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 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 [...]
August 5th, 2010 | by admin | published in latest posts, things to do & see
How times change! A few years ago you would not have been able to drag me near this place. For me traveling was about chasing the so-called truly authentic experience where these types of tourism sights just don’t feature.
Nowadays though it is a different story. I haven’t totally lost my traveling roots and I still [...]
July 28th, 2010 | by admin | published in latest posts, other stuff
Being absolutely fascinated with the elongated earlobes of the Kelabit people meant I had a very difficult time drawing my gaze away from the real thing! Sitting around the fireplace, enjoying a cup of tea while sucking on one of the famous super juicy and sweet Bario pineapples was an amazing opportunity to ask all [...]
July 25th, 2010 | by admin | published in latest posts, places
This tiny town stranded deep in the Borneo interior near the Kalimantan border is surrounded by mountains and jungle. It is also the home of the Kelabit people, one of Sarawak’s smallest ethnic minority groups.
With no where near enough time to spare we booked our flights from Miri which usually has twice daily flights on [...]
June 22nd, 2009 | by admin | published in latest posts, places, things to do & see
Arriving in Longli at the end of a long day I hadn’t expected to come across such a treasure. This ancient garrison sits in the middle of a plain in Eastern Guizhou. A feeling of remoteness seems to hang over the village which is odd given it is less than 30klms from Liping airport.
Back in [...]
June 20th, 2009 | by admin | published in latest posts, places, things to do & see
The Diping Wind and Rain bridge is the largest of its kind in Guizhou.
Some 56 metres in length, the bridge was first built in 1894 during the Qing dynasty (1644-1911). This classic example of Dong Minority architecture was destroyed by fire in 1956, a copy was rebuilt in 1964. In 2004 the bridge suffered further [...]
June 18th, 2009 | by admin | published in latest posts, places, things to do & see
The first thing that captured my attention on the internet for Dali Dong village in South Eastern Guizhou was the phrase “untouched by tourism”. Of course I was a bit of a skeptic as I found this phrase at least 3 times on various travel and tour websites. But it was on our way, so [...]
June 16th, 2009 | by admin | published in latest posts, places, things to do & see
As you wind your way along the banks of the Duliu River, between Congjiang and Rongjiang in South Eastern Guizhou, you get great views and a tiny glimpse into local river life. Villages located on the opposite bank often don’t have road access so it is not unusual to see passengers being ferried across in [...]
June 15th, 2009 | by admin | published in latest posts, places, things to do & see
Despite Basha’s close proximity to Congjiang (south eastern Guizhou) it remains an excellent place to experience a taste of the Miao ethnic minority culture.
Said to be descendants of the 4,000 year old Chiyou army this village certainly seems to have retained many of its traditions including a gun salute that was performed at weddings. [...]
