Turning 26 on Monkey Island

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I’ve never been one to do anything big and fancy for my birthday, and so the same was true for while we were travelling. Mitch and I wanted to go on a Ha Long Bay tour and it just so happened that we booked it a few days before my birthday. After toying with different tour companies (there are hundreds offering trips to Ha Long Bay in Vietnam), we opted to go with Hanoi Central Backpackers Hostel. Unlike some more luxury boat trips, this offered a stay on Monkey Island. For us, it was a good mix between socialising and …

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Visiting The Great Wall of China

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It would have been rude and ridiculous for us not to visit The Great Wall after living in China for 10 months. With five days left before our visas ran out, we headed to Beijing for one final adventure. Despite speaking to friends and reading many other travel blogs, we simply could not decide on whether we should take a tour to the wall or make our own way there. One favours seclusion and cost, the other convenience. After asking each other 10 times in one day “What shall we do about The Great Wall?” We finally decided on a …

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6 Things I Will Miss in China

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Our flight to leave China is getting closer and closer. It’s been a whirlwind experience with some great memories. What will I miss about this fascinating country? 1. The Hospitality of Locals Before coming here, I heard some hearsay about how rude Chinese people can be. Firstly, China has 1.3 billion inhabitants so you really can’t generalise. Secondly, I have received some wonderful hospitality from people here. From being invited to people’s homes for meals, being shown around hometowns, and even just somebody on the street offering me some soothing cream for my mosquito bites. Even with my limited Mandarin speaking skills, …

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6 Things I Will Not Miss in China

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Tomorrow I’ll be leaving China. It has been a truly incredible experience and I’ve learnt much about the culture and history. However, there are some things that I can safely say I will not miss from this country. 1. Pollution Pollution in China is bad. Not everywhere and not all the time. Spring has brought with it cleaner air, as well as humidity and rain. Still, the day before Christmas eve, the PM2.5 level reached over 400. This basically means the air is “hazardous” to breathe. Of course, not every day was like that but, in the winter months, I would …

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Getting Off The Beaten Track in Panan, China

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Unless you speak and read sufficient mandarin, and have access to a car, it’s difficult to get off the beaten track in China. This is why we were thrilled when our Chinese friend Edmund invited us to his hometown, Panan. Upon Googling the town, Wikipedia wasn’t very useful. The story of how we met Edmund is not your average tale. It was one day after a heavy night of drinking that Mitch and I craved a pizza. We hadn’t been in China very long, so with my limited Chinese, I headed to Pizza Hut (Mitch was too hungover to make the 10-minute …

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How My Love of Busted Got Me Thinking About Life Choices

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About Busted…. For those of you who aren’t British, Busted are an English pop band, consisting of Matt Willis, James Bourne and Charlie Simpson. Their music graced our ears between 2001 and 2005. They broke up because one member of the band (Charlie) wanted to go focus on his other, rockier band. I was 15 and heartbroken. Everyone has a favourite band, but Busted weren’t just my favourite band, they were my hobby. By this I mean, my evenings were spent on the Busted message board (Username: ***I love James***). I’d buy weekly magazines so I could read interviews and get …

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