To Fuji We travel by train towards Tokyo then divert by bus to head up the mountains to Kawaguchiko. The whole journey takes over 5 hours. The town is named for Lake Kawaguchi, one of the 5 lakes surrounding Mt Fuji. While this lake is surrounded by lodges and other tourist attractions, we are visitingRead more
Another great breakfast at the hotel, this time with some pork noodles. It’s still raining, unfortuantely. A 15 minute walk to the east gate of the park… …and then a very long creepy ride up the cable line up to TianZi Mountain. Much longer and higher than the previous. More of these lacqueredRead more
Accidentally finding the largest building in the world. Yelp reviews for local hot pot give me an address that led to the taxi driver letting me out in a sparsely populated suburban parking lot next to a huge building. I thought it was some kind of mistake, but the driver insisted. I walked closer, andRead more
Ci Qi Kou The Porcelain Village Situated on a tributary to the Jialing River west of Chongqing, this historic neighborhood has become, like many ‘old towns’ in China, packed with shops and restaurants and is packed with shoppers and sightseers day and night. Almost a square mile in size, the area is filled with buildingsRead more
Good morning, Chongqing! The view from the hotel: A little smoggy out. Turns out the hotel is in a pretty neat commerce district. A lot of shoppers…. …. and a lot of food. About 100 people were lined up to get these spicy noodles. Not bad! Spicy lambRead more
Took a flight into Dali, Yunnan. It was a silk road stop. I don’t really need to get into the importance and history of the Silk Road here. It’s pretty isolated up in the mountains, with a single Noth/South valley leading to other communities along the range. Dali Wood Carving and Marble are what theRead more
Jing and I head out for an early lunch of beef noodles. My tomato soup with beef and corn. Some really hearty prime rib beef needles with some unknown things in it. Pandas Jing and I went to the Panda Park. We fist headed to see the babies, but I caught a glace of thisRead more
Here’s a candid shot of me stocking up on drinks. I also picked up some buckwheat tea that I liked. Beef Noodles Craving some beef noodles, we stopped into a chain devoted to it. Expensive by Chinese standards, the food was good, but still not as great as the beef noodles I had inRead more