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Overseas Cooking Classes – Your Best Travel Souvenir

May 23, 2012 at 7:24 am in China, Culinary, Cultural Experiences, Cultural Exploration by Jennifer Choban · Leave a Comment »

Thank you, James Michener! I’ve learned a lot from your books over the years and the thousand pages of Iberia I just finished was no exception, an enlightening tour of Spanish history and culture. However, I can say without a doubt, that the most important part of the book (and for me, probably the most [...]

by Jennifer Choban

My Travel Soundtrack – Music on the Road

Apr 27, 2012 at 9:57 am in China, Cultural Experiences, Cultural Exploration, Israel by Jennifer Choban · 8 Comments »

DanDan, the twenty-year-old daughter of my Chinese host family, had decided that we would go to KFC for lunch. I wasn’t thrilled, but when in Rome do as the Romans do, and in China, American fast food was immensely popular.
I had been in Asia for less than a week and couldn’t order for myself, so [...]

by Nate Harper

Made in China: A Lesson in Bargaining

Mar 20, 2012 at 10:25 am in China, Cultural Experiences, Hiking, Trekking, Walking by Nate Harper · 4 Comments »

For the ardent traveler, buying a new backpack is a serious affair. Proper research is needed, and many factors should be taken into consideration; the size, style frame, fit, and so on before one “takes the plunge.” Nowadays, we are lucky to have, at our convenience, in-store experts and online reviews to help in the [...]

by Jennifer Choban

Demon Blockers – A Women’s Travel Story

Mar 9, 2012 at 2:29 pm in Asia, China, Cultural Experiences by Jennifer Choban · 7 Comments »

March 8th was International Women’s Day and to commemorate that, this is a women’s travel story. Yes, I do mean a tampon story. Consider yourself warned.
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Driving from Panjin to Dan Dong should only have taken three or four hours, but the bus was taking the scenic route and the first snowstorm of the year had [...]

by Jennifer Choban

Four practical things you should know how to do in China and SE Asia

Oct 2, 2010 at 6:18 pm in Asia, China, Travel Tips by Jennifer Choban · 3 Comments »

Eat, drink and be merry

Welcome to the land of hot pot, noodle soup for breakfast, Peking duck and wonderful veggies cooked in clay pots. Throughout a lot of SE Asia, you can get away with just using a spoon. But as you work your way east, you’ll want to be proficient with chopsticks. Hold [...]

by Jennifer Choban

Fat and White in China

Sep 11, 2010 at 8:43 pm in Asia, China, Cultural Exploration by Jennifer Choban · 3 Comments »

The silk blouse being held up before me was beautiful, but I shook my head no. “Too small for me,” I said. The salesman smiled widely and said, “No problem- for you I have extra, extra, extra large!” Then he held up a blouse that was the equivalent of a size four.
This is a common [...]

by Janice Au

Tulou: Walking into Living Homes

Aug 11, 2010 at 10:19 am in Asia, China, Eco Adventures by Janice Au · Leave a Comment »

Tulou cluster in the mountainous Fujian region

By Janice Au
This part of China was never on the list of holiday ideas at the time until its now-famous Fujian Tulou (Chinese: 福建土樓) was inscribed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Driven by curiosity I decided to have a look at these strange constructions that were once mistaken as traces of UFO on our [...]