Trip: 2 Months in the Middle Kingdom
There are [33] stories from my trip: 2 Months in the Middle Kingdom
CHINA | Thursday, 27 Nov 2014 | Views [471]
Ok so this is definitely late but I was told I can't just leave the journal without an end.
To sum it all up, I was in Beijing for my last 4 nights shacked up in this really nice boutique hostel. It was well worth the 100 yuan a night and it was right ... Read more >
CHINA | Sunday, 9 Nov 2014 | Views [374]
I stayed in Tai An city for 2 nights at a hostel that was conveniently located at the base of the mountain. The mountain has a rich history involving emporers, and religion; but what in China doesn't?
It really feels and looks like fall ... Read more >
Tags: dai temple, taishan
CHINA | Friday, 7 Nov 2014 | Views [421]
I stopped yesterday in Yixing county for about 5 hours on my way to Tai'An by bullet train. Yixing is known for it's zisha clay teapots and other pottery things. It wasn't on my list before until I rediscovered that I wanted to go there because I always ... Read more >
Tags: broke, teapot, yixing, zisha
CHINA | Friday, 7 Nov 2014 | Views [466]
After Longyan I made it Fuzhou and had my quick experience of losing my phone. Which is my life line because its how I am booking hostels, searching for maps, and writing this journal.
I decides to stay two nights in the Super 8 because ... Read more >
Tags: tea
CHINA | Saturday, 1 Nov 2014 | Views [465]
I've had quite the last 24 hours! To begin, I was stranded yesterday after my train arrived in Longyan. Since foreigners cannot access the free WiFi at the new train station I knew I had to make it to a McDonald's. This is all because I forgot to book ... Read more >
Tags: china police, hakka, longyan, tulou, wifi
CHINA | Saturday, 1 Nov 2014 | Views [421]
Happy Halloween!
Unfortunately I can't celebrate because I'm in a hotel right now and not a hostel. A hostel would be partying right now but the one I wanted to stay at in yongding was full. More on that next post, right now I need to catch up.
... Read more >
Tags: guilin, reed flute cave, yangshuo
CHINA | Friday, 24 Oct 2014 | Views [480]
I took the bus from Dali to Kunming yesterday. I passed through Dinosaur Valley and The Wild Edible Mushroom County. They must like mushrooms more than I do because some of their buildings are shaped as such! When I arrived I got into an unmarked ... Read more >
Tags: dynamic yunnan, kunming, potato squad, the hump hostel
CHINA | Wednesday, 22 Oct 2014 | Views [389]
Ok, so I've been in Dali for 2 nights. The first night was Tiia's Birthday so we got her buzzed for the rest of the afternoon and night while walking Old Town. Old town has the best street food in China so far! It's fresh and varied! And so cheap! That ... Read more >
Tags: cormorant fishing, dali, potato squad, xizhou
CHINA | Tuesday, 21 Oct 2014 | Views [493]
I was in Shaxi ancient town a day ago. Shaxi is a cute town with some traditional buildings and cute town life but nothing too special. And it's in the process of becoming more modern for domestic tourists. Ive decided that Chinese domestic tourists ... Read more >
Tags: lijiang water town, october inn, shaxi ancient town, tumus kitchen
CHINA | Friday, 17 Oct 2014 | Views [747]
After Shangri-la we went to the Tiger Leaping Gorge. Apparently this gorge is where an emporer had hunted a tiger down and thought he had the tiger cornered. The tiger leap the gorge at a narrow onto a large boudler in the middle of the gorge and was ... Read more >
Tags: free trail, janes hostel, marijuana, teahorse guest house, tiger leaping gorge, tinas guest house
CHINA | Tuesday, 14 Oct 2014 | Views [421]
OK, last night I wrote an awesome post about my time in Dao Cheng and Shangri-la... Well if my phone didn't update google chrome during my final touches of writing, it would be here. Half an hour of typing on my phone down the drain. So I have a bad ... Read more >
Tags: daocheng, shangri-la, stray animals
CHINA | Thursday, 9 Oct 2014 | Views [475]
Yesterday was eventful. After waking up a bit nauseas and with a headache I got to have a "western breakfast" that Fabian and Santiago made for us. But it still tasted Chinese because of the oil the locals have that they used to cook the eggs with. It ... Read more >
Tags: butter tea, litang, monks
CHINA | Tuesday, 7 Oct 2014 | Views [959]
So the bus to Kangding was exciting! The road looked a bit precarious from my window seat with some other people passing on curvy bumpy topography with dramatic drops. But our driver was really good and the scenery was wonderful.
When we arrived it ... Read more >
Tags: kangding, litang
CHINA | Monday, 6 Oct 2014 | Views [648]
A fellow traveler told me that Chengdu was only worth a three day stay for pandas and the national parks. I ended up staying longer and it was worth it. Maybe this is because national week made everything really busy, and maybe because I'm not an efficient ... Read more >
Tags: chengdu, night markets, traffic inn hostel
CHINA | Saturday, 4 Oct 2014 | Views [631]
So I was lazy again today and was out of bed at 11 am. But it's good to go slow and not burn out. I have less than 6 weeks now and I'm already skipping things in this province that are expensive and busy. It is peak season and national week so relaxing ... Read more >
CHINA | Thursday, 2 Oct 2014 | Views [652]
Today I woke up late and then went upstairs to see Oscar. I've basically adopted her. I even looked up if I can take her into Canada without quarantine and I can! She's also young enough to not need vaccines and can be in the passenger cabin but inside ... Read more >
CHINA | Wednesday, 1 Oct 2014 | Views [756]
OK, several times I've tried to write about how awesome Xi'An was with the terracotta warriors and all. But I will just move on...
