“This is Versailles, Madame” was told Marie-Antoinette when she questionned the etiquette applied during her reign. When Louis XIV (aka: “le Roi Soleil”) made Versailles the heart and the icon of his powerful reign, everything was about appearances. The royal boats on the canal (“Grand Canal”), the eleven fountains of the gardens, the fireworks to […]
Need-to-know before leaving
So you are thinking about moving to China. Your hopes are up, your luggage is almost ready and you know how to say hello in Chinese. Good. Now, what you need to know before getting on the plane, these things I wish someone had told me before setting foot in China. 1. Assuming you’re […]
Sliding down the Great Wall
I will never be able to describe what spending a year in China is like to someone who hasn’t been there no matter how precise, how alive the anecdotes might be. China is China and will be China, the giant powerful mystery of Asia. As the Great Wall, China stands in the world, cold, undefeatable, […]
Going back home
Lately we have found ourselves missing the feeling of having a home. We quit our jobs and left our apartment almost two years ago to backpack several countries and work in China. As some of you may know, life in China wasn’t easy ( that’s the least we can say) but in the end I […]
Beautiful Vietnam and Death beach
Finding something to say when you are really on holidays is no easy task. Tired of all the scams, of being put away for being physically different, of spending 24 hours a day just the two of us, we decided to stop our trip in Laos and head for some beach in Vietnam, until Guillaume’s […]
Vientiane
Places like Vientiane have nothing to offer to the traveler, except perspective. For tourism, the city has no real interest and most travelers only stay the night before heading to more exotic places. But we have to spend four days here and this is what I’ve learnt. The only affordable food is the western one. […]
A morning in Nong Khiaw
Waking up at first light with roosters crowing (I swear if I hear one more rooster at 4am I’m going to roast it alive) , walking up the streets as the morning dew slowly vanishes leaving a light mist behind. Watching girls combing their long black […]
Luang Namtha
It took me some time to start writing about Laos. What to say, where to start, what to show. And then I decided, I’m going to show you with words. Things that pictures cannot show you. When I travel I place myself as an external observer, a marginal poet looking for […]
