TrojanTraveler

Great Ride Forward -- See www.greatrideforward.com for more stories/pics/video. The most amazing and frustrating part about traveling in China is that very few things go as planned. Amazing because you find yourself in situations and places that you would never expect. When a wrong turn on the streets of Kunming leads you to endless alleyways of baby grand pianos, you have to smile. Frustrating, however, because sometimes a schedule must be kept. Such is the case when shipping two motorcycles across the country…five days before Chinese New Year. We boarded the train to Kunming at Shanghai South Station on Monday evening, excited about the journey ahead. I have to admit that the idea of our trip had never fully set in during the months prior to this moment. We’d been charting our route for months, pouring ... read more

While trekking long-lost regions of the world, an intrepid traveler such as yourself frequently ponders what piece of equipment is of utmost importance to your travels, that item of indivisible necessity that you would prefer to give your life for than continue forward on the journey without its help at hand. Indeed, world explorers often find themselves in such a situation, as ferocious lions, fierce bears, and deadly restrooms continuously test your courage and resolve (not to mention the quality of such equipment). So what is that one crucial article for every seasoned global wanderer？ A backpack? A natural choice you may think, as where else will you store that ever-accumulating mass of schwag that spontaneously forms after moving from one UNESCO World Heritage Site to the next. But consider this situation. In preparing for an ... read more

Untitled Peter WinterThe adventures start again... Just wanted to give a brief outline of what the next two months has in store for me. Kaelyn arrived this past Monday, and we have been staying at school while I wrapped up my last week of classes. After taking care of the enormous amount of preparation, and the costs that go along with it, we are finally ready to set off on our travels. This Monday (hopefully), we will begin working our way north, eventually heading to the North Korean border and Changbaishan, where we hope to get a look at an area of China not many know too much about. We will spend about a week traveling the areas of Jilin and Liaoning province, finally heading back to Beijing on June 20th for.... A trip to ... read more

The morning was chilly on top of the mountain, a rather crisp start to the New Year. Zhangjiajie was experiencing a bit of a cold spell, not the most desirable of conditions when your hotel room is devoid of both heat and heavy blankets. But then again, it wasn’t really much of a hotel in the first place. Following my aimless, foggy wanderings of the night before, and the bus that proved to be my salvation, I was deposited once again in what seemed to be the middle of nowhere. Dark and desolate, a large man standing singly in the fog waited for me to exit the bus. He would be my inn keeper for the night, and his beaming smile as we shook hands seemed to make most of the darkness disappear instantly. We ... read more

The rain in Longsheng already had me down. The dark streets at 6:45am pushed me even further to the bottom. Best of all, I had absolutely no clue what the day in front of me had in store, and as today was set aside for travel, that wasn't a good thing. A few days prior in Yangshuo, I had booked a train ticket from the nearby town of Liuzhou to Zhangjiajie, a small town in northern Hunan province, and home to the Wulingyuan National Park. Before ever coming to China, a random guidebook picture of the Zhangjiajie sights had put the area at the top of my dream list. Now, with the opportunity to visit at hand, I would do just about anything to make sure I got there. And that is exactly what I had ... read more