Saying goodbye to western norms as we enter China and the beautiful Yangshuo
June 15th 2015 China!!! This is one place from the get go we were really excited about. The language barrier, the culture difference and the sites we had read about. Who wouldn't want to see the Terracotta Warriors, climb The Great Wall of China or see Pandora from Avatar in real life? Plus with the scale of China (with it being bigger than the whole of Europe put together) we could not begin to imagine the dive
... read more 
For centuries China stood as a leading civilization, outpacing the rest of the world in the arts and sciences, but in the 19th and early 20th centuries, the country was beset by civil unrest, major famines, military defeats, and foreign occupation. A... ... read more 
taracloud
Tara Cloud
Karst heaven!
These karst mountains are among my favorites geological formations, and your photos of them are great. I'm so impressed that you learned some Mandarin, and people understood you! Great adventures--sliding down the mountain, walking across that fab bridge and biking to gorgeous spots. Your eating spot sounds perfect too. What a great beginning to your China sojourn, and you two are adorable in this photo!