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 …
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. No, it was the thought of being without internet access. All I had read about in the news when I first visited in 2011 centered on the Great Firewall of China and …
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 and there was so much to explore. But also, since I live on the road, like a spider building a web, my thoughts spiraled: “Is this worth …
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 …
I wrote this post two weeks ago as I was sitting on the airplane on my way to China and feel like it’s a great way to kick off the coming posts about my whirlwind travels through Beijing, Yangshuo, and Shanghai. Groggy from the rude awakening blaring out of my alarm clock at 4:30am it …