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Asia 2010 China

Train-ing It: The Hard Sleeper Way!

Greetings from Kunming (koon-meeng), where I have arrived after a lengthy 17.5 hour train journey from Guilin. I’m actually heading straight on to Jinghong, capital of the Xishuangbanna Autonomous Region (which is another minority heavy region and happens to border Laos, where I’m eventually heading) on a sleeper bus tonight. But the train was actually […]

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Asia 2010 China

The Wind and the Rain

Sanjiang (saun-jiaung) is the capital of the Dong Minority Autonomous County and as a bus bearing my new French traveling companion Lori and I rolled into town we hit a police checkpoint. The fellow manning the doors and the fares as new arrivals flagged us down hopped out and registered our bus in the log […]

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Asia 2010 China

Wondrous Valleys and Beautiful Terraces

Yesterday was a chilly day and as we awoke entirely surrounded by clouds, we were quite content that our lodgings for the evening had provided electric blankets! The four of us shared our last meal together at breakfast, where we enjoyed congee,  a sort of rice porridge that is a common breakfast food here. You […]

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Asia 2010 China

Trekking Through the Hills

Greetings from quite literally the middle of nowhere! I’m actually near the small village of Dazhai, which I had my first ever trek in getting to! After my post yesterday morning I met up with the Quebecois fellow (Guillaume), as well as our new French (Lori) and Chinese (Neo) friends and the four of us […]

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Asia 2010 China

Into the Hills

Greetings from the little minority village of Ping’An (peeng-awn), nestled high in the hills, surrounded in every possible direction by absolutely stunning rice terraces named “The Dragon’s Backbone.” There is no road or vehicle that comes directly here. This was the culmination of two bus rides through China’s back country. First to a town called […]

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Asia 2010 China

Elephants on the River

I’ve been spending my waning hours in Guilin by tying up some loose ends before I head north to more remote parts. I stocked up on cash (thank you Bank of America for having a partnership with China Construction Bank that gets me fee-free ATM withdrawals!). I also wandered around the riverfront area which aided […]

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Asia 2010 China

Chills and Caves

Well it’s cold here…really, really cold, which is kind of amazing since I’m only about 65km north of Yangshuo. In fact, I’m wearing the exact same number of clothes I wore when I left wintry New York a week and a half ago! Let’s just say I’m really not a fan at all. I’m also […]

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Asia 2010 China

Up River to the City

Greetings from Guilin. Located a mere 90 minute bus ride north of Yangshuo, also on the banks of the Li River, Guilin feels other worldly from the calm and character that was Yangshuo. Though tiny compared to the size of Guangzhou or Hong Kong, Guilin feels like a metropolis after Yangshuo. It’s also considerably chillier […]