Exploring the world one step at a time
There are two main points about the Trans-Siberian and Trans-Mongolian Railways. The first is that the Trans-Siberian proper runs from Moscow to Vladivostok and the second is that the railway branches out from Ulan-Ude...
Three days ago, I boarded a train from Moscow. My destination is a town called Irkutsk, the main stop for Lake Baikal. This is a four-day journey and I’m expected to reach...
When does one start feeling for a city? What is the IT factor that makes you either hate or love a particular place? St Petersburg started out badly for me. I don’t...
I heard the motorbike rattling behind me before I actually saw it. The sound got louder and louder, which meant that I was being followed. The noisy bike caught up with me...
Something has been happening lately- ever since ‘news’ of my big trip leaked out, people have been asking me how I saved up for it. (They obviously know I’m not rich). To me there’s really...
What could be more humbling than the combination of slippery ice, lack of exercise and a crumbling wall? I certainly couldn’t think of any- me, a tiny speck moving slowly on China’s...
This was a mission like no other. I hadn’t eaten any spicy food for five days and I needed to have some really quickly. I was in Christchurch, New Zealand. It was winter,...
Ten years ago, I had this crazy idea that perhaps I could fly to Moscow, hop on a train and ride it right through to Beijing and from there, fly home to Malaysia....
1. Don’t mingle with the locals. Don’t chat with that old lady selling flowers at the market or the 12-year-old selling postcards by the road. Be convinced that the only locals you need to...
All those times I travelled alone, I was never totally convinced that I was entirely by myself. I heard my mother’s voice when I was in Beijing in January ’05. It was the...
