china

Entries Are Listed Chronologically, Newest to Oldest

Beyond Shangri-La

They say never judge a man until you’ve walked in his shoes. Well, I’m walking in a pair of Chinaman shoes and all I can tell you is that it’s damn cold. That may have more to do with the fact that I don’t have any socks on though.

Monday October 30, 2006

Catching Up

More than half-way through our time in China, we realize we still have a lot to see. The pace quickens: Nanjing; Xi’an; Chengdu; You know how the saying goes: What a long, strange trip it’s been…

Tuesday September 26, 2006

Yixing

The bus comes to a sudden stop along the side of the freeway and the driver motions for us to get off. Confused, we look around and, not seeing anything, remain seated. After more prodding, however, the driver convinces us to grab our packs and get off the bus.

Tuesday September 19, 2006

Sea of Bamboo

From Hangzhou, our next destination is Yixing. From a tip on another website, however, we decide to stop in the city of Anji, which lies in between Hangzhou and Yixing.

Friday September 15, 2006

Dragonwell

Garnered with confidence from our warm welcome in Shanghai, we board a train destined for Hangzhou. An old Chinese saying states, “Above there is heaven, below there is Suzhou and Hangzhou”. Heaven on Earth, as it was described to us in Shanghai. Heaven sounds nice, but we are here for the tea.

Thursday September 14, 2006

Taiji Cha

Previously we linked to a NY Times article featuring a unique teahouse in Hangzhou. Well, after a little bit of stumbling around, we happened upon that teahouse in an area known as History Street.

Wednesday September 6, 2006

Shanghai

A sudden lurch in my seat as the train pulls out of the station. It’s night. The train picks up speed and the lights from the houses outside the window begin to morph into a stream of warm light.

Friday September 1, 2006

Hong Kong

Having spent nearly two weeks in Kuala Lumpur, plus another week in Singapore, we thought we had Asian cities handled. Coming to Hong Kong, we figured it would just be more of the same: bright lights, busy streets, honking taxis, the like. In a sense, were right. Hong is all of this and more. Way more.

Sunday August 27, 2006

A Prelude To China

China is next on our itinerary. China. The word alone carries a weight that belies it’s short five letters. Previously we mentioned that China was at the heart of our decision to come to Asia. Here we’d like to explain why.

Saturday August 19, 2006