This is part 3 of my series Christmas in China I grew up in the countryside and I’m definitely a country boy at heart. I love to get away from the roads, noise and crowds of city life and lose myself in the wilderness. In the novel and film Lost Horizon, Shangri-La is a place …
Category Archives: Journal
Santa Claus is Kunming to Town
This is part two of my series Christmas in China. Like Chita in Russia, I didn’t have any expectations of Kunming and ended up having a great time because I met friendly people by chance. With Christmas Day and Boxing Day spent in Chengdu, I left for Kunming on the 27th. I left the hostel …
Pandering in Chengdu
This is Part One of my series Christmas in China. School term dragged on from August to December without a break. I was more than ready for a holiday and so decided to fly to Chengdu rather than take the train so that I could relax for a few days over Christmas before hefting my …
Advent & Adventure
The term is coming to an end. This term from August to December with no half-term or break of any sort has been exhausting and I’m ready for a rest over Christmas. Yet being as self destructive as I am I’m planning another adventure! My next adventure is back to China in search of the …
Mui Ne and the Holy King of the Sky
Mui Ne Straight after work on Saturday we caught the bunk-bed equipped bus from Saigon up the coast to the fishing town come resort of Mui Ne. I was with a motley crew of Hanh and Kel (both Vietnamese), a young Kiwi English tutor Alice and Jonas; the Ozzy surfer dude. Although not as developed …
Mr Saigon
I’ve been living here in Ho Chi Minh City (AKA Saigon) for a couple of months now. I have moved into a flat and have established a bit of a routine but it’s still a bit disorganised because I’ve not got used to working evenings. Saigon has a population very similar to London (9 million) …
Ho Ho Ho Chi Minh
I’ve reached the end of my travels and started work! The travelling ends and a new adventure begins. I arrived in Ho Chi Minh City at 2am on Monday morning and started work at 2pm the same day. I will be tutoring IGCSE and IB maths here for the next year.
Fresh off the boat
Vending machines on one street corner, shrine on the opposite. I’m definitely in japan! I’ve come from the harbor to Shinsekai, a street in Osaka full of food, arcades and market stalls. I bought some tea from the market. The lady brewed each tea in front of me to allow me to sample them and …
Land Ho!
I’ve been unable to update the blog while in China because the WordPress app didn’t work with chinese Internet. I’m sorting out my backlog of drafts and will publish them soon. * * * Being seasick on a ferry that you took for fun is a lot like having a hangover. As you crouch over …
Same continent, a world apart
Harbin didn’t feel like it was far from Chita but the cities could hardly be more different (2024: it’s more than 1000km….I was getting very blase about long distances!). The quiet streets of Chita are only interrupted by the sound of a dusty, soviet era van puffing up the hill. In Harbin by contrast, the …
Eastward Ho! 