• About Us
  • Contact Us
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms
  • Unsubscribe
No Result
View All Result
Live and Invest Overseas
FREE REPORT
BEST PLACES TO RETIRE
*No spam: We will NEVER give your email address to anyone else.
  • HOME
  • COUNTRIES
    • Top Destinations
      • Portugal
      • Panama
      • Belize
      • France
      • Colombia
      • Dominican Republic
      • Thailand
      • Mexico
      • Spain
      • Argentina
    • Browse All Countries
    • Best For
      • Retire Overseas Index
      • Health Care
      • Cost of Living
      • Investing in Real Estate
      • Editor’s Picks For Retirement
      • Establishing Residency
      • Starting an Online Business
      • Single Women
      • Playing Golf
  • BUDGETS
    • Super Cheap ($)
      • Cuenca, Ecuador
      • Chiang Mai, Thailand
      • The Philippines
      • Las Tablas, Panama
      • Granada, Nicaragua
    • Cheap ($$)
      • Algarve, Portugal
      • Medellin, Colombia
      • Boquete, Panama
      • Carcassone, France
      • Buenos Aires, Argentina
    • Affordable ($$$)
      • Abruzzo, Italy
      • Barcelona, Spain
      • Las Terrenas, Dominican Republic
      • Puerto Vallarta, Mexico
      • Costa de Oro, Uruguay
    • Luxury On A Budget ($$$$)
      • Ambergris Caye, Belize
      • Paris, France
      • Panama City Beach Area
  • Real Estate
  • ARCHIVES
    • Living & Retiring Overseas
    • Raising A Family Abroad
    • Foreign Residency & Citizenship
    • Offshore Diversification
  • Making Money
    • International Real Estate
    • Banking
    • Employment
    • Investing
  • CONFERENCES
  • BOOKSTORE
Live and Invest Overseas
  • HOME
  • COUNTRIES
    • Top Destinations
      • Portugal
      • Panama
      • Belize
      • France
      • Colombia
      • Dominican Republic
      • Thailand
      • Mexico
      • Spain
      • Argentina
    • Browse All Countries
    • Best For
      • Retire Overseas Index
      • Health Care
      • Cost of Living
      • Investing in Real Estate
      • Editor’s Picks For Retirement
      • Establishing Residency
      • Starting an Online Business
      • Single Women
      • Playing Golf
  • BUDGETS
    • Super Cheap ($)
      • Cuenca, Ecuador
      • Chiang Mai, Thailand
      • The Philippines
      • Las Tablas, Panama
      • Granada, Nicaragua
    • Cheap ($$)
      • Algarve, Portugal
      • Medellin, Colombia
      • Boquete, Panama
      • Carcassone, France
      • Buenos Aires, Argentina
    • Affordable ($$$)
      • Abruzzo, Italy
      • Barcelona, Spain
      • Las Terrenas, Dominican Republic
      • Puerto Vallarta, Mexico
      • Costa de Oro, Uruguay
    • Luxury On A Budget ($$$$)
      • Ambergris Caye, Belize
      • Paris, France
      • Panama City Beach Area
  • Real Estate
  • ARCHIVES
    • Living & Retiring Overseas
    • Raising A Family Abroad
    • Foreign Residency & Citizenship
    • Offshore Diversification
  • Making Money
    • International Real Estate
    • Banking
    • Employment
    • Investing
  • CONFERENCES
  • BOOKSTORE
No Result
View All Result
Live and Invest Overseas
No Result
View All Result

Travel In Tonghai, China

Kathleen Peddicord by Kathleen Peddicord
Aug 16, 2011
in Retirement/Living
0
the rooftops of a quiet town in tonghai china
209
SHARES
3k
VIEWS
Share on FacebookShare on Twitter

Who Moved Our Hotel?

“Vicki and I are in remote Tonghai, China,” writes Intrepid Correspondent Paul Terhorst, “a two-hour bus trip south of Kunming in the Yunnan Province.

“Talk about complicated travel. We arrived in Tonghai with two pages from a Lonely Planet edition of 10 years ago. That’s it. China can change more in 10 days than other countries change in 10 years.

