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I sometimes feel a bit nostalgic for the time a few years ago when I would plan epic county-crossing adventures for the weekend. But there isn’t any reason why I can’t do that here in Shanghai, I just need … a goal. And what better goal than walking the entire length of metro line 12. […]

Shanghai seems almost totally flat but there’s actually two little hills out in the suburbs to the west at a place called Sheshan (佘山). Just take metro line 9 to the station with the same name and then bus number 92 from outside. The “forest park” is nice enough but the main attraction is a […]

I finally got to fly on an A380 for the first time when I went home last month. On the way out I got an economy seat upstairs at the front of the plane. More than a little bit excited. Would have liked to spend a day or two in Dubai. Maybe next time…

I went for a short walk on the South Downs near Willingdon with my parents last week. This isn’t far from where I grew up but I only got into walking long after I moved away from Hastings so I haven’t explored here at all. Hope I can come back one day and do a […]

I went back to Suzhou for a weekend recently and visited a few new places, mostly around Mudu (木渎) to the west of the city. I’ve been to Suzhou so many times but this was the first time I made it to Taihu, one of China’s largest inland lakes. And finally I visited Mudu old […]

I went to Zhouzhuang ancient town a few weeks for a day trip. It takes just an hour or so by bus from Shanghai, and because of that it’s extremely crowded on the weekend and also very commercialised. There’s also not many indoor attractions and museums to visit, just a lot of shops. The town […]

I forgot to post anything from my work trip to Chengdu last year. A bit late, but I saw pandas for the first time ever! In a sort of semi-wild panda sanctuary. The best bit was when one of them climbed up a tree, looked around, and then climbed/fell down again. Otherwise they lived up […]

Here’s another of these traditional water towns. It would be quite unremarkable if it wasn’t in the Shanghai suburbs, which makes it very easy to get to (it’s actually just a few km from where I live). But this also means it’s full of tourists and very over commercialised. It’s definitely worth an hour or […]

I was at home visiting my parents last weekend and decided to go out for a walk eastwards through the marshes towards Rye. But I didn’t make it that far and ended up in the ancient village of Winchelsea. The Church is worth a visit as it’s very picturesque, and Spike Milligan is buried in […]

I’m back in the UK now but somehow things seem … different. When I left Heathrow in February it was snowing and around freezing. Now it’s 30+ degrees and all the grass has turned yellow. Weird. Went for a walk the other day between Loudwater and Henley. Just following the Chiltern Way like I did […]