See it before it’s gone. Today it’s Afghanistan. Where could it be tomorrow? If I have all the time and the money, I would very much like to see fast disappearing places, cultures and peoples before they are gone. Change isn’t always bad. Take Indonesia for example. 30 years ago when I went to Indonesia, […]
Comrade Shi Bing Feng chooses to just lie flat. Like many working class people in China, he has been completely “outclassed” by the property market in China. He chooses to 躺平 or lie flat instead of enslaving himself to the system. He travels around China to show us another side of the country not known […]
Many travellers could be under the impression that livestock trading markets can only be seen in Xinjiang. Well, this may not be as big as Kashgar’s livestock market, but it’s still rather interesting as few tourists are intrepid enough to explore outside the usual Sichuan attractions like Jiuzhaigou and the rewards are simply amazing. This […]
For the longest time, I’m been waiting for an app that could map out a virtual climb of a mountain on the stairs at home. Earlier on, I’ve tried Stridekick, but this app is only good for counting horizontal steps. It only registered about 3,000 steps after I’ve done 5 laps on my apartment block. […]
China’s Tragic Ultramarathon: 21 runners Dead At 0900 on 22 May 2021, the 4th Yellow River Stone Forest Marathon was flagged off. It was a 100km cross-country race over rugged terrain, being part of the Rural Revitalisation Health Run organised by Jingtai County, Baiyin City, Gansu Province, China. The starting point was Yellow River Stone […]
Here’s a part of China that looks more like Nepal. It’s actually a remote village in Wuxi County less than 300km from bustling first tier Chinese city, Chongqing. You can see from the beginning of the video that it’s a world apart from the glitz and glamour of Chongqing 山高皇帝远 – far from government supervision […]
Sky burial – humans and trucks. Sky burial is a grisly Tibetan ritual in which the bodies of the deceased are chopped up at the burial site. The flesh is sliced off, the bones are crushed and fed to the vultures. Some see the vultures as heavenly messengers that carry the “souls” of the dead […]
when travellers steal from other travellers Many people who don’t know me well are aghast when they hear that I travel solo. Why take the trouble? How do I ensure my own safety? Well, the fact is, nobody can ensure your safety even if you’re on a luxury cruise. Ask the ghosts on the Titanic. […]
One of the few countries open to tourists during the Covid-19 pandemic is Pakistan. After closing its borders to foreign tourists in March 2020, the country officially reopened its borders on 5th October 2020. While all incoming travellers should have travel insurance the covers COVID-19 for the duration of their trip to Pakistan, those who […]
It was June 1974. The Cold War was entering a phase of detente when there was a relaxation of strained relations through verbal communication. The USSR reached out to the world by holding an international mountaineering gathering to climb Lenin Peak 7134m located between the former Soviet states of Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan. The peak is […]