Dan created this blog to document his South America trip, which covered every country on the continent and lasted over two years. He currently lives in Madison, WI.
Coffeecast: This is where we had our coffee and conversation.
We have a different format for this episode of the podcast. I was sitting in the market square of Shaxi China, drinking coffee and having a chit-chat with four new friends. We decided to record our conversation, which I'll call our “Coffeecast”. Joining me were Kathy, an English woman staying at my hostel, Hugh and Pauline, cycle-tourists from England, and Liam, who you met during the last podcast. I hope you enjoy our talk. I might do more Coffeecasts I the future.
Shaxi is on the Ancient Tea Horse Road, a trade route that connected southwestern China with Tibet and India. Here's some more information from Wikipedia.
Hugh mentioned the World Monuments Fund, which aims to protect ancient and treasured places. Here's the WMF's Website.
Taiwan's population is 23.5 million. Not quite as dense as I had thought.
My guest for this episode is Liam DelMain. I met Liam at the Horse Pen 46 Hostel in Shaxi (沙溪), Yunnan Province, China. He calls Minnesota home, though when he was still a toddler, he lived in Beijing for two years with his family. He has returned to China almost every summer since. Having been raised between two different cultures, Liam has a lot of insight into these disparate worlds.
As always, you can let me know what you think of our conversation in the comment section below.
Liam talked extensively about Concordia Language Villages. Here's their website.
Gerald Ford died on December 26, 2006. Saddam Hussein died four days later, while I was in Apoera, Suriname, examining a nice patch of bamboo.
According to the ever-reliable Wikipedia, the name “Wadi Rum” most likely is Aramaic for “high valley”, though it's also called the “Valley of the Moon”.
One of the organizations for finding work all around the world that Liam talked about was Workaway.
And here's a link to WWOOFing, a way to travel the world and learn how to grow organic food.
2016: what the year! Though I spent most of 2016 in China, I did manage to travel to a few other countries. This blog entry, as well as the next few, will be a recap of where I went and what I did last year. Have you been to any of these places? Are you interested in going? Send me a message or let me know in the comments section. I'm always happy to share info.
I celebrated New Year in Madison, Wisconsin. On January 2, I got up at 5am for my flight back to Beijing, after having spent the last two weeks at home. It was really nice seeing everyone again, especially since this was my first trip home in a year and a half.
The first leg of my journey was short, considering that eventually I would end up on the other side of the planet. Starting from my friend's house where I had been staying, I walked about two miles, through the frigid winter air, to the long-distance bus stop near the University of Wisconsin's campus. It was still dark outside and not a soul was in sight. I could have taken a taxi, but I actually enjoyed the solitude of walking through this small city when most people were asleep. I knew that once I got to Beijing, it would be impossible to walk for half an hour (or even half a minute) without seeing anyone.
I arrived at the bus stop at the break of dawn. There was a bit more traffic on the road, including the double-decker bus that would take me to Chicago, where I would catch my flight. I was the first person aboard, so naturally I sat in the front seat on the upper level. The bus left on time, and I got a panoramic view of the Wisconsin countryside, including a spectacular sunrise, as we drove south on I-90. Not a bad way to start a year.
My bus arrived in downtown Chicago ahead of schedule. To kill some time, I went to a Starbucks. As I was sipping my coffee, a homeless guy sat down next to me. With a weak voice, he told me that he had slept outside for the last two nights in sub-freezing temperatures. He said the homeless shelter required an ID, but he didn't have one. He could buy one for $21, but he didn't have that much money, and they wouldn't assist him in this financial burden. That's why he had been sleeping outside, he told me in simple terms. He was probably younger than me but his difficult life was already showing in his face. I felt really lucky to be able to sleep in the warmth of a friend's house. This guy didn't ask me for money or food; he seemed happy enough to be in a warm building, and to have someone to talk with for a bit. When I finished my coffee, I wished him luck and went on my way. I get asked about homelessness a lot when I'm in China, where very few people are living on the streets. To a lot of Chinese people, it just doesn't make sense that there would be so many homeless people in a country as wealthy as the USA. And if I'm honest, it doesn't make much sense to me, either.
