Here’s the thing. China is a huge country with so much variation from north to south and west to east. It’s easy to feel vulnerable and think China is too large to explore on your own. Heck, we did. We had a GAdventure tour booked for part of our stay, but we still had 15 …
If you are a first-time traveller to Hong Kong, here is a simple guide: things to do when for a Hong Kong layover how to navigate border control from mainland China getting to and from Hong Kong international airport Hong Kong is often a stopover for 48 hours to refresh after a long flight or the …
Ping’an Village in Longji is one of the villages you can select for a homestay and a starting point to trek the Longsheng rice terraces. Having previously completed a two-day trek of the rice terraces in Sapa, Vietnam, we were eager to compare the experience. Of course, the highlight in Longji was to see first …
Our flight from Xi’an arrived into Guilin just after 10 pm where a private bus was waiting to transfer us to Yangshuo. A drive of 1.5 hours in an air-conditioned bus protected us from the high humidity. It’s June, and the previous two weeks the area has experienced a lot of rain with flooding in …
Visiting Xian is so much more than the Terracotta Warriors. “Did I hear you correctly?” I know, I know, even for us, the Xian Terracotta Warriors was a big must-see place on our bucket list of China. But what we didn’t realise until we started researching more, was why we also needed to visit the …
If you are wanting to visit a unique place in China, then a unique place to spend some time is Shaolin Monastery. By taking a fast train from Beijing, Shanghai or Xian, you will find yourself away from the large cities to a more tranquil place. Shaolin Monastery and Longmen Grottos was part of a tour …
Walking the Great Wall of China is often a bucket list item of a traveller. By picking the right season to walk the wall, is made more special, as you are not dealing with hoards of tourists. And, unless you are an adventure junkie, we’d recommend staying away from the unrestored section. It might just …
Updated May 2019 Spending three days in Beijing and finding the 10 best things to do in Beijing can be done if you use the Beijing Metro. Whether you are arriving in Beijing by train or with an international or flight, the metro will get you to where you want to go. For us, we …
Deciding to visit China can sometimes be the easy part. Finding places to visit away from the large tourist areas of Beijing and Shanghai can be a challenge. First, there’s the online research to wade through. Will the place you pick be safe? Will there be tours available? What’s the best hotel option? How will …
First impressions of China Feeling a little nervous, but also excited as we flew to China from Hanoi for a month of cultural exploration. China’s old and new history has always fascinated us and in three hours we would be there. Shanghai has two international airports, Pudong and Hongqiao, and with a population of 24 …