I'm in Chengdu and I saw pandas today! They have a superior zoo for them I was really impressed. However I ... Read more >
Tags: awesome bathroom, kitten, pandas
CHINA | Sunday, 28 Sep 2014 | Views [474]
I keep trying to post and I'm getting frustrated with retyping everything so expect my post to be later.
I'm catching a train to Chengdu at 7:45pm. It's going to be a long one.
CHINA | Tuesday, 23 Sep 2014 | Views [385]
So I went for a walk the day before yesterday evening to look for some cheap food because the hostel makes expensive Western food and that isn't what I'm about. Well I ended up walking around some street stalls and boutiques that all sell jade, amber, ... Read more >
Tags: huashan
CHINA | Tuesday, 23 Sep 2014 | Views [531]
If I don't come out of China with lung cancer it might be a miracle. I cannot express how much Chinese people smoke.... Everywhere. And no one cares about no smoking signs, those are just stickers. I don't think Canada was ever this bad.
... Read more >
Tags: chicken hearts, smoke, xian
CHINA | Sunday, 21 Sep 2014 | Views [416]
Update, I'm actually going to Xi'An next and I still need a ticket.
So going to the tiger park was depressing, as I half expected but hoped it wouldn't be. They have over 300 tigers plus other big cats that don't belong in China. I'm ... Read more >
Tags: tigers
CHINA | Sunday, 21 Sep 2014 | Views [511]
I had lots of photos of me taken on the train last night. Everyone seemed to ignore me until a little bit into the ride I said "hello and where are you going?"
That opened up everyone's curiosity because I could speak a little mandarin, luckily a ... Read more >
Tags: hostel, photos, tea
CHINA | Friday, 19 Sep 2014 | Views [502]
After this long ass train ride where nothing was comfortable and I couldn't sleep enough I made it to Shenyang in the sunrise. It was beautiful but I needed to find a place to stay. Couch surfing wasn't an option here and the hostel ... Read more >
Tags: cheap food, fat feet.
CHINA | Thursday, 18 Sep 2014 | Views [606]
I woke up at the apartment and packed my things. I got my tickets for the train to Shenyang where I think I will have to look for a hostel or hotel. It is a 12 hour train ride starting at 5:30pm. Unfortunately I was too late to buy sleeper cabin tickets ... Read more >
Tags: shopping, train
CHINA | Wednesday, 17 Sep 2014 | Views [486]
Last night myself, another couch surfer from France, and my host went out for dinner. We had Hot Pot; where the table has a gas stove in the center and you order broth that will be placed over the burners to boil. Then you order your food that will be ... Read more >
Tags: hot pot, sleep
CHINA | Tuesday, 16 Sep 2014 | Views [387]
So today I woke up slowly because the bed was comfortable. I don't think I'm an efficient traveler because if I woke up early I could probably see more than what I saw today.
Anyways, after my shower I heard fireworks go off around 9:00am. You ... Read more >
Tags: imperial mountain resort., never alone
CHINA | Monday, 15 Sep 2014 | Views [445]
I went out to look for a payphone to call my host and tell her I was in the city. It was more difficult than I thought to ask the train station guards.
I walked up to three of them and tried my best to ask for a public phone, they thought I wanted ... Read more >
Tags: mcflurry, payphone
CHINA | Monday, 15 Sep 2014 | Views [395]
So it was me and a group of others these last few day. We were all solo travelers and wanted to see the same things. They came from Argentina, Germany, Switzerland, Russia, France, and more. And as soon as I got comfortable in Beijing it was time to ... Read more >
Tags: chengde
CHINA | Sunday, 14 Sep 2014 | Views [431]
I didn't do what I said I was going to do. I went to the Summer Palace with my new group of friends. We walked around for 9 hours in a gorgeous park and building complex that looks like Leafy Gardens in Rollercoaster Tycoon. And my legs ... Read more >
Tags: sore, summer palace
CHINA | Saturday, 13 Sep 2014 | Views [526]
Good morning!
I was too tired to post yesterday because I went to the Great Wall at Balading. My new friend Vera (from Russia) and I took a train to the site. The ride was beautiful but we don't understand really why everyone runs to the train.... Read more >
Tags: lost, the great wall
CHINA | Thursday, 11 Sep 2014 | Views [422]
There is so much to say already but short story for now....
United airlines has the softest napkins.
I successfully used a foreign subway and walked to my destination with no problems.
I've checked into my room.
The street smells ... Read more >
Tags: arrived
CANADA | Wednesday, 10 Sep 2014 | Views [406]
So I have finished packing everything except what I need for the morning. I suppose I may be packing a few more tops than I really need but I like them! What I am happy about is that between my Pacsafe and my Osprey packs I can fit everything I wanted ... Read more >
Tags: plane
CANADA | Tuesday, 9 Sep 2014 | Views [436]
It's almost time!
I've already been packing up a few things and making sure I have all the essentials. I estimate I have already spent about $1800 on this trip which includes: round-trip tickets from Kayak.com ($864), travel insurance from WorldNomads ... Read more >
Tags: day before, packing, preparing