I took the subway to the airport and caught my flight back to Beijing. Believe it or not, I was quite excited to sit on a plane for the next fourteen hours. Overseas flights offer me a great chance to catch up on my photos and to write in my journal, not to mention the ability to use the “home theater” built into the seat in front of me. I think I watched five movies during the flight. When people complain about cramped conditions on airplanes, I honestly don't understand what they're talking about.
I made it back to our apartment late in the afternoon, had dinner with Katie and Morgan, and got ready for an exciting year to come.
Zhangjiakou (张家口)
At a traditional tea ceremony.
I had the opportunity to spend a weekend in this “small” city of four million in Hebei Province. This is where some of the skiing events will be held at the 2022 Winter Olympics. The city is quite scenic, being located in the mountains. A high-speed rail line that will whisk people there from Beijing in less than two hours is under construction. I'm excited that the Olympics are returning to China, even though I likely won't be living here in 2022. Still, it'll be cool to see my former home on display on a global stage.
Here's the main memorial to Kim Il Sung and Kim Jong Il. For scale, notice the person standing in the lower-left.
Katie and I took a trip to North Korea for Spring Festival (AKA Chinese New Year). This is one of the most fascinating countries I have ever visited. It's also a destination that deserves more than a short blog post. I'll put together some more information about our trip to this secretive nation soon. For now, you'll have to settle for a few photos:
The New Technology Center. Notice the missile in the center of the room.
Here's the hotel we stayed in. It was nearly empty.
Here, Katie sits at the table where the Korean Armistice Agreement was signed on July 27, 1953, ending hostilities between North and South Korea (though the two countries technically remain at war).
Mudanjiang
All hail Buddha!
Katie and I traveled to this city of 3 million, on the outskirts of northeastern China, to visit a famous Snow Village. Unfortunately, it wasn't meant to be. There weren't any buses going there, and the aggressive taxi drivers at the bus station wanted far too much money. But the trip wasn't a complete bust. We did stumble upon a snow park, full of gigantic sculptures, so we were able to make the most of our time.
Body imprints. Mine wasn't quite tall enough for me.
The other reason we had come to northeastern China was to visit Harbin. This city is cold, with daily low temperatures averaging -24 degrees Celsius (-11 Fahrenheit) in winter. Harbin's most famous attraction is its annual ice festival, and this did not disappoint. Mudanjiang's snow sculpture park had seemed big, but it was dwarfed by Harbin's ice park. The theme this year was “Famous Buildings From Around the World” (Or something similar), so the park was filled with replicas of places like the Kremlin and the Blue Mosque. When it got dark, they lit the sculptures in a dazzling – and slightly trippy – display. If you're ever in China during winter, this park is not to be missed.
This is the largest city on the border with North Korea. You can walk along the riverfront promenade and gaze at the world's most mysterious and culturally isolated country. Whereas the Chinese shore is lined with brightly lit skyscrapers, there's just a dark little village on the North Korean side.
Most of the attractions in Dandong are DPRK-related. You can walk halfway across the Friendship Bridge, which once connected the countries until it was bombed during the Korean War. Or you can ride on a boat to the very edge of the North Korean shore (listen to more about that experience in my podcast with Sam Dreiman). You can also hike up a section of the Great Wall, where the housing barracks directly below you are, in fact, in North Korean territory.
To be honest, this trip was a bit anticlimactic, considering that we had already been to North Korea. Most of the people who we traveled with to North Korea had gone there by train from Beijing, via Dandong. Being Americans, Katie and I weren't allowed on this train (this is currently the only restriction for Americans who want to travel to the DPRK).
For those of you that haven't been to North Korea and aren't planning to go, Dandong is definitely worth a visit. You'll at least get to dip your toes (maybe literally!) into the Hermit Kingdom.
Beijing is actually quiet during the Spring Festival holiday. This is the most important holiday in China, when everyone travels to their ancestral homes to celebrate with their families. Most people who live in Beijing aren't from there, so the city becomes a ghost town. We came back to Beijing on the fifteenth day of the new year. By this point, the city was back in full swing. It also happened to be the day of the Lantern Festival, the last day of the Spring Festival celebrations.
Long story short, there were fireworks. Enjoy!
March 2016
Camping on the Great Wall
Katie, next to our tent.
