Tag Archives: city

notworkrelated Shanghai

China – Shanghai – 7th December

Having decided on our next destination we bought our tickets from the bus station for Tunxi. This required an underground subway ride but it didn’t take too long. Taikang Road Art Centre has a nice exterior and looks very modern so we decided to take … Read More

notworkrelated Hutong Cooking

China – Beijing – Hutong Cooking/Bell Tower – 1st December

We came across The Hutong earlier in the month when we attended a Christmas event at The International Canadian School of Beijing. They had a stand showcasing some of their events and we picked up a schedule for the month. We’d already attended the Tai … Read More

notworkrelated Xian

China – Xian – 24th-29th November

We have quite a lot to fit in on this post so here we go… We had a night train booked to go to Xian, leaving Beijing West on a hardsleeper. The train was full and we were 2 of 6 in our cabin in … Read More

notworkrelated_hutong vs the village sanlitun

China – Beijing – Hutong vs Sanlitun – 16th/17th November

As we are staying in a Hutong it makes sense document the way of life here. On the surface many of these alleyways look pre-historic and worn, but we know that inside they may be completely the opposite and often you will see a huge … Read More

notworkrelated Beijing2

China – Beijing – 9th-11th November

Posting a blog post everyday which involves writing a mini diary and editing through copious amounts of photos takes up lots of time. Therefore we have decided that as we are a few weeks behind we are going to try and condense the posts into … Read More

notworkrelated Beijing Day 1

China – Beijing – The Beginning – 8th November

Today is the day that we become semi-residents in Beijing, China. We grabbed some breakfast from the Templeside lodge which was very nice, photographed the Hutongs from the upper outdoor deck and chatted to an American guest drinking tea on the terrace. All very pleasant … Read More

notworkrelated Kobe to Tianjin

Kobe to Tianjin 6th-7th November

We had over 30 hours to go when we woke up the following morning ready for our complimentary breakfast. Although the food announcements were made in English it seemed that the Chinese announcement was always much earlier, so by the time we arrived at the … Read More

notworkrelated_Osaka2_25

Japan – Osaka 4th November

We woke up to another morning of blue skies and broad sunlight, funny that it all comes as you’re about to leave! We had the Hostel 64 breakfast which consisted of orange juice, some home-made bread, jam and coffee (for Helen) although it was okay … Read More

notworkrelated Osaka1

Japan – Kyoto – 3rd November

Helen didn’t have the best night sleep, it was pretty chilly in our room and the painted tigers on the walls did little to make us feel warm either. The bell rang at 5.50am and we made our way to the shrine area for the … Read More

notworkrelated Kyoto 1

Japan – Kanazawa to Kyoto October 30th

After the loveliness that was Dave’s birthday day we got up early, packed our bags and took advantage of our late check out time but going to one of Japan’s most famous and most beautiful gardens; the Kenrokuen Gardens. The light was quite flat so … Read More

notworkrelated tokyo

Japan – Tokyo 22nd October

Toast and jam for breakfast. Destination today: to re-visit the Harajuku and Shibuya district and delve deeper into the backstreets. We have both agreed that our favorite places to visit in Tokyo so far were the fish market and Harajuku. The fish market is so … Read More

notworkrelated tokyo

Japan – Tokyo 21st October

Woke up to a constant drizzle today and read in the hotel that the bike tours for the Imperial Palace are on Sundays only and aren’t on when it rains either! You can hire bikes there without a tour but again not when it’s raining. … Read More