Beyond Taiwan Our flight to Macau was straightforward. Macau is a small satellite State which once belonged to Portugal but now is part of China. However, it is still a separate State with its own currency. You will find Macau on the coast of China on the edge of a bay opposite Hong Kong. When you arrive there they casually look at your passport and enter the details on their computer and that's it. No landing card to fill in or stamp in your passport – bu...

Day 45 June 4 2013 The Bogie men Beijing- Erlian (Mongolian Border) Although a lot has happened today I feel there is not much to tell when I sit down and write this down. By 6 am I had left the hostel and travelled to Beijing's main railway station. Al went smooth as there were not that many people about. The square in front of the main railway station is massive. I had the feeling that many people had camped outside to get onto early domestic trains. As wit...

Day 44 June 3 2013 Lonely Planet No idea why they call the series of Books " Lonely Planet”, especially the China edition as "Lonely is a term which is difficult to use in China. Beijing being is a city of about 16 million people I have been told and China in general with a population of 1.3 billion and counting, is definitely not a Lonely Planet here. I will come back to the Lonely Planet later. This morning I had a chance to try out the Beijing unde...

Day 43 2 June 2013 The Great Wall The best way to visit some places is to book a tour. Just relax and enjoy the ride. This one included breakfast and lunch as well. A mini bus picked two other travelers and me up at 8 am for the two hour drive to Mutianyu, north of Beijing. The Chinese wall was built over two thousand years ago and runs from Liaoning province all the way to the Goby dessert. They actually started the build the wall in sections around 220 BC O...