden of timber, water and quiet: what I remember about bodies, culture and the design of rest.
By Jessie Wenjie LiRead story ↗
THE JESSIE EDIT · CULTURAL TRAVEL
Rituals & Living Traditions
Festivals, inherited practices and everyday rituals reveal different ways of making meaning. I write about encounters with curiosity, while keeping personal feelings distinct from claims about a whole culture.
Stories in this theme
5 selected stories
Alone in Kyrgyzstan, remembering a bowl of noodles
Lakes, yurts and mountain roads—and the evening I spent more than an hour learning to pull noodles with my guesthouse host.
By Jessie Wenjie LiRead story ↗
Bangladesh stayed with me in flavours, fabrics and faces
Looking back on a 2025 journey through Dhaka, Bagerhat and the Sundarbans: street food, clothes made by local tailors, and the people I remember.
By Jessie Wenjie LiRead story ↗
Walking my own pilgrimage: Koyasan and the Kumano Kodo
Meditation, forest paths, hot springs, fellow travellers and a missed last bus: finding my own pace on Japan’s sacred routes.
By Jessie Wenjie LiRead story ↗
A room with more than one life
At Garden Villa Collection, looking back at the glasshouse, the terrace and the everyday work of making space for people.
By Jessie Wenjie LiRead story ↗