Our big trip
A few thoughts and photos from our travels
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Day 111 – Coffee, cake, and karst
15th December: Yangshuo, China Our first day in Yangshuo was a chilled one. Lazing around and drinking coffee to this view of karst peaks is no hardship! Occasionally, we’d hear cats miaowing for attention outside of our room. We ventured out properly in the afternoon for a wander along the Li Jiang, the famous river…
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Day 110 – The Pearl watershed
14th December: Guangzhou, China to Yangshuo, China I woke up surprisingly early feeling keen to do some research with the time we had before our lunchtime train. It didn’t quite pan out like that unfortunately as I popped out to find us breakfast and coffee and had a panic attack. We made the train, but…
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Day 109 – One day in the megalopolis
13th December: Guangzhou, China Wandering out to find coffee and snacks, this area felt different to anywhere else we’ve stayed in China. Granted, we’re a long way out in the suburbs (although looking at the towers and construction you wouldn’t know it) but this felt like a border area. On my 10-minute walk under the…
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Day 108 – A double 12 visa run
12th December: Xiamen, China to Guangzhou, China We headed across Xiamen in the pre-dawn darkness, bound for an early train down the Fujian and Guangdong coastline. Zipping along south, we traversed much of the route we’d taken heading in the opposite direction some 3 or 4 weeks ago. The clouds thinned and eventually burnt off,…
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Day 107 – Three principles of the people
11th December: Xiamen, China It was our final day in ‘The Gate of China’. I tried to find a haircut in the morning but instead ended up sitting having a coffee after wandering the cool alleyways. Xiamen, especially its backstreets, is one of my favourite places in China. I wish that I wasn’t so exhausted…
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Day 106 – An island on a lake on an island
10th December: Xiamen, China Today was another low-key day on the coast. We’re both still tired and I’m suffering from exhaustion and numbness. Late in the morning, we headed out to wander. Today had proper warmth. It was 24C and sunny. Really pleasant shorts weather (something I’d later regret after dozens of mosquito bites!). Our…
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Day 105 – The Garden on the Sea
9th December: Xiamen, China Xiamen is known as the ‘Garden on the Sea’ and even in December, the city is abound with foliage and flowers. We spent today on the small, 2 square kilometre, island of Gulangyu. We were looking forward to wandering its lanes as the island is unique in China by having a…
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Day 104 – Coastal chill time
8th December: Xiamen, China Our first day in Xiamen was a quiet one. I was awoken at 10am by the musical chimes of some sort of entertainment clock in the nearby pedestrianised area! I popped out for coffee to figure it out but am still none the wiser. It surprisingly clouded in as the day…
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Day 103 – Halfway, a travel day
7th December: Yichang, China to Xiamen, China One more early start. Snacks, coffee, and lunch procured from the vendors of Yichang ‘CBD’ and a final bus taken, we were back at Yichang East station. Kaja made friends with some old people on the bus and then with a young woman at the station. Before long,…
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Day 102 – Dam(n) that is big
6th December – Yichang, China It was surprisingly sunny as we looked out over the construction site that is currently the centre of Yichang. We watched a worker climb up a tower crane, thinking he was the replacement driver, only for him to head to the top of the counterweight and do some tai chi!…