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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: animals, Shenzhen, culture, China

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

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

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: food, China, Shenzhen, culture, group tour, tourism

Sweating Away at Shenzhen’s Meilin Reservoir

Jul 16, 2014 by Daniel McBane 6 Comments

Shenzhen skyline from Meilin Reservoir in Shenzhen

Summers in China are horrible. They’re hot and humid and anyone who sets foot outside is instantly soaked in sweat. When I lived in Shanghai, I escaped to Kashgar in the far west of China for the summer. The temperatures are even higher there, but the complete lack of moisture makes life much more pleasant. […]

Filed Under: China Tagged With: China, Shenzhen, weather, walking

How I Enjoyed a Terrible Terracotta Warrior Tour in Xi’an

Feb 1, 2014 by Daniel McBane 14 Comments

Closeup of a Terracotta warrior in Xi'an, China

Most group tours are a waste of time and money. Tour guides drag you from one shop, often thinly disguised as a tourist attraction, to another, with a quick stop or two at an actual attraction in between. On full-day tours, they feed you lunch at an overpriced restaurant and when the day is over, […]

Filed Under: China Tagged With: China, Xi'an, group tour, tourism

No Foreigners Allowed in These Parts

Jan 4, 2014 by Daniel McBane 2 Comments

Tibetan grasslands near Langmusi in Sichuan China

They say that getting there is half the battle, but that was not often the case in China. Don’t get me wrong, getting anywhere in China is rarely easy—take my two attempts to make my way west to Sichuan province while I was living in Shanghai; once foiled by a snowstorm and once by an […]

Filed Under: China Tagged With: transportation, China, Sichuan

The Hassle of Finding a Hotel in Rural China

Oct 12, 2013 by Daniel McBane 14 Comments

Tibetan homes in Maerkang, Sichuan, China

I enjoy traveling in China overall, but that enjoyment does not generally extend to the accommodation search outside of popular destinations. Only hotels with the proper license are allowed to accept foreign guests and the Chinese government does not seem to hand out many of those licenses in less visited destinations. In many small towns […]

Filed Under: China Tagged With: transportation, China, Sichuan, Tibet, annoying people

Don’t Let China Into Your Home!

Sep 14, 2013 by Daniel McBane 14 Comments

apartment in xujiahui Shanghai

The concepts of manners and personal hygiene are viewed very differently in China. In my two years in the country, I saw people clipping their toenails at their restaurant table, grown men defecating by the side of the road, a pretty violent brawl between two old men on a bus and virtually everybody smoking everywhere […]

Filed Under: China Tagged With: Shanghai, China, culture, annoying people

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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.

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Recent Posts

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

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

The Flooded Streets of Shenzhen

The Flooded Streets of Shenzhen

Annoying Trekker Abuses Friendly Guesthouse Owner

Annoying Trekker Abuses Friendly Guesthouse Owner

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

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

Trekking On Our Day Off From Trekking in Manang

Trekking On Our Day Off From Trekking in Manang

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