After becoming somewhat lazy in Beijing, it became time to move on. So once again I packed up my things and headed off. Although this time I wasn’t alone. Along with my new travel buddies Andy and Jack we left Beijing in search of something a little more exotic. We arrived in Datong, a city northwest of Beijing by overnight train. Datong itself is not particularly famous, but it’s a popular overnight stop because of its close proximity to famous sights in nearby mountains. From the Datong train station we were guided by a tourist board representative to the hotel [View Full Entry]

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Well, to get it out of the way I'll begin by saying that my first impressions of Beijing, a city I visited ten years earlier, could be summed up by saying rip-offs, rude taxi drivers, crazy aussie guys, scams and construction everywhere! While it’s all true, there was also some things I loved about Beijing, and the reason I stayed there for about ten days, a long stop in my travel itinerary. In Beijing, Mum and I finished up trip of China’s greatest sights, with a day tour to The Great Wall at Badaling, the closest section of the wall [View Full Entry]

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Our whirlwind tour of China’s greatest sights continued, and a day trip from Chengdu took us to the once sleepy town of Leshan. Now overrun by tourists, Leshan is home to a carved Buddha, but not just any Buddha. Carved into the cliff face, as early as AD713, the Grand Buddha is 71 meters high making it’s the world’s biggest Buddha, and really has to be seen to be believed. Not only is this the world’s biggest Buddha, but it also has the world’s biggest queue to take photos. Even still, mum and I decided to brave the masses of [View Full Entry]

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From Yangshuo we travelled on to Chengdu, and here we were able to experience and support a program that both mum and i feel very strongly about. At a secret location not far out of Chengdu, is the Animals Asia Moon Bear Rescue Center. While it's not open to the public, I was able to organise our visit to coincide with an open day, and we were among a few lucky people able to have a guided tour by the founder and CEO Jill Robinson and visit the bears in their new home. For those of you who don't know [View Full Entry]

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We arrived in Yangshuo, a small town south of Guilin after dark. As our driver took us out of town along a dirt road beside the river we were a little unsure. But I had booked a river retreat place for a couple of days and so i assured mum that everything was going to be fine. The retreat was basic but comfortable and quiet, which was a change from the hussle and bussle of the cities and big hotels which we had been staying in. In the morning we awoke to the Chinese scenery I had only read about. [View Full Entry]

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We left Sanya on our 3 hour bus ride to Haikou just as a tropical storm was developing. We realised how lucky we were having had beautiful sunny weather for the past four days. The next stop was Guilin, merely a transit point from which to explore the outer villages of Ping'an and Yangshuo. A quick insight into the city of Guilin was positive, beautiful gardens and lakes, a main street catering to bother Chinese and Western needs, and less busy compared to many other Chinese cities. A highlights in Guilin included watching an English performance by children from a [View Full Entry]

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After a few days of the hussle and bussle of Shanghai, mum and i escaped on a late evening flight to Sanya on Hainan Island, just off the southern tip of the mainland. The flight was typical of what i remember of Chinese domestic flights, straight up and then straight down with the feeling of on and then off the accelorator. Not unlike the driving for many Chinese taxi drivers. When we arrived at the little Sanya Airport, it was about 9.30pm and we knew we were in the tropics because of the humidity that greated us at the door. [View Full Entry]

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[hey guys, so i'm in Beijing now. My mum has been and gone again, and so this is what we got up to...] Thankful to have arrived in Shanghai and feeling a little more at ease because i'm familiar with some areas of Shanghai, i get a taxi from the train station to the hostel. But the taxi driver doesn't know the road and says it's not beside the People's Square which is where the website says it is. So after a brief arguement about it, i tell him that i'll get out and walk. So i do, and sure [View Full Entry]

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OK, so you all know that i have an attachment to bear things. I have bear number plates, lots of teddy bears, some of my friends call me bear, and currently i'm known as china bear . I believe that crazy weird bear things have been happening to me since i left Australia, and it all started on my first night with Tash in Bangkok... We were staying at the nice hotel Tash had booked with the pool beside our room. That night we decided to eat in and ordered some room service. We orded some thai curries and some [View Full Entry]

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I just realised that this entry was never published properly, so anyway this was meant to go before Shanghai, for those of you who didn't receive it. [i'm way behind in my blog, but i have to let you know that things have got a thousand times better since the bus ride!] After finally arriving in Nanjing, Milly being the sweet friend that she is made some phone calls and it turned out that her cousin was in Nanjing for a few days during the holiday week. So I had friends again and enjoyed touring around Nanjing with Milly's cousin [View Full Entry]

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