The chaos of Tokyo crashed over me in waves when I first landed in Japan. I had booked my tickets on a whim—I found an affordable last-minute flight and jumped at the opportunity. Luckily, I had time to secure a Japan Rail pass, which allowed me to zip around the country on the speedy Shinkansen …
Murmurings from the large audience hushed as a clear and open darkness dropped over our outdoor theatre. The silence was far from absolute though as a breeze swept nearby leaves into a quiet song, a gentle lapping of water, and eventually the sweet notes of a string instrument drifting up from the distant water as the …
China was a country that challenged me as a traveler, there were food issues, language barriers, and physical limitations because the country is huge. China is a seriously large country with lyrically pretty cityscapes and landscapes; from the wide multi-lane highways of impersonal Beijing to the sparkle of Shanghai, as is often the case, it’s …
Color me pleasantly surprised by days wandering the tidy and tall streets of Shanghai, China. I rarely love big cities; as a product of America’s sprawling suburbia, the busy sidewalks, gridlock traffic and the lack of greenery and earth cause overwhelm within a day or two. Couple this with a penchant toward minimalism and the …
My stomach was growling after hours spent roaming the palaces and gardens China’s ancient Forbidden City. Hungry, we nearly missed the hole-in-the-wall dumpling shop because of the steam fogging up the glass, almost obscuring the overflow of diners wedged around the shop’s tiny tables. It was a standing-room-only establishment, and my friends and I took …
I feared entering China—and not because I didn’t think they’d let me in. My visa was expensive (US $150), but easy to obtain. It was the internet. Back when I first visited, everything I read focused on China’s “Great Firewall”—how the government blocks access to huge parts of the internet. And for me, that wasn’t …
As nonchalance creeps into my travels, I find myself in a battle to find a way to love every new moment on the road. I arrived in China with more than enough to explore. But also, since I live on the road—like a spider building a web—my thoughts spiraled: “Is this worth my time? Could …
Sharp, cold air hit my face as the first views of the Great Wall of China appeared over the treetops. The chairlift crested the forested hillside and shot straight ahead toward the looming rock wall. It’s spring in China and warm air is still months away. The mountains are barren, just a hint of dull green …