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 [...]
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 [...]
September 3rd, 2011 | by admin | published in eating & drinking
If there is one thing you may have noticed about me and food is that I love Dim Sum! Of course there are so many fantastic Chinese dishes that I miss now that I am back in Melbourne for a while but I can say without a doubt that the Shark Fin House has sensational [...]
August 25th, 2011 | by admin | published in places
Surrounded by river on 3 sides this seemingly lost ancient hamlet ensconced amongst lush fields of sugar cane and banana plantations just 30 kilometres from Nanning is packed with mementos of a colourful past.
Founded in the Song Dynasty (960 – 1279 AD) Yangmei slowly developed over hundreds of years finally transitioning into a prosperous river [...]
May 5th, 2011 | by admin | published in eating & drinking
I have written about dim sum on this site a few times now and actually, if I haven’t mentioned it already – I love dim sum!!!
So the opportunity to sit around eating dim sum and drinking tea in the city that spawned these tasty little morsels was just too much to resist. Especially, since I [...]
December 3rd, 2010 | by admin | published in latest posts, things to do & see
I have literally passed through Guangzhou dozens of times but have been yet to discover any real charm amongst its mammoth sized urban sprawl.
This all changed when I stumbled upon a few classic streets in the city’s old quarter which have thoroughly revived my interest. The stunning qilou that line the peaceful En Ning Street [...]
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 [...]
May 25th, 2010 | by admin | published in latest posts, on the road
Although this was my first visit to the Philippines I can confidently say it won’t be my last. A huge surprise was just how close it is to Hong Kong. (My flight from Shanghai to HK was longer than the HK to Manila section.)
Flights to Boracay, despite being an easy 1 hour or so on [...]
January 1st, 2010 | by admin | published in latest posts, places
It has been 10 years since I last visited Hanoi and I must say it was great to be back.
The city seems to retain a traditional vitality and wonderful atmosphere in the old quarter with so many street vendors carting colourful baskets of fruit and flowers amongst the rustic French colonial architecture lining the labyrinth [...]
