DanielMcBane.com

Funny Travel Stories | Budget Travel Guides

  • Home
  • Travel Stories
    • Southeast Asia
      • Myanmar
      • Laos
      • Thailand
      • Indonesia
      • Malaysia
      • Singapore
      • Cambodia
    • South Asia
      • India
      • Nepal
    • East Asia
      • Japan
      • China
      • South Korea
    • Europe
      • Germany
      • Spain
    • Africa
      • Morocco
    • North America
      • United States
  • Travel Guides
    • Southeast Asia
      • Laos
      • Myanmar (Burma)
    • East Asia
      • China
      • Japan
  • Travel Resources
  • About
  • Contact

The World’s Saddest Zoo (If Not, I’d Hate To See What Tops It)

Jul 9, 2015 by Daniel McBane 16 Comments

Sad dog in tiny cage in Shenzhen, China

When you went to the zoo as a kid, which animals were you most excited to see? Monkeys? Lions? How about dogs? Or a pig? If you visit the small zoo attached to the Guanlan Mountain & Lake Garden Farm in Shenzhen, China, you won’t find the first two, but you’ll find plenty of dogs, […]

Filed Under: China Tagged With: Shenzhen, culture, China, animals

The Flooded Streets of Shenzhen

May 25, 2015 by Daniel McBane 14 Comments

Chinese girl on motorbike in flood

It rains a lot in southern China. Most of that rain falls during the monsoon season from April to September. This can be a little annoying if you’re traveling around China during the summer and you enjoy doing anything other than sitting in your hotel room. It can also wreak havoc on transportation in rural […]

Filed Under: China Tagged With: China, Shenzhen, weather, rain, flood

Annoying Trekker Abuses Friendly Guesthouse Owner

Mar 31, 2015 by Daniel McBane 16 Comments

Tilicho Lake basecamp on Annapurna Circuit in Nepal
This entry is part 13 of 13 in the series The Annapurna Circuit Trek

When you travel, you meet a lot of annoying people, but one tops them all: the person who won’t stop bragging about how little they’ve been spending. Now, the bragging itself is annoying, no question, but the way these people go about saving money is far worse. An example could explain this better than I. As luck would [read more…]

Filed Under: Nepal Tagged With: annoying people, mountains, Nepal, Annapurna, trekking, annoying tourist

Transportation Problems in India: Why Can’t I Leave Goa?

Jan 20, 2015 by Daniel McBane 4 Comments

sleeper car on Indian train

The Indian province of Goa has over 70 kilometers of beautiful beaches and excellent cheap food. That combination kept me in my beach hut two weeks longer than planned. India’s transportation network kept me there another two weeks. Flying in and out of Goa seems relatively simple, but leaving by land proved exceedingly difficult. When […]

Filed Under: India Tagged With: India, Goa, scams, bus, train, transportation

Trekking On Our Day Off From Trekking in Manang

Dec 3, 2014 by Daniel McBane 19 Comments

Lake near Manang on Annapurna Trek
This entry is part 12 of 13 in the series The Annapurna Circuit Trek

The next morning we ate a leisurely breakfast, content in the knowledge that we didn’t have to set out on a day of hiking. We were taking the day off to help us adjust to the altitude. OK, so we were already completely adjusted thanks to our slow pace and our having taken a day off for ‘altitude acclimatization’ in each [read more…]

Filed Under: Nepal Tagged With: Nepal, Annapurna, trekking, mountains

Snacking on Scorpions in Beijing

Oct 29, 2014 by Daniel McBane 12 Comments

The Chinese are famous for eating everything. Name an animal and I guarantee there’s a restaurant that serves it; name any part of that animal and they’ll have a dish featuring it. To be fair, mostly this stereotype applies to the south. There’s even a saying among the Chinese that people in Guangdong province “eat […]

Filed Under: China Tagged With: China, culture, food, strange food, Beijing

I Love Chinese Repairmen!

Sep 30, 2014 by Daniel McBane 11 Comments

When you live in a Chinese apartment, something will stop working. Actually, most things will stop working. The majority can be fixed using duct tape, paper clips, newspapers, rubber bands, chewing gum and/or various other items laying around the house. Occasionally none of those will work and you have to call a repairman. That’s when […]

Filed Under: China Tagged With: China, Shenzhen, culture, language difficulty, annoying people, locals

Arriving In Manang…Two Weeks Later Than Most

Sep 10, 2014 by Daniel McBane 6 Comments

Monastery in front of Annapurna III Nepal
This entry is part 11 of 13 in the series The Annapurna Circuit Trek

After my apparently trend-setting ice bucket shower and a quick breakfast, we headed out. This was the day that would take us to Manang, the largest town on the Annapurna circuit trek and generally seen as the halfway point. It is also the last bastion of civilization before the Throng Lo Pass. Manang sits down in the valley, which meant [read more…]

Filed Under: Nepal Tagged With: Nepal, Annapurna, trekking, mountains, accommodation

How Long Does It Really Take To Pick Ten Lychees?

Aug 20, 2014 by Daniel McBane 13 Comments

Lychees on a tree at Shenzhen, China farm

I’ve been on a number of sightseeing tours in China and they all had one thing in common: they were bad. Often very, very bad (like this one in Xi’an). Despite that, I enjoyed most of them. Having the right people on the tour helps, but the most important factor is attitude. If you go […]

Filed Under: China Tagged With: culture, group tour, tourism, food, China, Shenzhen

Drinking Yak Sewage in Ngawal

Jul 30, 2014 by Daniel McBane 4 Comments

A yak in Ngawal on the Annapurna Trek in Nepal
This entry is part 10 of 13 in the series The Annapurna Circuit Trek

A majestic yak with fuzzy red earrings greeted us at the entrance to Ngawal. We had seen a few yaks already, but from this point on they were everywhere—their meat even started popping up on guesthouse menus. We were mostly happy about this. Yak meat is delicious and the living animals make great photography subjects. They are little more than [read more…]

Filed Under: Nepal Tagged With: animals, Nepal, Annapurna, trekking, mountains

  • 1
  • 2
  • 3
  • …
  • 20
  • Next Page »

Welcome!

As the more astute among you may have guessed, my name is Daniel McBane. I've been traveling and working overseas for almost ten years now and have finally decided to document some of the strange, crazy or just plain funny encounters and observations from my travels. I've also added a travel guide section, figuring I should reward my four readers by providing at least something of use. Read more on my about page.

Get new stories by email

Recommend This Site

Travel Guides

  • Laos
  • Myanmar (Burma)
  • China
  • Japan

Funny Stories

  • Cambodia
  • China
  • Germany
  • India
  • Indonesia
  • Japan
  • Laos
  • Malaysia
  • Morocco
  • Myanmar
  • Nepal
  • Singapore
  • Spain
  • South Korea
  • Thailand
  • United States

Funny Advice

  • Photography Tips
  • Travel Tips

DanielMcBane.com

  • Home
  • About
  • Contact
  • Privacy Policy
  • Disclosure Policy

Connect

  • Twitter
  • Facebook
  • Google +
  • Pinterest
  • RSS

Like DanielMcBane.com

© 2023 by Daniel McBane · All rights reserved