Why You Shouldn’t Skip Bangkok
Everybody says to avoid Bangkok if you’re traveling to Thailand. This mega-city is portrayed as a dirty, crowded, perverted cesspool. Okay, so it’s true that Bangkok is crowded, and some …
The Great Shanghai Shutdown
Shanghai is under lockdown. As I write this, I’m sitting in my apartment, awaiting the call to go downstairs and take my twelfth COVID-19 test. These nucleic acid tests are …
COVID-19 Strikes Again in China: This Time it’s Omicron
Just when you thought it was safe to take off the mask and go outside, COVID-19 is back with a vengeance in China. This time, though, it’s the highly contagious …
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Breaking the Law in China
China is a country of rule breakers. It’s a nation of criminals, scofflaws, delinquents, lawbreakers, and ne’er do wells who are constantly engaged in a convoluted game of cat and …
Yangshuo China’s Awe-Inspiring Awkward Metaphors
Here’s the problem with visiting beautiful places: we’re limited by language to using cliché descriptive words and awkward metaphors. I can write about some scenery that is beautiful, dazzling, exquisite, …
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Why Beijing is One of the World’s Awesomest Cities
The world has many fascinating cities. Grand amalgamations of humanity that bustle with culture and energy. When I first visited Beijing, I was somewhat underwhelmed. It was only after going …
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Beihai Park: My New Favorite Green Blob
Sometimes you find an amazing travel experience through extensive research and planning. Other times, you just sort of randomly stumble on them. The second case happened to me when I …
Fragrant Hills Park: a New View of Beijing
Where can you find nature in a city of 20 million people? At first glance, Beijing seems like the last place you would look for natural beauty. Afterall, this sprawling …
The Summer Palace in Beijing: the World’s Nicest Birthday Gift
Sometimes the most peaceful places have histories full of war, embezzlement, and imperial collapse. How could on Earth could a green forested hill covered in classical Chinese architecture, surrounded by …
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The Great Wall of China is Actually Pretty Great
Is there a location that says “iconic China” any more than the Great Wall? No other site is as wrapped up with Chinese national identity or foreigners’ expectations of the …
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