Katie's brother Greg and his girlfriend Katie came to visit us in Beijing! Our first adventure was camping on the Great Wall of China. Eating breakfast on the wall and watching the sun rise from behind the mountains was a breathtaking experience.
After our night on the Great Wall, the four of us took a train to central China. Our first stop was the ancient village of Hong Cun. It was such a pretty place, many artists had set up shop to work on their masterpieces. The climate was much warmer than in Beijing, and spring was in the air. We had a great day of exploration.
The main reason we had traveled to this part of China was to visit Huangshan (Yellow Mountain). I had already come here with my mom the previous year, but there was so much fog, we barely saw anything. I decided it was worth a return trip. Our group of four got up early and took a cable car to the top of the mountain, where we planned to spend the night. Unfortunately, when we arrived it was even more foggy than the last time I was there. Huangshan gets something like 300 days of rain per year, so I shouldn't have been so surprised.
Luckily, conditions improved as the day went on. Katie and I hiked to the bottom of a canyon and took a funicular back up the other side. By the time we reached the top, the tips of the mountains were poking out from the clouds. We watched an amazing sunset behind the “sea of clouds” from the highest point on the mountain.
The next day we got up about an hour before sunrise and hiked back to the mountain's highest point. From there, we watched the sun come up and were delighted to see that the clouds were almost completely gone. We spent the rest of the day exploring the top of the mountain, finally able to see what it actually looked like. Yellow Mountain went down as one of my favorite attractions in China so far (though Zhangjiajie still scored a bit higher).
After heading back down Yellow Mountain, the four of us took an overnight train to Shanghai. It was my third trip (and Katie's fourth) to China's largest city, so we didn't do a ton of sightseeing. We did get to stay in a lovely apartment in the French Quarter where some of our new friends from our North Korea trip lived. And we got to visit several other friends in the big city, so it was worth the trip. After two days in Shanghai, Katie and I bid farewell to Greg and Katie, and we headed back to Beijing. We really hoped they enjoyed their first trip to China.
When we reached the top of the hill, suddenly we could see the big city.
Once it got warm enough, Katie and I did a couple of day hikes around Beijing. These were hit-and-miss, mainly because China is changing so fast. We have a hiking guidebook that was printed in 2010, but it's already horribly outdated. Half of the first “trail” was now a paved highway. We did get to see some hoof prints made by horses a few hundred years ago, as they headed toward the old Silk Road. This was also the road where Empress Cixi was carried out of Beijing, all the way to Shanxi province in the early 20th century, so there was a lot of history to the trail.
Our second hike was on the Rolling Hills trail, near Huairo. This mostly involved bush-wacking and walking through farm fields. It was cool, though, because we saw so few people all day. And we could easily take public buses to the trail head and back to Beijing, so we only had to spend around $2 each on transportation.
It wouldn't be a proper hike without a creepy teddy bear impaled on a stick.
In this episode, I talk with Jun, owner of the Tavern 47 Hostel in Shangri-la, China. Jun's story is very interesting. He grew up in Seoul, South Korea and was a real go-getter. As a young adult, he was making a handsome salary and living the high life. How did Jun transition from a fast lifestyle in a big city to running a youth hostel in a remote town? Listen to our conversation to find out.
When we recorded this podcast, the AQI was over 400.
My guests for this episode of The Around the World Podcast are Kroy and Shalon Nernberger. Kroy is a world-class curler who was invited to play in a tournament in remote Xining, Qinghai Province. His wife Shalon joined Katie and me in Beijing, and together we traveled to meet up with Kroy. We recorded this podcast from Xi'An, just before we split up. Shalon and Kroy recounted all of their adventures in China. Hopefully you'll gain some inspiration to plan your next trip!
My guest for this episode of the podcast is Sam Dreiman. His first trip to China was just before the 2008 Olympics. He has been living in the country, on and off, for the last six years. Other than China, we talked about his upbringing in Africa, my trip to Antarctica, his time biking down the World's Most Dangerous Road, and North Korea. Sam is a fascinating character who has spent much of his life traveling around the world; I had a great time talking with him.
Here's the show, available for download in your favorite format:
Thanks for listening! What did you think? Have you been to any of the places we discussed? Let me know in the comment section below.
