Yes, You Really Do Need A Week in Beijing
It is China travel lore that “you need a week in Beijing”. Now, given we travel at a pace so slow it’s verging on glacial,...
Category: Places
The Friday Photo: Great Wall of China
Even after the Terracotta Warriors and Tiger Leaping Gorge, the Great Wall of China really does take your breath away. First built more than two...
"Home" for Christmas
After almost two years travelling Asia, we’re back in the UK for Christmas. On a lot of levels, I’ve been anxious about this for a...
The Friday Photo: Temple of Heaven
Of all the great architecture in Beijing, the capital of Chinese emperors from Kublai Khan onwards, the Temple of Heaven is probably the most accessible....
How to Take the Train in China
1: Don’t Try And Buy Tickets On The Day For anything but commuter routes, buy train tickets a couple of days ahead of when you...
The Friday Photo: Christmas Lights, Hong Kong Style
Come Christmas time, the skyscrapers that line Hong Kong’s harbourfront compete for the best lightshows — perhaps the biggest Christmas lights on earth. But the...
The Beauty of Tibet on Horseback
The mountains outside Songpan, where northern China gives way to old Tibet, are some of the most beautiful we’ve visited. Alpine meadows give onto vistas...
China Scam Count: Grifters 3, Us 4
Please don’t get me wrong. I love China. But, over the last couple of weeks, it’s really felt as though China’s not loving me back....
The Unspeakable Horror of Chinese Bathrooms
Before we came to China, I thought we had bathroom chops enough to cope with anything the world had to offer. And then… Well, then...
Camping in a Winter Wonderland
I watch in mounting horror as Martin heads off into the mountains, leaving our tent flaccid on the ground, and Z endeavours to start a...