I’m not usually a fan of big cities. Don’t get me wrong- there are some fantastic cities I’ve been to that I’ve enjoyed and some I could even picture calling “home” for a while. But, when traveling, I find that it’s the smaller towns, villages, and off-the-beaten path spots that are usually the most interesting places to visit. These are
Read moreAfter a month of traveling through China, I’ve come to a very profound observation: China is weird. There is no denying that. It is a big, sprawling, dirty, heaping orderly mess of a country. So, I thought I’d share some weird things I have noticed during my time here 1. Of all the western products and ideas that have made
Read moreDuring the few weeks I’ve been in China, I’ve gone on a couple great treks. My first one was through the beautiful lush rice terraces of Longsheng outside Guilin, and the other was the Tiger Leaping Gorge trek in the Yunnan province, a three hour bus ride outside of Lijiang. The Tiger Leaping Gorge trek is one of the most
Read moreAfter spending my first week and a half in China attempting to navigate through insanely crowded and polluted cities, I was looking forward to spending some time kicking back and relaxing in Yangshuo. Yangshuo is about an hour and a half south of Guilin by bus and is a much smaller town, by Chinese standards. I noticed it was difficult
Read moreAt the risk of sounding overly gluttonous, I have to admit that I’ve been in China for just over two weeks and have had five massages. Not only are they dirt cheap (five dollars for an hour), but there are so many varieties and each time is a totally different and amusing experience. The first time I got one was
Read moreOne of my favorite parts about traveling to other countries are the English (mis)interpretations. I always love reading road signs and store fronts with butchered English translations. Lucky for me, I didn’t even have to wait until I landed for some amusement of this sort. It began as soon as I boarded the aircraft in Seattle, next stop China. With
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My Road, My Life 