Show Notes:
The Antarctic Treaty has been in effect since 1961 and expires in 2048. One interesting facet of the treaty is that all scientific observations obtained on the continent need to be made freely available to the public. Also, drilling for oil and military occupation are both forbidden. This could have some scary implications when the treaty expires.
I talked about Mount Roraima during the show. Here are some stats from the Wikipedia page:
Roraima has a maximum elevation of 2810 meters (9220 feet)
Its prominence is 2330 meters (7671 feet)
It was the first tepui to be climbed, in 1884
The route I took is the only one that doesn't require any climbing gear
The scenery for the movie Up was based on several tepuis, including Roraima. I found a good article about the Pixar team's visit to the region.
My next book will include the story of my own experience climbing Roraima, so stay tuned.
Cerro Sarisariñama is another tepui, famous for its sinkholes. The largest of these sinkholes is 352 meters (1155 feet) wide and 314 meters (1030 feet) deep. The Eiffel Tower would easily fit inside of it. The mountain has only been reached by helicopter, on a limited number of scientific expeditions. Could there be dinosaurs lurking at the bottom of one of these sinkholes?
The Yungas Road in Bolivia was named the World's Most Dangerous Road by the Inter-American Development Bank in 1995. During our podcast, Sam told his story of riding a bicycle down this road. I wrote about my own experience there on pages 236-247 of my first book.
The Ryugyong Hotel is a 105-story pyramid in Pyongyang, North Korea. An Egyptian company finished the exterior, but its interior is still vacant.
Here's a photo I snapped of the Ryugyong Hotel, while on tour in Pyongyang.
Here's another view of the hotel.
And here's a look at Kukenan, the tepui next to Roraima. Posted to my Instagram account, @1000DaysBetween:
Paddy and I do our real-world test of a Smart Air filter on a polluted day in Beijing.
My guest for today is Paddy Robertson. He and I met on his first night in Beijing, about a year and a half ago. At the time, he was just beginning to study Chinese, and now he speaks the language far better than most foreigners, even among those who have been here for much longer than him. How has Paddy managed to learn Chinese so quickly? One big reason is that he works for Smart Air, which sells affordable air purifiers. His co-workers are Chinese, so he gets to practice the language on a daily basis.
Paddy was a very interesting guest. He has accumulated a broad array of knowledge about China and much of the world. Our hour together flew by. Choose a link below to listen to it in your favorite format:
Here's a video we shot immediately after finishing our podcast:
[CBC show="y" country="cn"]* This video may not load in China because it's on YouTube.[/CBC]
Thanks for listening and watching! Did you enjoy our discussion? Hate it? Let me know in the comment section below.
Show Notes:
We started our discussion by talking about polychronic and monochronic cultures. Here is a good article that explains the difference between these types of societies, specifically with how they view time.
I mentioned The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People by Steven Covey. Sorry, I couldn't recall the author's name during the recording. This is one of the best books on self-development ever written. It's just as relevant today as it was in 1989, when it was originally published.
I also mentioned Gantt Charts. This website has a ton of info on Gantt Charts and how to use them.
Here's an explanation of Agile Software Development. Many of these concepts can be applied to a variety of different industries.
We discussed the incredible growth of Beijing's subway system. This article includes a gif that illustrates this growth.
I talked about the city of Mudanjiang (牡丹江) when I meant to say Zhanjiakou (张家口) in Hebei Province. The two names are so similar, you can easily see how I would confuse them. The Around the World Podcast regrets this error.
Here's Paddy, having a moment with a Smart Air filter.
Hong Kong, what an amazing place! The city is full of energy. Its markets are sprawling; its people are always on the go. Parties last until the wee hours of the morning, fueled by bottle shop beers and 24-hour coffee shops. Little dim sum restaurants dot the streets, offering locals and tourists alike a wide variety of Cantonese morsels. Walking around, you get the feeling that this is a city of the future.
Kong Kong was also a lot bigger than I had expected. The territory looked tiny next to mainland China on a map. I thought it would be nothing but a giant city, with little room for nature. But the center of Hong Kong Island is a forested park. Hiking trails take you to The Peak, and its sprawling views of the city below.
I was told that there were also some villages on the outskirts of the territory, where people still go fishing in their junk boats every morning. Unfortunately, I didn't have much time on this trip, so I didn't get to experience anything outside of the city. But I can still recommend a visit to Hong Kong, as a long stopover, as part of a larger trip, or even as a vacation in itself. Hong Kong is more international than the big cities of mainland China, making it an easy stop for those new to Asia.
