Regular readers will know that I really enjoy traveling in China, despite the numerous frustrations and so far, I've written more posts on this blog about the Middle Kingdom than any other country. I have not yet written anything about China's westernmost province, the Xianjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region, though. That needs to change, since it was my favorite area in the whole … [Read more...]
Dog Staying Cool in the Singapore Heat
Singapore is located just north of the equator, making it one of the hottest cities I've visited. Everyone and everything spends all day sweating, but this dog looks like he doesn't even notice the heat. It must be the cool sunglasses. This week’s photo was kindly provided by Julia Chan of A Chinese Nomad. … [Read more...]
Bullying Goats and Dive-Bombing Vultures
I spent last week in my mom's hometown in The Middle Of Nowhere, Germany, for a cousin's wedding—The Middle of Nowhere is officially called Affoldern, but only the ten farmers who live there know that. In between various wedding-related activities and obligations, we got the chance to take my two-year-old nephew to a nearby wildlife park, the Wildtierpark Edersee. The … [Read more...]
Funny Sign Teaches Toilet Brush Use
I spent last week in my mother's hometown, an area of Germany with more pigs than people, for a cousin's wedding. I found this helpful sign teaching toilet brush use in the bathroom of our bed and breakfast. You might be able to guess this, but 'falsch' means 'incorrect', 'fast richtig' means 'almost correct' and 'richtig' means 'correct'. To be honest though, this sign doesn't … [Read more...]
Trek to Jagat and a Rant Against Guides on the Annapurna Circuit
When we first got to our guesthouse in Bahundanda, we immediately noticed the beds. Comfortable mattresses are a rarity in Nepal and one of our goals upon entering any town where we planned to spend the night was to find the guesthouse with the softest beds. In many villages, the thickest mattress you could find was about as wide as a finger and Bahundanda turned out to be one … [Read more...]