The third and final walking tour I did with Tour Me Away was their evening Longshan Temple Tour. (I’d previously been on their Old Town Taipei tour and Taipei Chill Out tour). If you’ve had a nosey around my blog before then you’ll know I’m kind of obsessed with temples. To be honest, I’m not … More Taipei’s Longshan Temple tour: Buddhism 101
In my last post I talked about Taipei’s difficult past and the things I had learnt in the first part of my ‘Old Town Taipei’ walking tour. Our guides from Tour Me Away really knew their stuff and were excellent in retelling history in an engaging way. After our brief history lesson in 228 Peace Memorial Park … More Old Town Taipei walking tour
The day after going on Tour Me Away’s ‘Taipei Chillout Tour’, and learning about Chiang Kai-Shek and his Memorial Hall, I went on their ‘Old Town Taipei Tour’. My group on the first tour was really big and I met so many interesting people from a German couple on holiday, a group of American teachers who’d just … More Taipei: 228 Peace Memorial Park
My first walking tour of Taipei by Tour Me Away ended at the Chiang Kai-shek Memorial Hall and I went with another British girl from my tour group to see the changing of the guard inside. The Memorial Hall was also where I began to get a true understanding of Taiwan’s painful modern history. The changing of the guard reminded me of the … More Taipei: Chiang Kai-Shek Memorial Hall and learning from history
The thing I was probably most excited about doing in Taipei was a series of free walking tours I’d found out about online, organised by Tour Me Away. It seemed like the perfect way to meet locals, as well as fellow tourists, plus I absolutely love learning about other countries’ history and culture. Spolier alert: … More Taipei: Free Walking Tours
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
Hi, I'm Emma 