Travel experiences across the world
I couldn’t have wished for better weather today, by which I mean it was around 23°C and cloudy. The ideal weather to be out and about! Today’s first plan was to spend Sunday morning in the park… in People’s Park! I think every Chinese city has a People’s Park or People’s Square, and Chengdu’s is… Continue reading People’s Park, Wenshu Monastery, Panda Base
Our first full day in Chengdu began, surprisingly, with rain! A gloomy, misty rain that seemed imported from the Basque Country. That didn’t bother me in the slightest, not just because nostalgia and climate change have made me appreciate rain when it comes, but because my plan for the morning was to hop on a… Continue reading Chengdu Museum, Kuanzhai Alley
This morning we bid farewell to a gloomy Xian and took the train to our next destination: the capital of Sichuan, the city of pandas, the Mecca of spicy food: Chengdu! The train journey was pretty much the same as the one to Xian (it is, in fact, the same line): about one hour’s ride… Continue reading Train to Chengdu, Taikoo Li
Today’s top priority was the visit to the Terracotta Warriors in the afternoon, so in order to save up some energy for that I made a lightweight plan for the morning: a visit to Daci’en Temple, home to the Big Wild Goose Pagoda (not to be confused with the Small Wild Goose Pagoda, which is… Continue reading Big Wild Goose Pagoda, The Terracotta Warriors
Day One of Two in Xian and I am SPENT. By the end of this trip they’ll have to roll me onto the plane with a wheelbarrow! Today’s plan was to visit the old town of Xian, that is, the square area within the old city walls, and leave the famous Terracotta Army for tomorrow.… Continue reading Xian Old City
My legs are GONE. I just wanted you to know that. After climbing up and down the entire Great Wall of China like a mountain goat, my calves are so sore from first thing in the morning that I just go “Ow ow ow” every time I have to walk down the stairs. Because of… Continue reading Sanlitun, train to Xian
Today’s pièce de résistance was no less than The Great Wall of China! I left it for today because it’s just about the only attraction that opens on Mondays, but like with the Forbidden City, in order to avoid the crowds I wanted to visit in the afternoon, so for the morning we went hutong… Continue reading Shichahai, The Great Wall of China
My second day in Beijing! I seriously feel like I’ve been here a week. I don’t even remember what I used to do for a living. Today was another ambitious itinerary, albeit a simple one with only two items on it. First, the Summer Palace, a vast retreat for the poor emperors who got bored… Continue reading The Summer Palace, the Temple of Heaven
Our first full day in Beijing, and it was intense! I feel like I’ve been here at least four days already. The main item in today’s itinerary was to visit the Forbidden City, and I usually start the day with the most important visit first, to make sure I’ll have time for everything and to… Continue reading The Lama Temple, The Forbidden City
This one has been a long time coming: I am going to China! I think I say this every year, but this is the trip that I have planned the most, starting the earliest, and to the greatest detail, which is saying something. For starters, I have been learning Chinese for one year now, so… Continue reading Arrival in Beijing, Qianmen
This Is A Lake 