Don’t Skip: Qingdao, China
Intro to Qingdao We visited Qingdao quite unintentionally, but it turned out to be a great stop. Located at the southern tip of the Shandong peninsula, this charming port city has a different feel than any other place we visited in China. From 1897 to 1914, Germany administered Qingdao as a concession, and made a […]
Longsheng Rice Terraces
Longsheng Rice Terraces Hands-down, our favorite part of our visit to Guilin was a day-trip several hours away to the Longsheng Rice Terraces. We shared transportation with four others from the hostel: a recent high-school grad from Peru studying in China, whose father is Chinese, a guy from Slovakia, and a couple from Holland, the […]
Surviving the Overnight Hard Seat: Xi’an to Pingyao
Xi’an to Pingyao Vowing to never again settle for a “hard seat” on an overnight train (especially the lowest grade, like the one we experienced), we arrived in Pingyao from Xi’an. We had said to ourselves, “How bad could it be?” The reality was pretty terrible. We had seat numbers, which was a good start, […]
Don’t Skip: Danba, China
Intro to Danba, China Have you ever been to a destination that during the journey to get there you thought to yourself, “This better be worth it!”? Well, Danba is definitely one of those places. Leaving Chengdu on a bus before the sun came up, we headed northwest to Danba. Unless you have your own […]
Travel Budget China: Will Your Visit Leave You in the Red?
Watch out if you’re visiting China in summer! We were there in July and August, just in time for all the university students and families to snatch up the budget-priced seats on the trains. We were stranded on several occasions without any option of where to go. In one case, we ended up having to buy an airline ticket rather than lose more days when we were more than ready to move on. This obviously increased spending in the overall “Transportation” category.
Reflection: China II
Check out some of our favorite shots from the second half of our time in China, Shenzhen to Tagong, July-August 2011.
Reflection: China
Photo highlights from the first half of our time in China: Beijing to Shanghai!
2011 Photo Roundup
South Korea Knowing less about South Korea than either Japan or China made for some wonderful surprises. A rich, colorful culture and curious, helpful people made our visit here one of true discovery. China Size and numbers, that’s China. Too big to possibly ever know then whole country and more people than imaginable. With thousands […]
Tagong: Motorcycle Monks and the Yak-men
Intro to Tagong In this high-altitude land of snow-capped mountains and grassy plateaus, priorities revolve around what helps you to get by. Here, two of those things are spiritual beliefs and yaks. We spent most of our time in Tagong wandering. Our hikes took us most of the day, each day, and were worth every […]
Road to Tagong on the Eastern Tibetan Plateau
8:15 am Danba, high in the mountains of Sichuan Province in southwestern China. We ready our packs, go downstairs to the hostel’s common area and cross the town’s one street to grab some pork and veg-stuffed steamed buns for breakfast. The hostel-owner’s son toddles around the lobby in his blue split-pants, the kind that allow […]