Category Archives: China

Me-go Mix: Track 5

Me-go Mix: Track 5 “Superstar” — S.H.E. (???) This song was everywhere during my first trip to China in Phase I. It was blasting from every other storefront, sung by teenagers walking down the street and playing every time I … Continue reading

Posted in China, Post-Trip | 6 Comments

Me-go Mix: Track 3

Me-go Mix: Track 3 “Ji Xiang San Bao (?????)” — Burenbayaer To download using Windows “right click” and save to disk. Mac users, you know what to do. If there’s one song that reminds me of my recent travels in … Continue reading

Posted in China, Mongolia, Post-Trip | 6 Comments

The Elusive Double Entry Visa

So much time and effort has gone into my visa planning, particularly for Central Asia, that I’m surprised it’s finally time to start applying for them. Thankfully, the first two countries I am visiting—South Korea and Mongolia—give US citizens free … Continue reading

Posted in China, Pre-Trip Planning | 5 Comments

Thirty Two Hours Door-to-Door

I really cornered myself in the Yunnan Province. The provinceís main city, Kunming, is quite large but outside of the main highway between Dali and Kunming the roads are rough and slow. The area I was in was much closer … Continue reading

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Moving Along Without a Halloween in Sight

Itís hard to believe that Iíve been travelling for two months straight. In the grand scheme of things it hasnít been long at all, but I imagine that it must seem like an eternity to most people back home (especially … Continue reading

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Xishuangbanna and Lot of Pineapples

After a bumpy 12-hour night bus from Kunming to Jinghong I had finally arrived in my last destination in China–the Xishuangbanna Region. My main reason for coming here was to see the ethnic minorities in the smaller towns. Jinghong, a … Continue reading

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China Post and a Blind Massage

I can now say that Iíve traveled by hard seat in China. Hard seat is basically the lowest class of travel by train. The seats arenít terribly hard–they could be wood. But 7 hours sitting on a bench in-between two … Continue reading

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Two Dali’s Too Many?

Dali wasnít somewhere I really wanted to see but it seemed like a good enough place to stop. Only 3 hours from Lijiang, the minibus passed large fields with people working, picking crops by hand. The actual town doesnít have … Continue reading

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Little Old Ladies in Blue Hats

Lijiang is a smaller town dubbed ìthe Venice of Chinaî because of itís many canals, stone bridges and cobblestone alleys. The journey here was interesting–a 12-hour train ride from Emei into the Yunnan Province followed by a breathtaking and often … Continue reading

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One Big Buddha and a Holy Mountain

Itís not really getting any warmer as I head south. Iím still carrying around the coat I bought in Xiían and the scarf and hat I bought in Xiahe. My first short stop from Chengdu was Leshan, a town which … Continue reading

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