Here are some photos from my short trip:
The Western Market, near the port where the ferry from Macau dropped me off.
An old junk boat in Aberdeen Harbour.
A row of purple lights, along the shore of Aberdeen Harbour.
Fresh fish for sale at an outdoor market.
There's something about getting your dinner from a fresh fish market by the sea shore.
A cemetery on a hill, leading to The Peak.
There's a forest in the middle of the island.
Here's the view from The Peak. This is where the classic photos of Hong Kong's skyline are taken from. Unfortunately, it was a little foggy when I was there.
Looking north, toward the mainland of Hong Kong.
This Ferris Wheel is in downtown.
From this pier, you can take a ferry to Kowloon.
This is the boat landing at Kowloon. Hong Kong has a tropical climate, full of lush palm trees. In December, it was still warm enough to walk around in a t-shirt.
Here's Hong Kong's skyline, looking south from Kowloon.
The spotlights were shooting straight up, making this giant beam into the sky.
On the streets of Kowloon. A hotpot restaurant, next to a laundry place. Classic Hong Kong.
Just a Lamborghini, parked outside of a Circle K convenience store.
As I made my way south through China, I got an idea: why not stop in Macau for a day? As it turned, out, it was quite easy. I took trains through Guilin and Guangzhou, and eventually ended up in the lovely city of Zhuhai. (One bonus of Zhuhai: it was the only place I had been in China where cars actually stopped for pedestrians.) From there, I just had to go through some immigration formalities and walk across the border.
Macau is a former Portuguese colony, a fact that became immediately apparent from the road signs written in Portuguese. I dusted off my knowledge of the Portuguese language, acquired from three months of travel in Brazil (for example, “bombeiros” means “firefighters”), and was able to get around quite easily.
The casinos and racetrack were iconic, of course, and there were many other sights and sounds to conjure up both Chinese and Portuguese culture. I spent the whole day walking around the city, thoroughly enjoying both the subtle and obvious differences from mainland China. When it came time to leave, this proved quite easy as well. I simply hopped on one of the hourly ferries to Hong Kong.
Though I was only in Macau for a day, I had a great time there. Here are a few of my photos:
The first thing I saw upon entering the city was an entire district of shops selling baby formula, condensed milk and protein shakes.
Many of the city's streets are narrow, and the apartments have cages over the windows. The layout simultaneously looks both quaint and futuristic.
The Lin Fung temple is near the Chinese border.
Incense burning at the Lin Fung temple.
Fish for sale at a market.
Plenty of fresh veggies here.
At the seafood market.
Butchers.
Scooters are very common here.
Here is a typical apartment building.
Macau is famous for its casinos.
Here's some more dense housing.
Macau has a tropical climate. Palm trees are common here.
More palm trees.
Fortaleza do Monte is the historical military center of the former colony.
On the streets of Macau.
Here is a classical theatre.
Sai Van Lake is one of the biggest in Macau.
Here is the bridge to the southern district.
The MGM is one of the biggest and most famous casinos in Macau.
Grandfather and grandchild, at the Fu Ling weekly market.
Nowadays, it may seem like everyone in China lives in a big city. But that definitely is not true. Many villages are emptying as more and more people migrate in search of a better life, but small-town life still is flourishing in pockets of China.
Take Fu Ling, for example. Once a week, the people of this southern Chinese village get together to sell their wares in a market. Local produce, as well as household goods, are sold under one roof. For me, the Fu Ling market offered a great look into a way of life that is in slow decline. Given that the average age of salespeople in Fu Ling was north of fifty, I doubt this market will exist in thirty years. But for now, it is still thriving.
The outdoor section of the Fu Ling market.
A salesman of food and cookery makes his pitch.
A chicken salesperson moves her stock.
Daikon (大根, literally "big root") is a type of Chinese radish.
Many greens for sale.
Tarps protect against frequent rain.
Cassava root.
I'm not sure what this vegetable is called.
Spices for sale.
I love the craftsmanship that still exists among the older generation in China. This guy is hand-carving handles for his hoes. I doubt you'll see this kind of thing for much longer.
