A short bit of history. After Mao’s death in 1976, China was a poor agricultural country with a centrally planned economy and recurring famines. It could easily have become a second Cuba—if Deng Xiaoping hadn’t had the foresight to realize…
Again and again we spot robots at sales stands, selling ice cream or coffee. You tap your credit card or phone, and the robot arms start swinging. The only problem: all instructions are in Chinese—and sometimes instead of coffee, you…
For us, Macau was what you’d call a “wicked gambler’s hell,” with rumors about the Chinese Mafia that were wilder than any Hollywood flick. When the Portuguese handed the keys over to China in 1999, it was like: Doors wide…
This city has always fascinated us, and now we can experience it for ourselves. After a small side trip to North Vietnam, we re-entered China for another 30 days. It is significantly more expensive here in HK, which you also notice because the…
We now set our watches by the trains’ departure times. All our trains—and we’ve taken about 10 train rides now—have departed precisely on the minute. A top performance! And then the “unthinkable” happened: panic! After a 750 km (466 mile)…
Rice is deeply woven into China’s culture, and visiting the rice terraces is truly unforgettable. We take a train from Kunming down south, close to the Vietnamese border, and then another two hours by taxi (€36) up into the mountains…
Like a miracle, 3 old, large pagodas from the 9th century of the Tang Dynasty have survived. The tallest is nearly 70 m (230 ft) high. They survived 30 earthquakes, including the devastating one in 1925, which almost completely destroyed the surrounding…
What a beautiful holiday paradise. A large lake surrounded by mountains, a 30 km (18.6 mile) long car-free promenade, and the most gorgeous sunshine. We are once again off the “international tourist route” and the little children are staring at us…
Today we’re taking a trip to see where a tiger is said to have leaped across a wild river. First, we travel 80 km (50 miles) further north into the mountains by bus (€6/person). At the site of the legend, a…
We’re super excited. Today we took the bus and cable car up the high mountain. It’s so high that you can/should buy oxygen canisters everywhere in the town or at vending machines. Magic potion that’s make you strong We’ve had bad luck…
Women are “rare” and “expensive” (Heads up, if you’re in a rush, a longer text follows now, more for those interested in China.) It has always been the tradition in China for men to make a “bride price” payment for…
From Chengdu, this time we’re flying, to Lijiang, Yunnan (approx. 1,000 km hr flight, €48/person including luggage). Lijiang is a city in the mountains (2,600m) and has a very beautiful historic town center that is part of the UNESCO World Heritage. Mainly the Naxi people live here, and…
The pandas are cute and large at the same time, and a prime example of vegetarian evolution. They are actually complete carnivores by anatomy, but they eat 99% bamboo. Because there are very few nutrients in bamboo, they spend 14-16 hours a day eating, move extremely slowly,…
We always thought a city with 21 million inhabitants (9.5 million in the urban area) would be a wild concrete jungle, with stinking traffic chaos, dirty and confusing. What a positive surprise! Despite the many people, Chengdu (but also Xi’an and Beijing) is very organized, clean, and graffiti-free,…
We were warned multiple times. During Golden Week (from October 1st to 8th), which also includes the Mid-Autumn Festival, many Chinese have time off and children have school holidays. These are some of the few days a year when Chinese people have free…
Arrival in Leshan We leave the usual tourist routes and take the train to Leshan (900 km, 4:50 h, €42). This is about 140 km south of Chengdu. We are a little exotic here. People greet us simply on the street, some…
No two are alike—whether it’s the beard, braids, face, or ears, none are the same. And this is with 7-8,000 warriors. But even back then, mass production was the order of the day. They cast the basic figure using only…
Our first experience with the “high-speed train” was overwhelming. At an average of 250 km/h, we covered the approximately 1,100 km from Beijing to Xi’an in 4.5 hours, almost effortlessly gliding. (Travel costs 75 €) We will tell you more about “train travel…
If someone ever takes a suborbital space flight with Virgin Galactic, they absolutely must tell us if the Great Wall can be seen from space. At about 21,000 km long, it is definitely very long and a “Wonder of the World.” We never…
China is full of NEW experiences and is different in many aspects of daily life. We simply have to tell you briefly about a few of these things. Curiosities in Photos and Videos We were able to photograph or film…
Eating “Beijing Duck” in Beijing is already a special experience. Especially when you’re invited by Chinese friends from Valencia. These friends have been living permanently in Valencia for years, but they asked a family member in Beijing to take us…
It’s a small world! As luck would have it, we’re chatting with Javier, who’s been traveling through Mongolia for a month. You won’t believe it, but he’s in Beijing at the exact same time as us! What a coincidence! Javier…
These traditional neighborhoods with residential courtyards and many small alleys exist all over China and are full of life and contrasts. The Hutongs near the Forbidden City were once reserved for very wealthy families, but after World War II, the…
27 beds in the Emperor’s sleeping chamber. The Forbidden City wouldn’t be nearly as exciting if it weren’t for its thousands of concubines and even more eunuchs. Since there were also four Empresses, there were even “fake” eunuchs. Later on,…
Hooray, we made it to CHINA. Arrival in the middle of the night, 4:00 a.m. Exciting! Will the internet work? Where to get cash? How do we reach the hotel? Does Alipay work?In the end, everything was easy: taxi ride…
Wedding anniversary in Budapest – and the sun was shining bright. Today we explored BUDA, climbed up to the Citadel and crossed over to the Castle District. From there you have a brillant view. DinnerCruise on the Danube To make…
Loaded like donkeys but without a hitch, we arrived in Budapest in the evening. Our little hotel was in the perfect spot, right between the old town and the Danube. Strolling through PEST We wandered through this charming city full…
The adventure is about to kick off – two months backpacking through China, plus a quick visa hop into Northern Vietnam. This time, no more random Sunday morning WhatsApp pics – instead, we’ll take you along with us through this…
Don´t read this. This is only a blog-test.