i like an extra slice of cheese on my big macs. its not a big thing, its never been an issue before. its not much to ask and i dont mind paying an extra 1 yuan / 10 cents for it. well it wasnt a problem until i left beijing anyways. i went to the mac donalds in xian in person (the mac donalds of the 5 chicken burgers fame) and asked for a big ma...

In order to continue my journey south I had to opt for air transport as the rail lines had been disrupted by the quake. Having successfully navigated my way to the correct flight (believe me, not such an easy task when you don't speak a word of Mandarin) I sat ready for take off with thoughts of a 'Final Destination' scenario in my head i.e. hav...

Well I was pretty glad I bought my laptop in the end as it gave me things to do during my 5 hour wait in Bangkok for my China Eastern flight to Kunming. It took a little bit of searching around to find the best free wifi spots but then I was able to speak to Matt and Kim back home on Skype and Messenger and all sorts...in between running to Burg...

Our longest train journey yet and we arrive in Kunming at 9:30am after setting off yesterday at 13:00. The Chinese train experience isn't too bad when you get used to it. As a group we have adopted a more flexible approach with people either chatting, sleeping, or reading as they prefer as opposed to the frenetic socialising familiar on the earl...

Hung over and sun burnt after a week of thrills and spills and alcohol in Guilin and Yangshou, I dragged my weary limbs aboard a train headed for the more relaxed atmosphere of Yunnan Province. Perched up at an altittude of 2000m, Yunnan presents a contrast in both scenery and climate to steamy subtropical Guangxi. The jagged limestone karsts ar...

We awoke in Dali to rain. That solidified our decision to pack it up and head to warmer climes. We grabbed our laundry (which was still damp) and hopped on a bus to Xiaguan (Dali City), about twenty minutes away. Xiaguan is also called Dali; as seems to be common in China, one city is considered the old city and one is the new. New Dali is much ...

Today we had to wait around Kunming waiting for our bus to depart. It was fortunate we did miss the first bus because we met a very interesting person. Lilly is a chinese girl, from Kunming. Her english is excellent and she loves talking to foreigners, partly to practice her english and partly because she is fascinated by the world outside China...

I'm leaving Shanghai for Kunming tonight to start my two week tour of Western China. We'll be leaving Shanghai at approximately 5 pm, and arriving after a 2 and 1/2 hour flight. I hope they have internet in Kunming.

Well, the whole of Yunnan is pretty popular among backpackers, and just from our short time here, I can see why. The city is so relaxxxed and the weather was pretty much perfect. We were actually planning on over & up to Dali & Lijiang, but that was canceled on account of white people (too many of them). Well, that was my reason---I'm not in Chi...

The days and the weeks and the months of sitting in limbo are over. The doldrums have past, the wind is blowing, and, as Bob says, "the answer, my friend, is blowing in the wind." What this means is that WWF has officially approved the project, the budget, and the program here in Shangri-la is alive and well. Over the last ten days, Jinhui, Gomb...