“We quickly discovered the bus station had moved and that the hotel we wanted, near the bus station, had disappeared.

“We only speak pantomime-and-smile Chinese. We were stuck. Signs were all in Chinese, people around us spoke only Chinese. Our map was out of date, the cab stand was empty, hotels were far off–if, in fact, there were any hotels.

“What to do? And what were we doing in Tonghai in the first place?

“I’ll answer the second question first.

“Tonghai offers hill tribe and Han culture, natural beauty (lakes, mountains, pristine vegetable farms), old architecture, and lively markets. In addition Tonghai has two tourist highlights.

“First, a nearby Mongol village claims to date back to the reign of Kublai Khan. Village women still wear traditional Mongol dress and live with their families in mud homes similar to those the great Khan must have seen over 700 years ago. I took a picture for you.

Mud Huts in Tonghai, China
The traditional mud huts are still found in Tonghai

“Tonghai’s second tourist setting, Xiushan Park, is a lush holy mountain park overlooking the town center. Some 2,000 years ago locals started building temples up there. Most of the temples were restored over the past 30 years. Several miles of trails wind through the forest; a Buddhist or Tao temple awaits after every turn. Locals climb the steep paths to worship. Besides the temples the forest offers dozens of species of birds.

“Finally, we’re here in Tonghai because we need to return to nearby Kunming to meet up with French friends from Paris. We arrived in China a week ahead of our friends. Tonghai looked like a unique, doable spot to pass the interim.

“Doable, that is, until we lost our orientation at the bus station.

“The bus driver must have noticed us looking around in a daze. He came over to give us a hand. I said ‘Tonghai’ and pointed in different directions. He picked up on what I wanted. He motioned for us to go out the gate and turn left.

“That was a start; at least we knew generally how to get to town.

“Once out the gate a cab came by. But he’d speak Chinese, what would we tell him? We decided to walk toward town and hope a hotel would appear.

“We walked for two blocks with our lightweight packs. Nothing.

“Then Vicki had an idea: Show the Lonely Planet pages to someone local. Some of the street names were in Chinese characters. We doubted any of the hotels still existed, but maybe if we found the general area other hotels would be nearby.

“Vicki entered a high-end bag shop and showed the Chinese characters to the woman there. The woman pointed which way to go and we were on our way. After every block or two we asked again and again, and we were pointed roughly in the same direction. Keep walking. Wonderful.

“These locals could read, and, even more, they understood what we wanted. They were able and willing to point. I found I could work with the folks in this town.

“After two or three blocks, Vicki said, ‘That looks like a hotel.’ I took a photo for you.

Hotel in Tonghai, China

“The characters on the door were all Chinese. But there was a lobby, stairs going up, and a reception desk with someone behind it. We entered and were offered a double room with private bath, firm beds, and, much to our surprise, a computer with broadband connection. We took it.

“We dropped our bags in the room and went out to eat. We were hungry after our walk, so we entered a nearby restaurant and pointed at pictures of food. Vicki, a vegetarian, noticed a woman making dumplings with what looked like spinach. She ordered some. The noodles I’d pointed to turned out to be tossed in a peanut sauce. What a find, and all vegetarian. We ordered a second helping of the dumplings. Luck is our friend.

“We returned to our hotel, got cleaned up after our journey, and headed out to look around. Among other things we wanted to find out what it might be like to live in this part of China, and whether anyone speaks English.

“More later…”

Kathleen Peddicord

Comments

Tags: 'Travel In Tonghai'ChinaPaul Terhorst
Share84Tweet52
Previous Post

Retire To Chiang Rai, Thailand

Next Post

Travel To Windsor Castle, London

Kathleen Peddicord

Kathleen Peddicord

Kathleen Peddicord has covered the live, retire, and do business overseas beat for more than 30 years and is considered the world's foremost authority on these subjects. She has traveled to more than 75 countries, invested in real estate in 21, established businesses in 7, renovated historic properties in 6, and educated her children in 4.

Kathleen has moved children, staff, enterprises, household goods, and pets across three continents, from the East Coast of the United States to Waterford, Ireland... then to Paris, France... next to Panama City, where she has based her Live and Invest Overseas business. Most recently, Kathleen and her husband Lief Simon are dividing their time between Panama and Paris.

