In Their Footsteps – Beautiful Diaolou in the Zili Village of Kaiping

In Their Footsteps – Beautiful Diaolou in the Zili Village of Kaiping

The driver suggested that we visited the Zili Village first, as that village was officially recognized, restored and developed as the preeminent location for Diaolou tourism. He told me quite a bit about himself. He is a native of Chikan. Mr. Guan is his name, 

In Their Footsteps – Some Preliminaries for a Trip to Kaiping in China

In Their Footsteps – Some Preliminaries for a Trip to Kaiping in China

Kaiping is a county in Guangdong Province in China that is known for its people’s long history of migration abroad. Waves of migrants made it in foreign countries and returned to Kaiping rich and glorious. These successful returnees built big houses in their villages as 

Ubiquitously Uzbekistan – Last Impressions of Uzbekistan

Ubiquitously Uzbekistan – Last Impressions of Uzbekistan

Our Final Lunch in Uzbekistan at the Afsona Restaurant Afsona Restaurant is very popular in Tashkent and it is highly recommended on quite a few online platforms. We sat down for our final lunch in Uzbekistan and we were excited. But we made the wrong 

Ubiquitously Uzbekistan – Learning History Last at the State Museum of History of Uzbekistan

Ubiquitously Uzbekistan – Learning History Last at the State Museum of History of Uzbekistan

From the Minor Mosque I took the metro to arrive at the State Museum of History in Tashkent. The museum itself offers some insight into Uzbekistan’s past. If I had a choice, I might have visited this museum in Tashkent before heading off to the 

Ubiquitously Uzbekistan – Bright and Early at the Minor Mosque in Tashkent

Ubiquitously Uzbekistan – Bright and Early at the Minor Mosque in Tashkent

Bright and early at 6am we were back in Tashkent by train. This would be our very final day in Uzbekistan. We would be seeing some museums for this day, before we head out for our flight in the evening. The Bon! Café It was 

Ubiquitously Uzbekistan – The Tash Khauli Palace of Khiva

Ubiquitously Uzbekistan – The Tash Khauli Palace of Khiva

The Tash Khauli Palace of Khiva would be the last sightseeing that we did in Khiva before we hopped on the afternoon train for Tashkent. Khiva blessed us with another gorgeous day with a bright blue sky, echoing the turquoise mosaics that would become the 

Shenzhen Shorts – Dameisha and the Biling Waterfall Trail

Shenzhen Shorts – Dameisha and the Biling Waterfall Trail

On our last day in Dameisha, I took a walk in the Biling Hiking Trail, which is part of the Malian Mountain Country Park. I have done solo hiking in Xianggong Shan of Xingping, Guilin before. But this hiking experience is significant because I did 

Shenzhen Shorts – Dameisha Beach and the Interlaken Resort

Shenzhen Shorts – Dameisha Beach and the Interlaken Resort

There were those days. A few decades ago, my family took a vacation in Xiaomeisha in Shenzhen. That was when even the Daya Bay Nuclear Power Plant had not been built yet. In those times, a vacation in Shenzhen alone was a big deal for 

Ubiquitously Uzbekistan – The Kunya Ark of Khiva and Sunset Views

Ubiquitously Uzbekistan – The Kunya Ark of Khiva and Sunset Views

We strolled through more of the old town of Khiva, and came upon a little coppersmith shop. The small shop displayed many goods of interests, a humble collection of finished products and some were work-in-progress. The coppersmith was playing with some of his instruments when 

Ubiquitously Uzbekistan – The Juma Mosque in Khiva

Ubiquitously Uzbekistan – The Juma Mosque in Khiva

Khiva was clean, neat and windswept. We went right by the Kalta Minor to find the Orient Star Khiva Hotel, which took over the original site of the Madrassa Muhammad Aminkhan as its place of business. The construction for the Kalta Minor was never finished