kamiel79

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.

...

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 ...

April 25. Way high.

Arrive in China with a touch of old-age grandeur, by boat rather than by airplane. We take the big ferry from Incheon to Weihai (pronounced way high) and have a convenient overnight journey sleeping on a mat and munching cup-o-noodles. Upon arrival, we gaze at the diligent cranes and trucks performing the logistic necessities to ...

Sichuan Quake Relief

Chengdu, China. May 6th, 2010SQR (Sichuan Quake Relief) was founded by Peter Coff and other expats living in Chengdu immediately after the devastating 2008 earthquake. They deliver smart aid to the disaster regions.

We support SQR with a donation.

NameSichuan Quake ReliefAimMission statement: "Sichuan Quake Relief (SQR) is a non-profit, humanitarian organisation ...

April 9 –

I seem to have flown to Korea today. For beautiful personal reasons, I take a time off from Charity Travel, with the pleasant exception of MWTV, Migrant Worker Television. We find their office, tucked away on the central Namsan hill in Seoul, through a friend of Yeon. It was founded in 2004 by migrant workers ...

April 4-8. Hong Kong.

I must have flown to Hong Kong today. Immigration is nothing to remember and the airport train service costs 100 Hong Kong dollars. Jet set. I wish I could pen down some impressions about Hong Kong, the important port that Britain leased for 99 years because of the opium trade and has given back ...