While trekking long-lost regions of the world, an intrepid traveler such as yourself frequently ponders what piece of equipment is of utmost importance to your travels, that item of indivisible necessity that you would prefer to give your life for than continue forward on the journey without its help...

Just wanted to write a quick update, primarily for my mother to know that indeed I'm still alive and well.

After staying two days in Jilin City (story to be written soon), we decided to hop a bus to nearby Yanji, capital of China's Korean Autonomous Region. Tucked up between Russia and our true motive...

The morning was chilly on top of the mountain, a rather crisp start to the New Year. Zhangjiajie was experiencing a bit of a cold spell, not the most desirable of conditions when your hotel room is devoid of both heat and heavy blankets. But then again, it wasn’t really much of a hotel in the...

Senlin Gongyuan was a ghost town this morning. Known as Zhangjiajie Village by some, the small town at the base of Wulingyuan Nature Reserve seemed to be more a setting for some bad horror movie than the booming tourist spot it claimed to be. Chinese New Year was fast approaching, and it seemed the entire...

Somebody has to be up there planning these things...

Following my death-defying motorcycle down to Yangshuo, I awoke the next morning with a sense of both excitement and confusion. I was ready to get out and explore the area, but hadn't done much research and didn't know where to head first. So I...

The day began as most do around here - with peanut butter pancakes. Naturally, I asked for a side of chocolate for dipping, along with the freshest glass of pineapple juice this side of Bhutan. Once I had my fill of paradise on a plate, I set off for my real goal of the day.

One of my desires...

Every bone in my body ached. I had just spent the better half of my day enjoying what was the tail end of a 31-hour train ride from Chengdu to Liuzhou. I was hungry too. Two bowls of Kang Shifu noodles just don't seem to do the trick like Top Ramen does.

I made my way out of the train station,...

A loud city clock chimed early in the Longsheng air, awaking me fifteen minutes before my scheduled 7 am alarm. A quick look around happily revealed nothing much had changed during the night. Yes, still in an exceedingly basic hotel room, devoid of any sense of homeliness. And yes, the city outside still...