Beijing, China Last full day in China! I had yet to see a giant panda. Chengdu is supposedly the best place to see them since there’s a panda sanctuary. It wouldn’t be possible for me to visit Chengdu on this trip. China is just too […]
Category Archives: 28. China
Day 380: Unique Halogen Products
Beijing, China Besides updating the blog all day long, the only thing I did was going to a restaurant located in one of the many Hutongs in Beijing. What’s a Hutong? Hutongs (simplified Chinese: 胡同; traditional Chinese: 衚衕; pinyin: hútòng) are a type of narrow streets or alleys, most commonly associated with Beijing,China. […]
Day 379: Fat Child’s Journey Back East
Urumqi – Beijing, China I must have gained weight in Asia, being fed so well by all the friends and relatives. The old ladies in my train compartment amicably addressed me by “Pang Yatou”, meaning “Fat child”. I don’t know what to make of it. […]
Day 378: Vee-Eye-Pee Yo!
Urumqi – Beijing, China It would have been quite a pain, even impossible, securing the train ticket back to Beijing, had it not been a hook up by Xiaoyun’s husband, Baoming. Knowing people sure means something here. Our car was allowed to drive in a […]
Day 377: In The Dead We Dwell
Shihezi – Urumqi, China We made our way back from Shihezi to Urumqi today. Urumqi is the gateway city to and fro Xinjiang to other Chinese provinces. I was to catch a train towards Beijing the next day. Xiaoyun and Wenwen showed me around their […]
Day 376: It’s All Peachy
Shihezi, China The whole family had been busying themselves about making sure I ate well and ate everything possible under the sun. I was stuffed! Aside from feeding me, my aunt, cousins and niece brought me around to the farmlands, the museum, and the town […]
Day 375: Lost & Found
Shihezi, China In Shihezi, I stayed at my elderly aunt’s home. She’s the wife of my mom’s elder brother. This was the first time I met her and I had only met my now deceased uncle once 15 years ago in Taiwan. My uncle was the […]
Day 374: The Boy and His Dog
Burqin – Urumqi – Shihezi, China The past few entries’ featured photos make me feel like a pedophile… Not that I’m into kids or anything, but they’re easier to take photos of. I’m hesitant to approach adults. Anyway, on the last day of the tour, […]
Day 373: Ilars the Lion
Kanas – Hemu – Burqin, China I was glad my relatives had booked me a superior package on this tour. I only had to share a 3-star hotel room with another person. Some other unlucky ones had to share 4 beds strung together among 6 […]
Day 372: The Khans and the Alps
Burqin – Kanas, China Kanas is a 24km narrow lake located in the alpine mountain of Xinjiang. Although it’s also a mountain range with pine trees, the scenery is entirely different from Huangshan. The feel is totally European. Kanas is deemed a world heritage national […]
Day 371: If I Could Stop The Sun, I Could Stop Time
Urumqi – Wucaitan – Burqin, China Originally, judging from my limited time of travel (2 months for China, Nepal and India), I decided to ditch Nepal. Besides, it’s rainy season in Nepal in August and it’s the worst for trekking. Second option is to overland […]
Day 382: RTW (-Nepal) (+Thailand)
Beijing, China – Bangkok, Thailand Thailand wasn’t on my list of countries to visit since I’d been here a couple of times. It was a last minute decision to do a few days stop here. After researching flight tickets online that will get me from […]