Aral Sea The city of Aralsk was historically a major fishing port in the Soviet Union. This artwork, in the town’s train station, depicts the citizens of Aralsk shipping off fish to feed the rest of the USSR.
Tag: Rural Life
Langmusi
Much like Jiuzhaigou, the draw to Langmusi was a combination of Tibetan culture and natural beauty. Two large Tibetan temples sit above the town, and beyond both lie opportunities for hiking through distinctly different environments. Just past the Sichuan monastery lies Namo Gorge, a valley enclosed by rocks and a […]
Jiuzhaigou: Tibetan Villages
One that important to realize about Tibet is the distinction between cultural and political Tibet. Politically, “Tibet” is the Tibetan Autonomous Region including Lhasa, Everest, a bunch of other cities, and China’s border with Nepal. Culturally, however, Tibet is much bigger. Tibet once controlled much of Western China, and still […]
Sichuan: Villages
Because she was still on vacation for the Spring Festival holiday, Carmen and I hung out for the next few days I was in Chengdu. Eventually, she invited me to go with her to visit several areas near where she grew up. The two of us spent one day in […]
Fujian and Xiamen
After about a month of teaching in Shenzhen came my first vacation: National Day. Myself and a group of 7 other teachers from CTLC had trouble finding tickets to anywhere we were super excited about going, so instead we headed to where we COULD find tickets: Xiamen. Fujian province is […]
Guangdong Province
If Shenzhen was homebase, the rest of Guangdong province was the easiest way to get out of town for a few days. I didn’t take nearly as many of these trips as I could (should) have, but had a good experience with all the ones I managed.
Hey there! I'm Stephen, this is my travel blog, and that's me in the poofy hat.
I'm a photographer / writer traveling since 2008, and I've been doing my best to visit amazing places.
My current focus is Central Asia, because for a hiking and camping enthusiast it's as good as it gets.