China

Charlie makes his living as a DJ which allows him to have a more flexible schedule than your average suit. As a result, he’s a big time night owl, staying …

I walked down Jinli Lu, which was lined with souvenir and tea shops, restaurants and bars. Despite the tourist trap feel of the new construction and design, the street’s history …

Chengdu’s Tibetan neighborhood is located near WuHou Temple, southwest of the city’s center. Despite my plans to head toward Tibet itself, I felt a neighborhood visit would serve as a …

Chinese Spa Around 1 am Charlie, Jody and I arrived at a 24-hour spa. We spent the next four hours swimming around in four pools of varying sizes and temperatures, …

    With my train arrangements in order, I joined a couple of British girls at the restaurant in Sim’s for lunch. They were in the first week of a …

  ” To repeat, ad infinitum, though train tickets are a lot easier to land these days, don’t expect next-day middle-berth hard sleeper miracles for the most popular routes. To …

  By my fourth night in Chengdu I realized the days were flittering by and I had yet to begin arrangements for my Tibet Tourist Permit (necessary for all visitors) …

        I awoke from my slumber around noon’ish. Charlie’s couch was quite comfortable, and his sleeping bag kept me sufficiently warm. As Charlie had to fly somewhere …

    After the bus ride from the airport, we walked to a favorite restaurant of Charlie’s which served pork dumplings. A big bowl arrived for each of us, with …

    Upon arrival back in Hong Kong, I booked a one-way flight from Shenzhen to Chengdu online for $80 (tax included). Thank you China Southern Airlines!   I left …

  I managed another Skype call to Michelle and set up a time to meet her outside a metro stop in her neighborhood. I invited Adam to join us for …

  The logistics of taking the train from Hong Kong to the mainland China border (adjacent to the city of Shenzhen) could not have been easier. We passed through immigration …

In light of recent events, I am jumping ahead for a moment… Saturday, March 15, 2008 @ 3:15pm I’m sitting on a deck, watching the rain, the sound of electric …

As my mornings in Chengdu were often spent asleep (and I do mean all morning), I’d always try to rustle off the couch for some sightseeing in the afternoons. DuFu …

It is hard for me to ignore the fact that I will likely be on the Asian continent around the time of the 2008 Summer Olympics in China (August 8-24, …