The Far East

Our archive of travel stories from China

Along the Map’s Torn Edge

It is in Sichuan that China’s Han majority rubs up against the edges of the Tibetan Plateau, along a fault line straddled by National Highway 318.

Claire and Iain with friends at Mokkos in Shanghai

Making a Life in China: A Documentary

An eTV documentary following three South Africans living in Bejing and Shanghai

An illiterate old lady in a Shanghai linglong that was due for demolition last year. We spoke to her on camera.

South African in China

Thoughts on being South African in China, ahead of our appearance in the documentary Postcards from China, with links for Africans in China.

Travel and Nostalgia

“What is the purpose, I wonder, of all this restlessness? I sometimes seem to myself to wander around the world merely accumulating material for future nostalgias.”

Old World Wandering is about overland travel, about hauling backpacks across borders to find connections within regions and across cultures. It is a collection of travel stories from two journeys through the Old World, written by a South African couple who, after eight years travelling and living abroad, are now slowly making their way home, across Asia and down Africa’s east coast to Cape Town. Join them on their journey on this, their travelogue.

Read more about Old World Wandering»
Iain and Claire are in:
Cape Town, South Africa

Iain is reading:
A Time of Gifts

Patrick Leigh Fermor

Claire is reading:
Bangkok Days

Lawrence Osborne
Travel stories from a year in India
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- Regions
- Themes
On Travelogues
- A history of travel writing
  Why are ancient travelogues like Homer's Odyssey and The Epic of Gilgamesh still important to us and where is travel writing going, in the age of the blog?
- Free travel books
  A list of enduring travelogues in the public domain, written by authors both obscure and legendary, like Twain, Dickens, Byron, RL Stevenson and Conrad. Includes excerpts and download links.
Travel books about India
Overland Travel
- The Hippie Trail
  The hip-hike to Kathmandu grew out of Eastern influences on the literature of the West.
- The Banana Pancake Trail
  As much a concept as a series of criss-crossing transport connections, the Banana Pancake Trail asks important ethical questions of so-called independent travellers.
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Asides
In Ulan Bator, with just five days to go
Where to for travel writing
Where to for travel writing?
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- Arriving in Calcutta
Overnight Buses