Wake Of Empires

In the Wake of Empires (June-August 2006)

In June 2006, I embarked on a journey around the world. At the time, it was ostensibly…

Around the world in 58 days: 04 August 2006 (Friday)

Time for tea: 03 August 2006 (Thursday)

My grand plan for Thursday was to have a vegetarian brunch with Lisa and then go spend the…

“It would be a pity if…”: 02 August 2006 (Wednesday)

The billboard at the Suzhou train station loudly proclaimed the following words of a poet from the Song Dynasty: “It would be a pity if one were to visit Suzhou and not see Tiger Hill”. Chris, Lisa and I had decided to go out of town on…

Winding down in Shanghai: 01 August 2006 (Tuesday)

I have only two days left in this amazing journey. Reading this entry you might get the idea that I’ve been lounging around my friends Chris and Lisa’s apartment awaiting my departure. In reality it has just happened to be a relatively…

The Last Train: 29 July 2006 (Saturday)

I can’t believe it. I’ve boarded my train for the last leg of this journey across Europe and Central Asia. Tomorrow morning I will have crossed coast to coast, climbed the highest point on a continent and met the most amazing people from so many countries…

Praying to the Halls of Dispelling Clouds: 28 July 2006 (Friday)

I am now convinced Beijing is perpetually shrouded in a dismal mist. How do people live here? I’d have jumped off the Gates of Heavenly Peace a long time ago. Ugh. Yes, today was dismal, wet and clouded over. The plan…

Close your eyes and pray!: 27 July 2006 (Thursday)

Our Great Wall adventure was quite the experience. If you like walls, this one is quite amazing, otherwise it’s a mighty long and probably not so interesting fence. I like walls. We had booked a car through Robin’s contacts to take us to a…

Forbidden Ramblings: 26 July 2006 (Wednesday)

Beijing is a foggy, misty, polluted and rambling city that alternates between making me nostalgic for my former home city of Hong Kong and making me crave the simplicity of Gir life in Mongolia. It is modern, chaotic, communist and distinctly…

Beijing or Bust: 25 July 2006 (Tuesday)

I am currently on the plane winging my way to Bejing, China. This definitely was not how I pictured arriving in Beijing, but “them’s be the breaks”! Mongolian Airlines and the Mongolian airport have been incredibly efficient, clean, new and impressive. The…