Slow Boat Through China Climbing onto the bus which would take me to the pier in nearby Yichang, I began wondering just what I had gotten myself into. I had been spent the past 36 hours in buses, trains, cars, and tourist offices. It had been over 2 days since I had enjoyed the luxury of a hot shower, or the comfort of a real bed. And I was now consigning myself to yet another bus ride, followed up by an additional 3 days in a cramped, communal cabin while suffering from the flu. Or food poisoning. I wasn’t sure which [View Full Entry]

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The Long Way Round China is big. This is something that I had known, in an abstract kind of way, before I had ever decided to descend onto its proverbial doorstep. The fact crystallized even more when I began researching the provinces and cities that I wanted to visit during my 3 week stint here. But it wasnt until I had my first 18 hour train ride that I began to really understand just how massive this country is. The word colossal comes to mind. Trying to "do" China in 3 weeks would be like trying to coax a tiger into [View Full Entry]

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Adventures in Yangshou As soon as I walked through the streets of Yangshou for the first time I knew that this city would be setting unrealistically high expectations for the rest of China. It was cute and quaint and unbelievably beautiful. The cobblestone streets twisted sinuously around ancient teak storefronts and cheerfully bedecked restaurants. Lush limestone karsts circled the town and river, casting us in shadow and providing blessed relief from the sweltering daytime heat. My hostel, tucked into a little corner off the main square, provided a cozy lounge room, laundry s [View Full Entry]

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The Kindness of Strangers The first instance of the impenetrable language barrier rearing it’s head on me in China came when I attempted to purchase train tickets from Nanning to Guilin. Having been forewarned, I took special care to write down the number of tickets, date, and ideal time of this departure beforehand. I can only get down on my knees and thank the Gods above that the Chinese use the same numerical system. Between that, and with the help of my trusty Lonely Planet guide, I was able to book my tickets without speaking and without difficulty. Waking up ear [View Full Entry]

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Tackling China China. Unbelievably confusing, more then a little crazy, and infinitely complicated. I had fixed this country in my mind as the epitome of the challenging travel destination. Before I had begun this trip, I would never have dreamt of tackling this country on my own. The language was too difficult, the cities too vast. Even while successfully navigating through places like Nepal and Thailand, I still felt uneasy about my ability to slip into this complex and ancient culture. After 7 months of traveling, it was finally time to put this question to the test. [View Full Entry]

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Sapa in the Rain My first sight of Sapa was the rain drenched evergreen trees crowding the side of the road and spilling down the rolling green hills and valleys that wrapped around us like a cozy blanket. Between the quiet meandering streets, shockingly verdant wilderness, and vibrantly patterned apparel of the local minority women, I felt as though I had left the bustling pace of Vietnam far behind me. Walking through town I quickly gained an entourage of women from the Black Hmong tribe who were determined to stick as close to me as physically possible while I scoured the [View Full Entry]

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Hungover in Hanoi Finally, after having endured corrupt taxi drivers, theft, a sinus cold, creepy old men on the trains, pushy locals, an attempted mugging, blatant exploitation, a raging hangover, and more sexual innuendoes then I care to count, I had arrived safe and sound in Hanoi. I had expected that the capital city of this strange and bustling country would be large, impersonal and utterly devoid of charm. The reality was quite different. Hanoi was compact. Cozy even. Full of twists and turns and ragged rundown alleys. It invited you to poke around corners and explore m [View Full Entry]

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Halong Bay Having booked my boat ticket for Halong Bay through my hotel in Ninh Binh rather then through a travel agency in Hanoi, I had to catch an early morning bus North in order to meet up with the rest of my group. The convenience of avoiding an unnecessary stop in Hanoi was partially offset by the fact that I would need to catch a local bus to Halong City. I was slightly nervous about handing over $100 cash to my hotel and then boarding a public bus North with no idea of where to go or who to meet [View Full Entry]

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The Train Ride North to Ninh Binh Deciding to give the train one last chance, I booked myself in a hard seat for the overnight trip from Hue to Ninh Binh. I perhaps should have looked into what exactly ‘hard seat sleeper’ meant before buying my ticket. Boarding the train, I was a bit appalled to see that the seats were small wooden benches, similar to what you would find in a city park. I had a suspicion that this was going to be a long night. Once again, I was the only foreigner in sight, and I had to contend [View Full Entry]

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The North and South Divide After my last train experience, I decided to catch on overnight tourist but from Nha Trang to Hoi An instead. What a difference. Granted the ‘beds’ were nothing more then seriously inclined seats, you had to be shorter then 6ft to fit in them comfortably, and I was squished in the back with 4 other travelers for the duration of the trip. Bundled together like kittens, it was certainly one of the strangest introductions I’ve ever made. But despite these challenges I still passed a more restful night then I had on the train. Hoi An [View Full Entry]

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