It seems that most of Magda’s favorite photography subjects during our trip start with letter ‘M’. Among them you can find ‘M&Ms’, ‘Monks’ and ‘Marcin’ (I hope). Usually we agree that these things are worth taking a photo of. But there is one M-word that awakes in us completely opposite feelings. It makes me feelContinue reading “‘M’ for ‘Minorities’”
Category Archives: China
Chinese Tastes
Let’s get a few facts straight at the beginning. Chinese food in China is a completely different story than Chinese food in Europe. I am not sure about the US or Australia, but have a suspicion it is beyond comparison as well. Talking about food in China, some people think it is boring, others simplyContinue reading “Chinese Tastes”
Got the Herb, Doc?
One of my Chinese souvenirs bought in Pingyao, Shanxi province, is an urn-like red box decorated with Dr.agons and floral ornaments. You can imagine Marcin’s disapproving look when I communicated to him I was going to carry my urn all around Asia in my backpack. I know this is utterly illogical, but as long asContinue reading “Got the Herb, Doc?”
Cormorants Under the Blue Sky of Yunnan
The last Chinese province on our itinerary waiting to be explored after Hong Kong and Macau was Yunnan. There was a brief thought of my other half to skip it and head off to Vietnam, but that would be clearly a deadly sin we would never forgive ourselves. For some travellers, Yunnan with its 25Continue reading “Cormorants Under the Blue Sky of Yunnan”
The Hell of Adventure
‘If you fail to plan, you plan to fail’. A person using a toilet in one of the hostels in Chengdu inscribed this saying on a toilet wall. But there was also somebody else who dared to disagree. He, or rather She, I think, crossed out the second part of the sentence and wrote instead:Continue reading “The Hell of Adventure”
With the Flow of Li River and Tourism Industry
Li River with its outworldish karst landscape inspired generations of poets, painters and musicians. Cameroon’s Avatar wouldn’t be the same but for the limestone rock formations emerging straight from the river level like gigantic mushrooms. No wonder this region is one of top attractions in the itinerary of all organised tours around China. And thisContinue reading “With the Flow of Li River and Tourism Industry”
Minorities in the Rice
They say it’s better to be in the minority. Afterall, the minority in the world has power, money and is educated. The mainstream is boring and predictable whereas subcultures or minority groups are colourful and vibrant. The minorities also get the publicity either good or bad, but certainly they are good for tourism. There isContinue reading “Minorities in the Rice”
Shaking Off the Red Dust
‘Travelling is hard work. Danger is not exciting, it’s just proof of your incompetence. Besides, the biggest danger anyone can face is a life behind the Iron Curtain.’ Ma Jian’s ‘Red Dust: A Path Through China’, an autobiographical novel published for the first time in the UK in 2001, is a Chinese version of Kerouac’sContinue reading “Shaking Off the Red Dust”
Mt Emei: Stairway to Heaven
Having explored Chengdu in Sichuan province for a day, we needed to decide how to spend the next 3 days before we caught our train to Guilin just before the Golden Week (the first week of October), which is the annual biggest migration of the Chinese not counting the Chinese New Year. Emeishan, the holyContinue reading “Mt Emei: Stairway to Heaven”
Two Ancient Cities and Two Epic Train Journeys
China’s two ancient cities: Pingyao and Xi’an, used to be important cultural and commercial centres. Being located along the route of the Silk Road, both cities thrived with the exchange of new ideas and goods. The ancient city walls surrounding Pingyao and Xi’an were built in the Ming dynasty and stood the test of timeContinue reading “Two Ancient Cities and Two Epic Train Journeys”
M&M's let loose 