Go see the doctor
When you set out on an expedition, you know there is a great chance you get sick. You prepare for this by bringing medicines and ORS for re-hydration. But when the illness lasts it means you have to visit a…
Communism of the past
We leave Xi-an early in the morning. Elles her medicines start to have effect but she is still weak. Tucked into her warm sleeping bag she sits next to me and tries to keep an eye on the road. The…
Crossing the yellow river
Pingyao, an ancient walled city south of Beijing in Shaanxi province, is our next destination. 490 kilometers to drive¡ my god. This is the longes stretch we have to drive so far. Not only in China but the longest of…
Stepping back in time
Pingyao is one of the 4 cities in China with a wall around it. On arrival last night we already had the idea of stepping back in time and this feeling remains when we walk out of the hotel. The…
Raise the Red Lantern
In the massage parlour we heard about a famous house with 6 major courtyards and over a hundred rooms located closeby Pingyao. We look it up in our guide and it appears that the famous Chinese movie Raise the Red…
BEIJING, WE MADE IT
Just over 30.000 kilometers further and we are driving into the Chinese Capital Beijing. Will we make it without accidents, we worry for the last time. Will we make it without a single flat tyre? Slowely we move forward in…
Mao has gone commercial
Beijing equals shopping. There is no doubt about it that Beijing is a shoppers paradise. No city in the world, we reckon can surpass this. For everyone there is something. There are posh shopping avenues for designer clother, the pearl…
The pressconference
Via Chinadaily.com, the biggest online english/chinese newspaper, a press conference is arranged today at ten in the morning. There we are able to tell our story and promote the work of SOS. In total three big newspapers will attend the…
Temple of heaven and the rubber lady
There is a lot to do in Beijing. It makes it a city perfect for a weeks holiday. But even then you probably haven¡¯t enough time to see it all. We even wonder if we can see it all. We…
The last village
Yes, the official finish was in Beijing. But the expedition isn¡¯t over as we need to ship the car back to the Netherlands and have a last visit planned to a SOS village. Tianjin is our destination. There the first…
From Amersfoort to Beijing