Nathan Nelson I have no idea what that means. Simon and I are heading to Yunnan province today, to see Tiger Leaping Gorge, Lijiang, and hopefully some of the more remote minority villages. Shanghai has been good fun, the highlights of which were the most amusing haircut I ever had, and an excellent facial yesterday. I say …
Old poser Originally uploaded by Natmandu. That’s what Richard Nixon apparently said when he saw the Great Wall. Well done Dick. There was no need to worry about whether the Great Wall would be any good – it was fantastic. A small group of us walked between Jinshanling and Simatai, a beautiful quiet stretch of …
What a strange time to be in Beijing – yesterday was the sixteenth anniversary of the Tiananmen Square massacre. Passing by Tiananmen Square, hundreds of tourists packed the square, many probably unaware of the relevance of the date, but with more police and army than usual in case of demonstrations, and with no mention of …
Line up, look straight Originally uploaded by Natmandu. Repeat after me… “Ching gay wor yee-pying shwee”. That is the way you say “Please give me a bottle of water”. Useful if you’re sweating your bits off walking around Tiananmen Square like I was today. Mandarin is becoming slowly less scary the more I’m using it, …
Hong Kong Island Originally uploaded by Natmandu. What was that I said about getting the hang of things travelling-wise? Pah. Spoke too soon. I still feel like an idiot tourist stumbling his way through a different culture hoping his clumsy English foppery and winning smile will get him through. China so far is attempting to …
Kowloon Originally uploaded by Natmandu. Where to start? It’s been a busy, busy few days. I left Suffolk after a much easier packing experience than the first time around, mainly because most of my stuff was already packed. One difference this time was a bit of a ‘Sunday night’ feeling about going back – looking …
© Nathan Nelson 2026
