If you could transport a Toyota Landcruiser back in time to the days of Old West, and then on the “road” conditions of that time drive it across the desert, prairies, and finally across the Rocky Mountains; then that is how I would describe my trip from Lhasa to the Nepalese border.  The scenery on the five day trip was both mind numbingly boring and jaw dropping beautiful.  The one constant was absolutely disgustingly poor excuses for hotel...

I am alive and very well.  I am in Lhasa, Tibet at the moment and should be heading to Nepal on 5-6 day jeep tour in the morning.  With stops for lakes and monasteries along the way the trip as well as the countryside in general should be amazing.  While I am on the road, I will probably not have any email access for about a week or so.  We¡¯ll see.  The traditional Tibetan part of Lhasa is amazingly beautiful.  This is in...

As you may remember my travel plans have been shifting almost from the very beginning.  My recent trip to the Yunnan Province in order to see Tiger Leaping Gorge is no exception.  When I first started, I had no intention of returning to China after my initial visit in July, but boy am I glad that I did.  The Yunnan Province was not only stunning, but also it gave me a starting point for my current detours, Tibet (now) and Nepal (10-12 days from now...

Like Shanghai, I had no intention of going to Xiamen when I originally planned my trip. Unlike Shanghai, I am really glad that I went to Xiamen and Gulongyu Island. Gulongyu Island not only has the laid back atmosphere that most islands do, but due to its history as a Portuguese Imperial settlement Gulongyu also boasts some wonderful Mediterranean Architecture. This place is a haven for tourists and well worth it to boot. Presently almost all of the...

If you read my Nanjing entry then you know that I was having a bit of bad luck. Well the streak continued on my first day in Huangshan, but fortunately I had a strong and wonderful finish to my trip to one of China's Yellow Mountains, Huangshan. To get things off on the right foot, I manage to nearly miss my stop in Huangshan. I was the only one left on the train when I showed my ticket to the staff member. I did not have to know Chinese to realize that s...