Tiny is an 18 month year old Rough Collie and the most over anxious dog I have ever seen. Understandable that given when he was a puppy he broke both of his front legs... Tiny is also a Communist. I know this because when returning to the hostel reception wearing my newly purchased "fine quality" China Red Star Communist T-shirt from the market the friendly but bonkers girl behind the desk, who appeared to have learnt all her English from cartoon characters such was her child like excitable disposition, exclaimed "MATT, why you dress like a dog... TINY have also [View Full Entry]

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The Peoples Republic of China is the largest country in East Asia and the most populous in the world with over 1.3 billion people, approximately one-fifth of the world’s population. In Beijing, the massive historical capital, there are over 17 million. Princes Risborough, the town I grew up in, is a civil parish within the Wycombe district in Buckinghamshire, England, about 9 miles south of Aylesbury and 8 miles north west of High Wycombe. Population: "3 rather mangy cows, a daschund called Colin and a hen in its late 40s..." (Blackadder the Third, 1987). [View Full Entry]

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After arriving from a surprisingly humid Shanghai, carrying mosquito bites and a nylon backpack loaded with precious few items of winter clothing, I arrived in Taian ill prepared for the climate that awaited me. Whilst I was aware that the weather in Taian during the winter was going to be quite cold, after travelling nearly 100km north on one of Chinas super fast D Bullet Trains, I was not prepared for the freezing temperatures that greeted me stepping out from the station... And moreover, a day later, how unpredictable weather conditions can be on the top of a mountai [View Full Entry]

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