Looking for a tropical getaway? Hainan island offers a different taste of China with volcanoes, rainforests and unique culture
Category: Asia
Street food heaven in Xi’an’s Muslim Quarter
Xi’an is a city of seven million people, famed as the Gateway to the Silk Road and for the nearby Terracotta Warriors, an unmissable World Heritage site. But its history as a trading centre which welcomed people from across the world is reflected in the wide range of street food on offer. If you’re looking…
My ten favourite China trip photos
I’m not going to lie, I was a little nervous about our China trip. Huge crowds, pollution and the language barrier all worried me a little. But if you’re looking for stacks of history and some spectacular scenery, China is a winner. It’s also not as difficult to travel around by train as we expected,…
China on the horizon
2018 has been a quieter travel year for me, but we are heading east in a couple of months’ time to visit China! We were looking for somewhere warm and malaria free to spend some time in November and Hainan, a subtropical island in the South China sea came up – handily there are now…
Visiting Tana Toraja – an unforgettable stop on your Sulawesi trip
“Do you know the story of why the Torajan people have houses with roofs shaped like boats? It’s said that our ancestors arrived from the north in a fierce storm and their boats were badly damaged, so much so that they couldn’t take to sea again. So instead they used the boats as shelter.” Tana…
Whale-watching in the Lembeh Straits, Sulawesi
The limpid waters of the Lembeh Straits lapped the black sands of Tangkoko as our outrigger canoe pushed out in search of pilot whales. The fuzzy edges of the nearby volcano slowly sharpened into view as dawn broke over this little-visited corner of Indonesia’s 17,000 or so islands. The hot roti hurriedly collected from a…
A Sulawesi state of mind (tips for where to visit in Sulawesi)
What image does the word Sulawesi conjure up for you? Have you even heard of it? Maybe if you’re older you might know it by the names of Celebes. Sulawesi is one of the largest islands in the Indonesian archipelago, oddly shaped like an octopus or spider. Its northern tip and southern province welcome some tourists…
A dream fulfilled at Borobudur
It’s been a long-time dream of mine to visit Borobudur, a 9th century Buddhist temple in Central Java and a few weeks ago my dream was finally fulfilled. I couldn’t quite believe I was there, just 12 hours after arriving in Yogyakarta after a very long journey from the UK. Borobudur is one of Java’s…
2 weeks in Java and Sulawesi – trip highlights in photos
The stupas of Borobudur, central Java The incredible Hindu temple of Prambanan, central Java The keraton (sultan’s palace) in Yogyakarta Javanese dance in Surakarta An amazing sunrise boat ride spotting pilot whales, Tangkoko national park, North Sulawesi Relaxing in paradise a.k.a. Bunaken island, North Sulawesi The fascinating cliff burials of Tana Toraja, Sulawesi Torajan…
Next stop Indonesia!
It’s #WanderfulWednesday again (it seems to come round quicker every week!). If you love travelling and want to inspire and share your stories with others, this is the Blog Hop for you! Visit any of the blogs listed below to read this week’s posts. In just over a week I’ll be heading east to a…