December 4th, 2011 | by admin | published in featured, remembering..., things to do & see
How fantastic was this Tibetan nomad festival in Langmusi, China on International Children’s Day, 2002.
I was incredibly fortunate to experience this event with one of my groups and it was definitely worth arriving after 2am in the morning for. We had broken down on the grasslands in the middle of Sichuan the previous day and [...]
December 3rd, 2011 | by admin | published in featured, latest posts, remembering..., things to do & see
Jiuzhaigou is scenically one of the most spectacular landscapes I have ever seen, however I have realised I need to qualify this a little. I grew up in an area that was very flat and dry, so in a way I find mountains, snow and the whole alpine scenery thing to be all quite exotic.
Jiuzhaigou [...]
December 2nd, 2011 | by admin | published in featured, latest posts, places
Straddling the Sichuan / Gansu border is the simply wonderful little village of Langmusi.
The first time I visited this remote outpost was back in 1997. The location is simply stunning, located up on the sweeping grasslands of the Tibetan plateau.
There have been big changes since I first visited, apparently the roads in town have now [...]
December 1st, 2011 | by admin | published in featured, places, remembering...
The old city of Pingyao is simply enchanting – well it certainly was when I visited there during 2001 and 2002.
As with most towns and cities the best time to be out and about with a camera was from 6am onwards as this was the best time to catch a real glimpse of local life.
Bursting [...]
October 18th, 2011 | by admin | published in featured, places
Hailing from Southern Vietnam with saints that include Victor Hugo, the ‘father of modern China’, Sun Yat-sen and Vietnamese Poet, Nguyen Binh Khiem, the colourful Cao Dai have a set of beliefs and teachings that seem to be a bit of a mish-mash of all the major religions.
Founded less than 100 years ago on the [...]
November 28th, 2010 | by admin | published in featured, latest posts, things to do & see
A Qing dynasty relic of Lingnan culture which seems to have survived the cultural revolution relatively unscathed now houses the Guangdong Museum of Folk Art in a few of its many halls.
Elaborately carved Chaozhou styled wooden doors depict classic Chinese scenes while mythological characters feature in the colourful, intricate lime sculptures that grace the eaves [...]
November 29th, 2009 | by admin | published in featured, latest posts, places, things to do & see
The magnificent Detian Falls located on the China/Vietnam border shines with vivid, jewel like colour and is definitely worth a visit.
So much more attractive than just your standard trickle of water running over a cliff, Detian is some 200 metres wide and has three tiers of water rushing over its various edges. [...]
