Category Archives: Overseas

The Retrospective Tourists in Baisha China

Posted on November 7, 2014 by Ross

I’d harboured hopes of a trip to Jade Dragon Snow Mountain up the valley from Lijiang but the cloudy weather ruled that out. There is a gondola or chair lift or something up to 4,500m and then you can walk … Continue reading →

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Lots of Tourists in Lijiang China

Posted on November 5, 2014 by Ross

Lijiang Old Town is one of the big tourist draw-cards in Yunnan Province and one of the must-see places in China. Lijiang city is a small city of 150,000 people at 2,400m above sea level. We had chosen to stay … Continue reading →

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The Interesting Surprises of Travel – Jianchuan

Posted on November 3, 2014 by Ross

Some of the best things about travel are surprises. Some days are unknowns, especially for we who organise ourselves. Some days are travel days, getting from somewhere to somewhere else; maybe with transfers and changes along the way. Our day getting … Continue reading →

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Market Day in Shaxi China

Posted on October 31, 2014 by Ross

Our last day in Sideng village (in the Shaxi valley of Yunnan province in China) was market day. So we were keen to make the most of it. It turns out there are two markets, one for produce and one for livestock. … Continue reading →

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Templing at Shibao Mountain – Shaxi

Posted on October 30, 2014 by Ross

The day after our cycling expedition we went in search of some mountain temples to the north of Sideng village in Shaxi. As with most of our outings in China, we didn’t know much about it before we started

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Cycle Search for the White Dragon Pool – Shaxi

Posted on October 29, 2014 by Ross

“Just a minute, it’s stopped raining; guys are swimming, guys are sailing…” So goes a song from the Sunday morning Children’s Request Session on the radio way back in the olden days. It often plays in my head when the weather lets … Continue reading →

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Showers in Shaxi and The Trouble With Tourists

Posted on October 27, 2014 by Ross

We had hoped to get on some bikes on our first full day in Sideng village in Shaxi, Yunnan province. Except we woke to rain which wasn’t in the plan.  We had fun having Cato’s Inn breakfast – sort of … Continue reading →

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Heading Up The Highway – To Sideng Village Shaxi

Posted on October 18, 2014 by Ross

Time to confess. We are travelers who follow Lonely Planet guidebooks. We realise that Real Travellers look down on us, faithfully following the words as writ, clutching our chunky little books as we try to navigate our foreign adventures. We … Continue reading →

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Flying (Sort Of) Up Mt Cangshan – Dali

Posted on October 17, 2014 by Ross

We had known that Dali in Yunnan province in China was near a lake, Erhai Lake to be exact. But we hadn’t appreciated that it was underneath a sizeable mountain range called Mt Cangshan. Faced with a choice of lake … Continue reading →

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Discovering Dali Old Town – China

Posted on October 15, 2014 by Ross

Night trains that arrive before the day starts are a bit awkward. Where the heck are you supposed to go? We were in the carpark/taxi park area of the Xiaguan Railway Station. It was 5am and still firmly dark.

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Night Train Hard Sleeping – Kunming to Dali

Posted on October 14, 2014 by Ross

So there we were, rosy and relaxed in the plane from Shanghai to Kunming. Trying to work out how we’d been so lucky to even get there. We knew we owed the God of Travel. After that we always turned … Continue reading →

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How Not To Catch An Aeroplane – Shanghai-Style

Posted on October 12, 2014 by Ross

Some days you don’t know it when you wake up but you are going to be very unlucky or very lucky. Our day leaving Shanghai turned out to be one of those. It started out nice and relaxed. We went … Continue reading →

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Shanghai – Seeing Sights

Posted on October 4, 2014 by Ross

The day after our big day in Shanghai was wetter and cooler. We had a second day on our hop-on bus pass and set off to explore some more. We linked up with a bus on the temple/shopping route, and … Continue reading →

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A Big Day Out in Big Shanghai

Posted on September 29, 2014 by Ross

Our first full day in China didn’t start so well, and then ended a little bizarrely. But mostly it was amazing; an eye-opener – Shanghai is a modern city with lots of surprises. We had a bit of a loose plan … Continue reading →

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China Reconstructed – Part 1

Posted on September 26, 2014 by Ross

Our China adventure started in Shanghai. Largest city in China and one of the largest in the world. Air New Zealand flew us there nicely and we even managed a few hours sleep. And arrived at the very civilised time … Continue reading →

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