After a 13 hour overnight bus, we arrived in the town of Murun, in northern Mongolia. With heavy eyes we began wandering around the sleepy town in search of an area where shared taxis depart – but it seemed to be a lost cause, and everyone we asked just tried to call a taxi friend. …
Tag: hiking
Exploring Terelj National Park | Mongolia
On our first full day in Mongolia, we made our way to Terelj National Park, just a short distance from the capital, Ulaanbaatar. There was a direct bus at midday, but we wanted to make the most of the day so we opted to depart at 7am and take three separate buses. The first city…
Desert Landscapes and Silk Road Sights | Gansu, China
Slot canyons and red rocks aren’t something people picture when envisioning China, but it’s actually home to some spectacular desert scenery. While in northern Gansu we explored a couple of stunning sights which we accessed from the friendly town of Zhangye. The first park was Pingshanhu Canyon, and it sat just a stone’s throw from…
Desert Landscapes And Thangka Art | Qinghai, China
It’s our first time in China’s Qinghai province, which is larger than any country in Europe. It occupies a large chunk of the Tibetan plateau, and to Tibetans, this land is known as Amdo, one of old Tibet’s three traditional provinces. Our first stop was the town of Tongren, or Rebkong in Tibetan. For several…
Discovering A Truly Wild Area Of Western China
Sometimes, all it takes is one photo to persuade me to visit a certain place – and that’s exactly what happened when we were in Gansu. I discovered a little village surrounded by jagged peaks and it wasn’t too far away from us. Buses didn’t travel the final 30km, so we hopped in a taxi…
Hiking Above Huanglong’s Terraced Pools|China
The terraced travertine pools of Huanglong are just a couple of hours away from popular Jiuzhaigou, yet it sees a fraction of the visitors. In comparison, it’s a much smaller and quicker park to explore, with most visitors opting to take the cable car to the top, where they have only a short stroll to…
The Bluest Water In China | Jiuzhaigou Valley
The natural sights in China will probably surprise many people. From red rock deserts and snow-capped mountains, to crystal clear lakes and the rocky towers that inspired the Avatar movie – China has it all, and today we’re exploring the blue lakes of Jiuzhaigou National Park. The park suffered from overtourism in previous years, with…
A Miao Village Nestled In A Dramatic Gorge
The little, wooden village of Dehang sits in a dramatic gorge, and it’s home to the Miao ethnic minority group. The area offers some fabulous hiking routes, so it was an easy add-on to our itinerary. Our hotel in the nearby town gave us a complimentary shuttle service to the scenic area, and it turned…
Admiring The Granite Spires At Sanqinshan | China
We keep returning to China because we love the dramatic landscapes and the fascinating culture. After starting our trip in a city, we couldn’t wait to escape the chaos and head to a scenic area – and the one we picked was Sanqinshan. It’s a mountainous area filled with spiky granite peaks where hiking paths…
Witnessing China’s Matcha Lake
Hangzhou was never on my list of places to visit on this trip – we actually explored the city and its famous West Lake over ten years ago. The reason we returned was to explore another lake, 50km west of the city. It’s become famous for a wetland area where trees rise from the water…
