Street Food in Chengdu

Recently I signed up to follow the blog "We're the Russos" via monthly email alerts. Mostly they write about van living - they travel the country in an RV. But occasionally they travel world-wide, and post their delightful video vignettes about their discoveries. This one is about eating street food in Chengdu, China. OMG - I now know where that is!! Thanks, Lorraine and Martin. For those of us who've never been, here's a quick video introduction to Chengdu foods from the Russos: SOURCE: https://weretherussos.com/chengdu-food-guide/

Japan

Their trip is almost over! Today Lorraine and Martin fly from Tokyo to Hong Kong in preparation for their return flight. What did they see in Japan? Did they ride the bullet train? What other cities did they see? Wikipedia has a lot to say about Japan - but reading about it is not the same as being there!

Another interesting site is Nations Online, where this map shows the regions of Japan:

Cities in China

Lorraine and Martin were in Beijing, Chengdu, and Shanghai after Hong Kong. What did they see? Here are links to Wikipedia, and questions for the imagination:

• Beijing - Did they see the Great Wall? the Forbidden City?
• Chengdu - Did they see the pandas?
• Shanghai - Did they visit the Bund waterfront, or ride the Metro?

Photo by Robert Nyman on Unsplash

China!

China is a big big place, and I'm sure Lorraine and Martin will have so much to tell us. To whet our appetite, here is a map from WikiVoyage that gives us a picture of the provinces in China:

Source: https://en.wikivoyage.org/wiki/China#/media/File:Map_of_China_(en).png

Hong Kong

The first place Lorraine and Martin visited was Hong Kong. I think the flight from San Francisco via United took 15 hours!! Here's a link from the "Discover Hong Kong" site, billed as the Official Travel Guide from the Hong Kong Tourism Board: http://www.discoverhongkong.com/us/index.jsp

Wikipedia is always a good source of info about countries: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hong_Kong

Did you know Hong Kong is made up of 18 districts? I certainly didn't - I thought it was just a city!! That's why I love when friends travel. I learn so much more about the world we live in.

Tours in China

Travel to a place as "exotic" as China undoubtedly inspires trepidation in most of us. That's why it's always good to talk to others, find out from friends how THEY have done what we want to do. That's why I pass on this tip from Martin - China Tours: https://www.chinatours.com/

Bookmark this page if you want to come back to it. Better yet, explore the site for China Tours, and check out what's available in individual cities!

Itinerary for Asia

The plans for a trip to Asia were crafted by Martin, using online tools and advice from friends. The final itinerary is amazing. Lorraine and Martin will start in Hong Kong, then fly to Beijing, Chengdu, and Shanghai in China, before heading for Japan. From Tokyo they hope to also visit Nagano and Hiroshima or Kyoto, after which they'll  return to Hong Kong for their flight home. 20 days of discovery and adventure are ahead! Meanwhile, with knowledge of their itinerary, we can learn a little about Asia too...

China is next!

Lorraine and her son Martin are heading for China. First stop: San Francisco!! We look forward to spending a few days together before wishing them “Bon Voyage!” as they head for Hong Kong.

Slowly but surely I’m learning more about the Far East. My “Books, Inc” book club, “Foreign Intrigue” has recently read stories centered in Thailand and Taiwan, and this month we're reading a story set in Japan. So, maybe someday we’ll even consider traveling west, to the Far East.