Tag: Mass Tourism

A Totally Impractical Guide to 6 Underachieving Nights in Hong Kong and Macau
October 9, 2012

A Totally Impractical Guide to 6 Underachieving Nights in Hong Kong and Macau

This is one of those times when I have, in theory, at least 4 blog posts worth of things to write about but haven’t the wherewithal to even try to shove it all into one, much less 4. Bear with me then, as I attempt …

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A Totally Impractical Guide to an Intellectually Dirty Weekend in Nanjing
September 14, 2012

A Totally Impractical Guide to an Intellectually Dirty Weekend in Nanjing

I often (well, once every few months, which is technically often in geological terms) get emails from people asking me for advice on what to do in, say, Random Chinese City I Mentioned Once In a Post. Although I feel slightly honoured that someone actually …

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Making You Jealous in Tangier, Morocco
August 1, 2012

Making You Jealous in Tangier, Morocco

So, Tangier. We came here because Doug was sick as a doug dog in Chefchaouen and we needed to go somewhere less strenuous than our previous intended destination, which was the freaking southern desert area. Camels and Bedouin and all. Not good when you’re ill. …

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Making You Jealous in Chefchaouen, Morocco
July 25, 2012

Making You Jealous in Chefchaouen, Morocco

We are now in Chefchaouen, Morocco. If anyone has a spare million dollars or so for me to buy my own riad here, I’d be much obliged. I really need to live here. Seriously. This edition of Making You Jealous is going to be a …

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Notes on Travelling in Fes, Morocco During the First Few Days of Ramadan
July 24, 2012

Notes on Travelling in Fes, Morocco During the First Few Days of Ramadan

  This was going to be two posts originally, one about Ramadan in Fes and one about trying (note the emphasis on trying) to be an independent traveller in Fes.  The more I made notes (I couldn’t do my usual silver-shovel unedited, quickly posted  word-dump …

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Mapping the Amorphous City: I Attempt to Plot a Walking Tour of Shanghai
April 16, 2012

Mapping the Amorphous City: I Attempt to Plot a Walking Tour of Shanghai

  One thing I have learned from two years of writing here (and from approximately 30 years of writing in general) is that I can be factual, accurate and interesting- but never all three at the same time. Most of my university career was spent …

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How Not to Travel in China During the October National Holiday
October 2, 2011

How Not to Travel in China During the October National Holiday

For about a month, our conversations went something like this: “How about Thailand? If we fly in to Phuket, we could catch a ferry to X and go diving for 3 days…” “No, no- what about the decompression time after and before the flight? I’m …

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Notes on Genocidal Tourism in Cambodia
February 27, 2011

Notes on Genocidal Tourism in Cambodia

One of the emotionally complicating factors of constantly living in and travelling through countries with troubled pasts is that you will inevitably end up having many conversations with and interacting with people who had lived through that troubled past. And given that troubled pasts often …

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Meat and Mops- My Parents’ Journey to Qibao
January 22, 2011

Meat and Mops- My Parents’ Journey to Qibao

So we went to Qibao yesterday, our first grand excursion in a week or so, as I’d been busy with stupid school stuff and having my jaw sledge-hammered, and my mother was battling her semi-inevitable post-flight cold. Doug and I had gone there about two …

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On travelling and on staying put
July 24, 2010

On travelling and on staying put

We’ve been in Myanmar about two weeks now, travelling close to the ground (usually about 6 inches from the pavement when facing backwards on a trishaw) and grinding our way from Yangon to Moulmein to Kyaiktiyo to Yangon to Mandalay to Hsipaw and I’m tired. …

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The Hordes of Yangshuo
May 4, 2010

The Hordes of Yangshuo

  The hills are so famous that they are on the 20rmb note.  Looking closely at a 20rmb note, I failed to see the armies of uniformed tour groups and the clusters of hotels and the endless checkpoints of touts and vendors surrounding the hills. …

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