(Jan 7 – Feb 20) – Blog on postpone, resume and catch-up upon return.
Hey guys, if I haven’t talked to you within a few weeks, just wanted to let you guys know I’ve been travelling China for the past week or so. Chinese people don’t celebrate Christmas, so there was no Christmas break for me.
Instead, we get a super long break for the Chinese New Year, (Jan 7 – Feb 20).
Decided to pack up all my things (minus the laptop) into two MEC backpacks and bravely embark on an adventure travelling China. Not alone though, accompanied by one of my classmates, Steven, who’s from England.
Here’s my travel itinerary: (though I don’t expect you to know any of these cities unless you come from them or something, the only places I knew in China before I came here were Beijing and Hong Kong)
(Starting place): Beijing
1. Chengdu, capital of Sichuan province
2. Lijiang, Yunnan province (As of Jan 17th, have arrived)
3. Kunming, capital of Yunnan
4. Guilin, capital of Guangxi province
5. Sanya, Hainan province (Southernmost part of China, same latitude as Hawaii, so gonna be nice and warm)
Feels like this is a pretty young age (18)to be travelling a foreign country alone.
Travelling alone with just one other guy has proved to be quite a feat. I have travelled to many places in the world in my lifetime but it was always with my family; so I would never have to worry about things like accomadation and transportation.
So I’m learning as I go along how to book hotels, figure out how to use a city’s public transportation system, find fun things to do in a new city.
BUT WHAT MAKES THIS TRIP INTENSE IS THAT IVE ONLY BEEN STUDYING CHINESE FOR 4 MONTHS!!
So most of the time it’s a slight loss of translation, but regardless, my communication skills (not just specifically Chinese) are improving at a fast rate.
Things like Hostelworld.com, the Lonely Planet guide, and the compass I was given have proven to be extremely useful. I’ve taken a ton of photos as always, and I’ll post them up and keep you guys up-to-date about all of my travels (from the point I’ve left off at day 25) once I return to Beijing and get access to my laptop.
I’ll be back before you even know it,