For my first full day in Taipei I thought I’d jump straight into some history and culture at the National Palace Museum. I knew some general Taiwanese history (Chiang Kai-Shek, Chinese civil war and all that) but I wanted to learn more and put it all in context. The clue’s in the name because the National … More Taipei’s National Palace Museum
After 3 rather surreal weeks in China, I headed off to tiny neighbouring Taiwan. This would be my first visit and I was excited to see how Taiwan compared with China. Taiwan was probably the country on my summer itinerary that I had the least preconceptions about. I knew some key Taiwanese history and recent politics but knew little about it’s culture … More Hello Taipei! My first Taiwan visit.
As interesting an experience as China was, it was obviously not without it’s downfalls so I’ve put together a list of tips I wish someone had given me before I went that would have made my life in China a lot easier and a little less bewildering. I had read some of these tips before and honestly wished I’d taken them more seriously. These are less like tips, more like ‘mandatory survival advice’!! Heed my words carefully! … More How to survive China: 12 crucial tips
Ever since I was 15 years old I’ve had an insatiable wish to go to China. 7 years later my wish came true. During my three weeks in China I definitely experienced my fair share of culture shock. I’d be lying if I said China met all my hopes and expectations but, overall, I enjoyed the experiences I … More Highlights from 3 weeks in China
If you’ve only recently tuned in, this is my third and final China ‘wrap-up’ post. (I’ve already done ones on Beijing and Shanghai so check them out). When I started this trip in July, one thing I had in mind was to see where else in the world I could potentially happily live. Each city I travel … More Yangshuo wrap-up: Can I live here?
In Yangshuo I stayed at the Sudderstreet Guesthouse which offers guests cheap/free daily bicycle renting. The bikes cost around 10RMB a day to rent and after 5pm they are free. (You can also rent electric bikes for a bit more money). The bikes were well used as it’s about a 10 minute bike ride from the guest house to the town … More Cycling and strolling through Yangshuo
There were five things I absolutely wanted to do and see in my week in Yangshuo, Guilin: Longji rice terraces and Ping’an Village Li River hike Bamboo raft ride Countryside cycle tour Cormorant fishing But because I was an idiot and didn’t play ahead properly/look at a map (in addition to new new government rules about bamboo rafting), … More Yangshuo: 1-day cycle tour
If you google ‘Guilin’, every other photo you see will probably have a cormorant fisherman in it, including the trademark straw hat. This was one thing I definitely wanted to do and I jumped at the chance when I found out my guesthouse organised nearby evening cormorant fishing experiences. Cormorant fishing is an ancient method of fishing using a trained … More Yangshuo: Cormorant fishing spectacle
I had just spent eight days in glorious Shanghai, which just wasn’t long enough for me. Weirdly, I’d heard people recommend staying no more than 4 or 5 days in Shanghai. Maybe it’s just my love of big cities but I could have happily stayed in Shanghai for another week doing nothing in particular. But … More Yangshuo: Trading skyscrapers for mountains
After a pretty, errr, challenging week in Beijing and intro to China, (almost being homeless, train ticket stress, communication difficulties), you can imagine I was skipping in delight about the idea of arriving in metropolitan Shanghai. And it didn’t disappoint! Let’s see how it fared. (I’ve only employed a ‘rating out of 5’ system so I have an easy way to rank each city! I’m not wanting to judge anyone else’s homeland harshly!) … More Shanghai wrap-up: Can I live here?
Hi, I'm Emma 