Kathleen was a partner with Agora Publishing’s International Living group for 23 years. In that capacity, she opened her first office overseas, in Waterford, Ireland, where she managed a staff of up to 30 employees for more than 10 years. Kathleen also opened, staffed, and operated International Living publishing and real estate marketing offices in Panama City, Panama; Granada, Nicaragua; Roatan, Honduras; San Miguel de Allende, Mexico; Quito, Ecuador; and Paris, France.

Kathleen moved on from her role with Agora in 2007 and launched her Live and Invest Overseas group in 2008. In the years since, she has built Live and Invest Overseas into a successful, recognized, and respected multi-million-dollar business that employs a staff of 35 in Panama City and dozens of writers and other resources around the world.

Kathleen has been quoted by The New York Times, Money magazine, MSNBC, Yahoo Finance, the AARP, and beyond. She has appeared often on radio and television (including Bloomberg and CNBC) and speaks regularly on topics to do with living, retiring, investing, and doing business around the world.

In addition to her own daily e-letter, the Overseas Opportunity Letter, with a circulation of more than 300,000 readers, Kathleen writes regularly for U.S. News & World Report and Forbes.

Her newest book, "How to Retire Overseas: Everything You Need to Know to Live Well (for Less) Abroad," published by Penguin Random House, is the culmination of decades of personal experience living and investing around the world.

Related Posts

Scenic sunset in Lisbon, Portugal.
Real Estate

How To Invest In Property 101: The Pitfalls You Should Avoid

by Lynn Mulvihill
January 18, 2021
0

Among the new trends we faced last summer in Ireland, a country home being snapped up by a foreign buyer...

Read more
Refreshing Cocktail at beach in Belize.

10 Reasons To Reinvent Your Life In Beautiful Belize And 9 Challenges

January 17, 2021
Beautiful tranquil beach sun rise in southern Belize.

Ask Yourself These Questions Before You Move To Belize

January 15, 2021
Beautiful Wooden pier view in Belize.

Living A Whole New Life In Belize

January 14, 2021
Perfect tropical paradise beach with palm trees and hammock 350x250

Most Frequently Asked (And Not So Crazy) Questions About Retiring Overseas

January 10, 2021
Family watching sunrise on beach.

Moving Overseas Will Affect Your Family But It Can Be For The Better

January 5, 2021
Senior couple walking on the beach.

The 2 Biggest Concerns Retirees Have Before Living Overseas

January 4, 2021
Next Post
a long tree lined walkway with the windsor castle in the background

Travel To Windsor Castle, London

A world full of fun, adventure, and profit awaits! Sign up for our free daily e-letter, Overseas Opportunity Letter, and we'll send you a FREE report on the 10 Best Places To Retire In Style Overseas Today.

Start Your New Life Today, Overseas

how to retire overseas

LIOS Resources


  • New To LIOS
  • Ask An Expert
  • Media Center
  • Contact Us
  • FAQs

Quick Links


  • Best Places To Live
  • Best Places To Retire
  • Finding A Job Overseas
  • Real Estate

Sign up for our free daily e-letter, Overseas Opportunity Letter, and get your FREE report: The 10 Best Places To Retire Overseas In 2021

  • About Us
  • Contact Us
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms
  • Unsubscribe

© 2008-2021 - Live and Invest Overseas - All Rights Reserved.

No Result
View All Result
  • Home
  • Countries
  • Budgets
  • Archives
  • News
  • Events
  • Bookstore
  • Newsletters
  • About Us
  • Members Area
  • Contact Us

© 2008-2021 - Live and Invest Overseas - All Rights Reserved.

WANT TO RETIRE OVERSEAS?

Sign up for our free daily e-letter, Overseas Opportunity Letter, and we’ll immediately send you a free report on the 10 BEST PLACES TO RETIRE in style overseas. Each day you’ll learn about the best opportunities for international living, retiring overseas, offshore diversification and asset protection, and investing in real estate around the world.

This website uses cookies. By continuing to use this website you are giving consent to cookies being used. Visit our Privacy and Cookie Policy.