7:55am Enter bus. There are no more window seats. This 12 hour ride will not involve sleep. Already wishing I’d at least considered a plane. 8:43am 1st movie started. There is a construction worker with a bullied but ambitious son. The father dies in an accident at work, and the […]
China
Home away from home.
Leshan Big Buddha
The largest carved stone Buddha in the world, I didn’t visit Leshan’s Big Buddha the first time I was in Chengdu because the sky had that China-haze going on. On this round, with a day to kill before I really wanted to head to Jiuzhaigou, I decided to give it […]
Kuqa: Aden
“The Chinese are all pigs. This is why we do not let them into our mosques.” Aden was mad, and understandably so. Whether justified or not, the Uigher people felt like the oppressed minority, and the riots in the capital city of Urumqi could only serve to strengthen such sentiments. […]
Sichuan: Villages
Because she was still on vacation for the Spring Festival holiday, Carmen and I hung out for the next few days I was in Chengdu. Eventually, she invited me to go with her to visit several areas near where she grew up. The two of us spent one day in […]
Sichuan: Bamboo Sea
In order to get away from the Spring Festival crowds in Chengdu, I left town towards the Bamboo Sea. On the way I met a girl, Carmen, who had gotten tired of cooking for her family for the holidays and decided to do the same. After walking around the park […]
Huangshan: Yellow Mountain
Huangshan: Yellow Mountain I highly recommend visiting Huangshan if you’re on a trip in China, both because the mountains themselves are beautiful but also because it can be a great place to interact with Chinese on an equal tourist footing. There are plenty of ancient villages in the area nearby […]
Hey there! I'm Stephen, this is my travel blog, and that's me in the poofy hat.
I'm a photographer / writer traveling since 2008, and I've been doing my best to visit amazing places.
My current focus is Central Asia, because for a hiking and camping enthusiast it's as good as it gets.