Mercenary Mandarin is the account of an eccentric Victorian adventurer, William Mesny. During his time in China, he worked as a smuggler and gun runner, got imprisoned by the Taiping Rebels, and eventually landed himself a job as a general for the Qing Emperor, charged with overthrowing a Miao Rebellion in the mountains of Southwest …
For my last day in the Philippines, my new friends drove me out to Tagatay, to see the large lake with a volcano in the middle. It was about a two hour drive outside of Manila, most of which was spent just getting through the city traffic! As we got out of the city the …
On the second and third day in Manila, Arnold had a couple of students take me around Manila to see some of the sights. The first day, we went to Intramuros, the old Spanish colonial area of town. Intra means inside, and so this area is surrounded by a huge stone wall, built by the …
After the positive feedback I received from my list of top books on Martial Arts, I thought I’d also do a list of some my favourite reads about China; books which have a focus on either travel in the China, or life through the eyes of a foreigner who lived here… some in modern day, …
Bali is one of Asia’s most popular destinations, and for good reason: the culture, the people, the natural beauty; however a lot of the island has suffered from over-development. When I visited with my family, I didn’t even bother with Kuta or Seminyak, instead I spent most of my time in the north of Bali, …
Read more “The Undiscovered North of Bali (and why hiring your own driver is awesome)”