Shangri-la is home to remote temples, rugged scenery and the start of the Tibetan world. It's real name is Zhongdian, only renamed Shangri-la after James Hilton's novel 'The Lost Horizon' described the fictional Shangri-la as an earthly paradise but particularly a mythical Himalayan utopia - a permanently happy land, isolated from the outside wo...

Well, it only took 2 hours to reach Shangri-La (or Zhongdian). the town is situated at an alititude of 3200 metres, so it feels harder to walk up hills and the like. Mark helped us find a hostel in the old town, which is very pretty, lots of old buildings (like Dali and Lijiang) but much fewer tourists. I guess as this is the end of Yunnan, not ...

Having heard that Shangri-la has reopened to foreigners following the Tibet riots, we decided to make good use of our hangovers by getting on the bus to check it out. The bus raced pasted Tiger Leaping Gorge and then up, up, up to the 3500m Tibetan Plateau, breaking through the spine of peaks that ring it's outer edge. The change in scenery was ...

Sitting here in limbo, waiting for the dice to roll Sitting here in limbo, got some time to search my soul Well, they're putting up resistance But I know that my faith will lead me on ~Jimmy Cliff Limbo--the art of waiting--is luckily an art as opposed to a heavy burden. Like any art, sitting in limbo requires a little bit of patience, a little ...

I hopped, skipped, jumped and danced a wee jig across the border into the geographical phenomenon of China with two fingers raised defiantly in the air at Shithole. What a refreshing relief China is. The people are calming, courteous and a hell of a alot more sociable than the despicable nastiness of the Shitholese. Aslong as you can quickly get...