The Last Town in Sichuan
The town of Manigango sits astride a crossroad in north-west Sichuan. Turn right here, and an ancient dirt road will lead you into Sichuan’s extreme northwest, the birthplace of Tibetan […]
Tag Archives: Travel
The Case of the Lost-and-Found Passport
{In which my guests and I leave Chengdu on the journey that will take us to Lhasa:} While driving through rush-hour Chengdu bears more than a passing resemblance to piloting a […]
Paperwork Pains
The post-trip dust of mystery receipts and cryptic notes-to-self (‘It [what?!] starts at 4,650m’ and ‘Watch out for… [illegible scrawl]‘) has finally settled. When I’m leading a journey, the adventure is […]
Leaving Lhasa
We made it! Despite the worryingly high chance of getting snowed in en route, we got all the way from Chengdu to Lhasa – 3,000 kilometres – with only two […]
Radio Silence Imminent
All is well in cloudy Chengdu, my guests having thus far braved Chinese domestic flights, temporary driving license applications, and weapons-grade hotpot. Tomorrow the actual hijinks begin… Unlike my adventures […]
Rainclouds and Snowstorms
First for the rainclouds… It’s been a wet afternoon here in Hong Kong. Earlier, as I squeezed my way through the forest of head-height umbrellas that lined a crowded section […]
A Call to Doctor Ho
I recently found myself in the awkward position of having to call someone to ask whether they were still alive or not. The man in question, Doctor Ho, and I […]
Travel with care.
Why do we travel? I’ve been thinking about this a lot recently. Perhaps – as the writer Bruce Chatwin believed – we’re all nomads at heart. Perhaps we secretly yearn […]
Great Markets of Northwest China 2: Fat-Bottomed Sheep
As she walks past, her bottom jiggling with each step, the men’s heads turn and their eyebrows rise appreciatively. A wolf whistle would not be out of place, although nobody […]
Photographic Evidence, Days 19-40
You may have already seen the photos from the first half of my trip across Gansu, Qinghai and Xinjiang – here’s the second batch, for your viewing pleasure. These latest […]
How to keep cool in Xinjiang
You’re 3,000 miles away from the nearest coast, it’s 10am and 38°C outside, and it’s a Muslim region so cold beer and short shorts are not an option. How on […]
A State of Suspicion
I’ve never had my bags inspected as much as I have in Xinjiang. Each bus and train station has a luggage scanner and a body scanner, and you need generally […]
The Accidental Tomb Raider
I arrived in Cherchen in the middle of a dust storm. It had been gathering since I left Golmud the previous morning, gradually erasing the mountains and blotting out the […]
The Road to Golmud
As I sat on Bird Island waiting for the bus, it was just as well I didn’t know what was coming up next en route to Golmud. The journey – […]
Photographic Evidence, Days 1-18
Time for some photos, I think. Here’s a whirlwind look through my route so far – from Lanzhou to Khotan. Enjoy!
Little Yak 