I have time so I decided to try to explore the Tulou area on my own (despite the advice of the guy at the hostel in Xiamen telling me to take a tour). I somehow managed to reach the hostel in the small town in the middle of the mountain. I say somewhat because nothing went according to plan but I got there rather quickly. When I arrived, I was lucky that two guys speaking English were about to go for lunch and then to the nearest Tulou. I drop my bag and tagged along with them. That was so so so lucky. This area would have been very hard to navigate on my own especially that the staff at the hostel doesn't speak English. First things first, what is a Tulou? A Tulou is a ... read more

Geo: 29.7095, 118.353I chose to visit those two town with a tour. It's is usually not my way but I had two reasons for this: first I thought it was good value (230yuen for the entrance fees, lunch and the bus, entrance fees for individuals is 100yuen per town, so do the math) and then I still have that stupid cold so being booked on a tour will get me out of bed. Plus I really can't be asked to work out public transports. In the morning the air was crisp but the temperature rose in the afternoon and I could take of my hat, gloves, one jumper and even my overcoat. It was very scenic and the village felt out of another time. I let you go through the pictures to get a feel of ... read more

Geo: 30.25, 120.17Ok so this is the third time I am regretting not packing any Strepsil-type medicine. I got a sore throat in India, in Taiwan and now in China. So I think it will happen again... As a result I am in one of those mood where I would love to just roll from my bed to my sofa and just stay there with the TV on and a good cup of tea. Well, clearly you can't do that in an hostel. Instead I got woken up at dawn by a couple in my dorm and they took forever to get ready...when I finally got up, at 9am which is not that late at all, I had to face the cold living room. I didn't stay there. Instead I went to crab some food and ... read more

Geo: 32.05, 118.78Nanjing has been the capital many times in the past. In recent history, it was picked by the government of the Rebublic of China as the capital. However, when le communist party founded the People's Republic of China, they moved the capital to Beijing (because it seems that all goverment having Nanjing for capital city are short-lived). I let you have a look at the pictures and legends. Nanjing a été la capitale plusieurs fois dans le passé. Pour ce qui est de l'histoire récente, le gouvernement de la République Populaire de Chine en avait fait sa capitale mais quand le parti communiste a pris le pouvoir il a relocalisé le gouvernement à Pékin. Apparemment, les gouvernements qui s'installent à Nanjing ont une durée de vie relativement courte. Je vous laisse découvrir les ... read more

Geo: 32.05, 118.78Let me explain. I usually never use an hair-dryer. Few reasons for this: first it makes my hair very static, second it takes times and third I don't onw an hair-dryer (that's probably the main reason). However since I have reach the Chinese winter I have found myself actively looking for an hair-dryer. One reason for this, it is real cold here and they don't really have the heater inside... I can actually see my breath in the bathroom. In fact I feel usually colder in the evening when I am in the hostel than outside during the day. Thanks god they kind of heat the dorms. So for the past two nights I took refuge in there, under my duvet. That's the only way to be warm. Last evening I did some laundry ... read more