China

China
China travel

Hiking in Xingping, Guangxi

                      I often think back to more “innocent” times, such as when I used to travel in China. Several years ago when I was working in Hong Kong, I decided to go to Guangxi for Christmas. Guangxi’s karst mountains and rivers are some of China’s […]

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Book reviews
Books

Book review- Around the World in 80 Trains – A 45,000-Mile Adventure

Monisha Rajesh travels the world in 80 trains in an impressive, intrepid inter-continental journey, criss-crossing Europe and Asia twice, and going around North America solely by train. Having done the same in India a few years ago (and also written a book about that), Rajesh is an accomplished pro at train travel. With her fiance […]

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Huangshan
China
China travel
Hikes
Travel

Hiking Huangshan, one of China’s most beautiful mountains

Back when I lived in Beijing, I made a spontaneous decision one week before Chinese New Year to travel to Huangshan, one of China’s most famous mountains. In hindsight, it was a foolish decision and I learned my lesson not to travel to places at the exact same time as multitudes of Chinese. Besides Huangshan, […]

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Summer Palace, Beijing
China travel
Cities
Photo roundups
Travel

Beijing photo roundup

Beijing is a city that is both incredible and a frustrating city. I’ve experienced this city as a tourist and a resident. Needless to say, I’ve visited a lot of famous historic and modern sites in the city, as well as even natural scenic sites (yes, those exist in Beijing). When it’s not smoggy due […]

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Yonghegong Lama Temple, Beijing
China travel
Cities
Travel

Visiting Beijing’s Yonghegong Lama Temple and Confucius Temple

Beijing has so many famous sites that it’s not surprising that its largest temple is somewhat overlooked. But the Yonghegong Lama Temple is still impressive, being a rare instance of a Tibetan Buddhist building that blends both Tibetan and Chinese Buddhist architectural aspects. Built in the late 17th century during the Qing Dynasty, Yonghegong was […]

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Baotu Spring, Jinan, China
China
China travel
Travel

Visiting Jinan’s Baotu Spring in China

Jinan is the capital of Shandong Province and well-known in China for its natural springs but a modest tourist destination, even in its own province which also boasts the coastal city of Qingdao and Taishan, one of China’s most famous mountains. Shandong is also where the philosopher Confucius was born; his hometown Qufu is also […]

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Islamic Arts Museum Malaysia
Museums
Travel

Asia’s top history museums

Asia is a continent with thousands of years of history, with several of the oldest civilizations in the world. So it is not surprising that there are some great history museums in the region. While most people know about the Louvre, the British Museum and the Smithsonian museums, Asian museums don’t have similar name recognition, […]

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