May 2010:
My return to the Philippines to continue my RTW journey was fruitful. After my long
Diversion in Japan.
Subic bay hosted the China cup series and I secured passage to Hong Kong on a sailing vessel named Tipsy Frenz.
The crew were great and the passage was an incredible experience.
Hong Kong was a beautiful, vibrant, fun city.
I found China covered in a layer of smog, but it had some incredible things to see, if you could see them anyway..
I met Mr Panda and Attended the Sichuan Opera in Chengdu.
Traveling mainly by train, I made it up to the clear skies of the mountains and saw some of the most picturesque scenery imaginable. Namely Jiuzhaigou national park. However, the walkie talkie men in black prevented us from hanging out with our Tibetan friends.
Deeper, into the minority communities, I enjoyed horse trekking with nomadic Tibetans. Although I couldn't seem to get the right speed of horse.
I then explored one of the largest pilgrimage sites for yellow hat Buddhists: Labrang Monastery.
I was able to find my 20 yuan moment at Yangshuo, come face to face with the terracotta warriors and get further inspiration to train as a Shaolin kung fu master.
I'm on my way to Mongolia next, despite the drought!