October Travel Destinations
New Zealand
The Magic of Middle Earth
The raw and wild beauty of New Zealand was captivating visitors long before Frodo arrived. John Warbuton Lee took refuge in the country's top wilderness lodges [ more ]
China
Chengde
Emperors' Playground
This is the Qing dynasty's answer to Shenzhen's Splendid China theme park. [ read ]
China
Yantai
Sun, Sand and Cab Sav
Graham Bond investigates Yantai, the anti-Hainan, and is impressed by its colonial air, vineyards and bags of beer [ read ]
China
A Series of Ups and Downs
Edward Genochio continues his odyssey and makes the acquaintance of the Yunnan-Tibet Highway and its infernal cobblestones [ read ]
The Asia and Away Travelogue
Latest entries... ~ October 31
Olympic Ticketing Chaos
The sale of Olympic tickets has been suspended less than 24 hours of Round Two of the booking process getting underway. The reasons, summarised by the China Daily, run as follows: "...the booking system crashed, phone lines jammed and serpentine queues formed at banks." In short, demand was high.
No doubt this is true. The problem is the utterly mendacious comments we heard yesterday as the booking system began to groan and creak: "We had tested the booking system several times, but the number of buyers are still out of our expectations," said Xu Chen, head of the Olympic affairs
[ more ]
