My travels. Turned into stories.
When I had planned out the bigger outlines of my itinerary to Southeast Asia and back, I decided I would not come back exactly via the same route as on the outward journey. One reason was that I didn’t feel like doing the Transsiberian twice on the same trip; the other was the idea of… Continue reading How my overland travel mission almost ended in Kazakhstan
I had given myself 11 days to make my way from Kunming in the south to the border with Kazakhstan in the northwest. Everything was planned out, as I had to in order to obtain the visa. My first stop in Yuanyang was already a bit off the beaten track as far as tourism in… Continue reading How I travelled through alienating places in western China
On December 5, 2017, the time had come for me to start the journey back to Belgium. Departing from northern Thailand, my mission was to arrive back in Antwerp before New Year’s Eve. The easy part: from Thailand to Laos It was with teary eyes and a very heavy heart that I stepped into the… Continue reading From Thailand to China: the unlikely overland route through Laos
It was now mid-November and I was back in Bangkok, with the important task of obtaining a new visa for China. I would be starting to head back to Belgium in early December, and crossing China was going to be a crucial part of that journey, which would be impossible without a new visa. And… Continue reading Getting a Chinese visa in Bangkok
Going by train from Nanning (China) to Hanoi (Vietnam) didn't exactly make for the smoothest border crossing of the trip. But once I had arrived, I could proudly say that after taking 19 different trains and a bus, I had made it all the way to Southeast Asia, without taking one single airplane! And after… Continue reading A tough path to Hanoi, my home away from home
The decision to go and volunteer at the panda base in Ya'An was a very impulsive one. I had initially only planned on visiting the place. But seeing the pandas and their environment made me want to come back for more. Applying: an administrational race against the clock When I e-mailed the panda base on… Continue reading One day as a panda volunteer
"What are the Chinese like?" People keep asking me this question, and it’s impossible to answer it in one word. Some of the Chinese people I met were really nice, especially hostel staff, but also random people helping me out in the street. Others were impolite or even rude, mostly in queues or crowds. And… Continue reading Chinese encounters – weirdos and sweethearts
Travelling through China was quite the experience: a fascinating culture, strange people, delicious food, enormous crowds, stunning sights. In this blog post, I'll take you along my travel itinerary through China from north to south, showing you the places I have visited in exactly 10 photos. 1. Getting to know the Chinese tourist crowds at… Continue reading Crossing China from north to south in 10 photos
I didn't enjoy the 27-hour train ride from Ulan Bator to Beijing. I was upset that I had lost my glasses, and started reflecting on 5 weeks of travel in a melancholic way. Travel blues? Little did I know Beijing was going to completely turn that feeling around. Not in the first hour upon arriving,… Continue reading Beijing: my reset week
Morgane's Travel Tales 