Exploring the world one step at a time
Our train to Jining Nan Compared to the Russia-Mongolia train crossing, the Ulaanbaatar-Beijing leg can be described as slightly dodgy. The options for passage from Russia to Mongolia are more or less straightforward but...
What could be more humbling than the combination of slippery ice, lack of exercise and a crumbling wall? I certainly couldn’t think of any- me, a tiny speck moving slowly on China’s...
All those times I travelled alone, I was never totally convinced that I was entirely by myself. I heard my mother’s voice when I was in Beijing in January ’05. It was the...
I will always remember the train from Guilin to Shenzhen as the train where I did not sleep. It all began with the Man Who Snored. He came on board when the train stopped...
Beijing’s Yonghegong, or Yonghe Temple, is the closest I’ve ever been to Tibet. Also known as the Lama Temple, this is one of the most important Tibetan Buddhist monasteries in China. The Lama Temple has...
I’d always suspected I was a sentimental fool but now I know for sure. I’m not exactly a hoarder, but I like keeping stuff, especially things which remind me of my travels. A few...
Somewhere in a flat or house in China is a Lonely Planet phrasebook in Mandarin which used to belong to me. It has ‘Anis Ibrahim, Feb 2005’ written in a big, happy...
