We are off trekking again, this time to the very north of Vietnam to the Tonkinese Alps. An area of outstanding natural beauty that is home to a number of minority people that live in the hills and mountains bordering China. Over the years, the region has been intermittently under the control of the Chinese […]
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Hanoi: the grand old dame of Asia
If an airport is a reflection of the destination city, then Hanoi is going to be a challenge. It is a throwback to the seventies with lino flooring, escalators that don’t work, yellowing walls and cardboard-constructed immigration booths manned by officials dressed in soviet-style uniforms. The capital’s airport had two baggage belts serving both domestic […]
Hong Kong: the colourful city
Hong Kong. One of our favourite cities. To visit that is. I am not sure I would want to live here and don’t have an intention of finding out if I do but, it is one of those wonderful places that lives on water, enjoying a freshness and a feeling of space that relieves the […]
Yangshuo and the dreamy river Li
On our way to Yangshou, we have a stopover night in Guilin. We do not want to linger because Yangshou (so we have been told by fellow travelers) has everything that Guilin has to offer and more. So we take a morning boat trip down the Li River for the 4 hour journey though some […]
Lijiang & Tiger Leaping Gorge
Lijiang is a town that is a complete contrast to anywhere else we have been in China. Set among the rolling hills of north Yunnan province, it has a backdrop that reminds us we have escaped the huge sprawling, heavily populated cities we have visited so far. We are staying in the old town which […]
Shanghai: the economic powerhouse
Shanghai is one of China’s most massive and vibrant cities. Somehow typifying modern China yet unlike anywhere else in the land. It’s modern, commercial, brash, self confident and touristy, yet it could not be labeled international. There are no ancient sites here – no terracotta warriors, great walls or dusty old temples – instead there […]
Mount Huangshan: sweet & sour
The mighty mountain of Huangshan is another of the five sacred mountains like Tai Shan (see previous blog) created by the disintegrating body of Pan Gu. It is famed for its beauty and rightly so, for the views from the summit area are spectacular. The granite peaks of the mountain jut into the sky like […]