Month: mei 2010

Butterflychildren
Muang Sing, Laos. May 20th - 23rd, 2010The butterfly children's center in Muang Sing, northern Laos, provides scholarships to children and functions as a drop-in center for underprivileged children.

We buy stationary for the center, do workshops with the children, and make a monetary donation.


NameButterfly Children Development Center and School, Muang ...
May 2-3. Chengdu.
May second is an empty space, we have a very late breakfast and hop on our sleeper train to Chengdu. Our couchsurfing host there calls us just as we are about to move to the station, strengthening our belief that it's time to move on. Xi'an is crowded today but we have secured our train ...
April 30. Terra Cotta en guarde.
The archeological team unearthing the 2,200 year old Terracotta warriors have won the big Prize of the Prince of Asturia, I read in an online newspaper. And they deserve it, believe me. We visit these Terracotta warriors today. It is very hot when we line up at the square in front of the main station. ...
April 29. Artists in China an endangered species.
Today is our train to Xi'an. It leaves in the afternoon and we have "stand up" tickets that in the worst case will force us to sleep standing in the proximity of the train toilets while they are being frequented by other, more lucky, travelers seeking to relieve themselves from their instant cupnoodles and other ...
April 28. The Great Wall (no photos)
We want to see Chinese wall. Well, I want to see it. It is an exception to my usual reluctance to plain tourism. So we take a bus to a transport hub that would have buses to Wall at Badaling, the most touristy, easy to reach place to spot the wall. Buses are rare and ...
April 27. Magnificent Beijing.
A couchsurfing host has responded to our mail and so we move to Ba Mo's place in a calm district of Beijing this afternoon.

Before that we indulge in the tourist pleasures that this city has to offer (kindly note that cumulative endorphine levels during the preparation phase of a visit to the Forbidden ...
Leisurely riding a tricycle and donating it to a merchant afterwards.
Go Give Concept, Lijang, ChinaLijang, China. May 19th, 2010We buy a tricycle to discover the beautiful area around touristic town of Lijang. With sow-capped mountains in the background and a fresh breeze, pedaling is a delight.

We then find a poor merchant and donate her the bicycle to enhance her livelihood.

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April 26. Arrrrrrrriving in Beijing.
We keep arriving in Beijing for hours, so huge is this city. Without any orientation thanks to our weight-saving measure of traveling without a guidebook, we gaze at the big buildings sighing "so this is Beijing". A natural urge makes us entter a coffee place that could easily serve a demanding European clientele. The internet ...