Getting from Litang to Garzi (also known as Ganze) took a long while. We woke up to a fresh layer of snow on the hills, it’s April but Litang sits at 4000m elevation so winter lasts longer up here. We made our way to the shared van area which can be a little intimidating on…
Tag: culture
First impressions of a Tibetan town in China | Litang
Our adventures in China are about to change as we make our way through western Sichuan which is part of the Garze Tibetan Prefecture. It’s basically a vast region on the Tibetan plateau where Tibetans live in China. You could call it eastern Tibet and I’ve even heard someone call it ‘Inner Tibet’, similar to…
A wild pilgrimage hike around a 6000m holy mountain | China
It’s time for us to leave Yunnan and make our way into Sichuan province, famous for its spicy food and pandas and while many people visit for those two reasons we’re here for others; the mountains and to visit the Tibetan villages and towns. Our first stop was Yading Nature Reserve which took us about…
Shangri-La and the most important Tibetan monastery in Yunnan | China
The town of Shangri-La used to go by the name of Zhongdian but after the bestselling book called Lost Horizons described a location that resembled the town they decided to rename it. Sadly in 2014 a devastating fire tore through the old town, destroying over 200 wooden houses which were up to 1000 years old….
Exploring Yunnan’s ancient towns | China
It’s time to leave the unseasonably hot weather in Guizhou province and make our way to the high plateau in Yunnan. To get there we had to catch two high speed trains, travelling at speeds of 300kmh until we arrived in the town of Dali which sits at 1975m and is nestled between mountains and…
Meeting the locals in traditional Dong villages | China
Zhaoxing is a traditional village, all made of wood and home to the Dong ethnic minority group. It used to just be a special place where a few western tourists came to see a real Chinese village but with the high speed railway being built it’s brought with it the domestic tourists. Luckily the village…
Exploring the karst peaks along the Li River | China
The city of Yangshuo is nestled between the dramatic karst peaks that spread across this scenic corner of Guangxi. It’s a place we really enjoyed on our last visit, hence us deciding to come back and even stay in the same hostel. The hostel was based a bit out the city so the patio area…
The Longji Rice Terraces |China
We couldn’t decide whether it was worth returning to the Longji rice terraces as our previous experience wasn’t a great one. We arrived on a cold January day 8 years ago and the guesthouse we booked wasn’t where it said it would be on the map which meant we had to hike all the way…
Returning to China | Navigating Guangzhou and eating bizarre food
After a brutal travel journey that lasted 39 hours and consisted of us living like Tom Hanks in The Terminal at Kuala Lumpur airport we finally made it to Guangzhou in China. It’s our second visit to China, the first of which was in January 2016 and we’re so excited to be back. Due to…
Returning to The Maldives to explore more local islands
Finally, we’re back in paradise! The last time we visited the local islands in the Maldives was in 2018 and we loved it so much. It feels great to be back, although prices have definitely increased since our last visit when the same resort day trip which cost $30 is now $200 for example!! To…
NON STOP TRAVELLING 