Clay's Blog

The blue angels rocked.

After four days in Singapore it was off to see my brother in Abu Dhabi. I was really curious to see how fast they were developing this region. To put it lightly, I was blown away.  An added twist is that I would be arriving during Ramadan.  This would mean no restaurants would be open… Continue reading Dubai & Abu Dhabi

Singapore is everything China is not although it feels like everyone is Chinese and the speak Mandarin as well as they do English. Its very clean, the people are polite and there is no pollution or traffic. After three weeks in China it was refreshing to be able to get on and off a train… Continue reading Singapore

It was a quick flight to Shenzhen then to Hong Kong.  Another travel recommended that I fly to Shenzhen because its cheaper to fly within “china” and then take the train into Hong Kong.  Plus I would get to do some shopping and eat some dim sum in cheaper Shenzhen. I got to see this… Continue reading Shenzen & back to Hong Kong

Chengdu is a large city in central China known for its Panda breeding facility. I booked a tour to go and see the Pandas for the first day and the following day I would head down to Leshan to climb Emei shan. Panda Pictures to follow. Leshan & Emei Shan Nice little garden at the… Continue reading Chengdu, Pandas & Emei Shan

Realizing my time in China was short, I decided to bus back to Guilian and then fly to Lijiang rather than making the journey west by land. Lijiang is a great town to visit, in addition it is the hopping off point to hike Tiger Leaping gorge. Rain was becoming an issue as it rained… Continue reading Lijiang & Tiger Leaping Gorge

Yangshuo has been my China highlight. All of the cities in China are so big they aren’t even manageable. Yangshuo on the other hand is a small town set between limestone spires. It looks like something out of a movie. The mountains seem to go on forever and the town is knitted in between. Amazing… Continue reading Yangshuo

Guilian is said to be one of the most beautiful places in China. The Karst mountains are impressive but the city leaves a bit to be desired. The After the night train from Guangzhou I was greeted by four touts trying to get me to stay at their hotel. Tired I broke down and surprisingly… Continue reading Guilian

Although, some people consider Hong Kong a part of China it really is not. I’d leave Hong Kong from the Kowloon side for “China” by train. Guangzhou formally known as Canton would be my first stop.  It was Sun Yat Sens, Mao Tse Tung and of course the home town of some of my chinese… Continue reading Guangzhou

No trip to Hong Kong should go without a stop in Macau. Macau is like a sister city with an unusual realationship to Hong Kong and China. I haven’t quite figured out if its an independent state, special economic zone or both. I was told that Macau blows Las Vegas out of the water and… Continue reading Macau