China: Portrait of a People — a lesson in how to travel

2009-06-30T02:36:27+08:00June 30th, 2009|authors, book excerpt, china|10 Comments

Some years ago now, I crossed the border from Kazakhstan into Xinjiang in China's far northwest, and found myself stuck in Urumchi with the equivalent of US$50 and no onward tickets. It wasn't a problem; saving my cash for food, I 'hitch-hiked' on China's trains by boarding them at small-town stations and then jumping off before the ticket collectors reached [...]