Category Archives: China

Random Thoughts (14)

Posted on 2017-06-02 by

If I am ever on a quiz show, my telephone joker will be the dude who wrote Wikipedia. Suki Kim has done impressive undercover reporting in North Korea, fooling both her employer, by pretending that she was a devout Christian, and of course the … Continue reading →

Posted in Bolivia, Books, China, Colombia, Economics, Education, Environment, Health, Language, Life, Mexico, North Korea, Religion, Saudi Arabia, Technology, Travel, UK | Tagged , , , , | 19 Comments

How far can you get by train?

Posted on 2016-09-09 by

One of my readers wrote that he had been wondering how far he could get if he took his local commuter train and continued traveling with no other means of transport than the railway. As a train enthusiast, I couldn’t stop thinking about … Continue reading →

Posted in Belarus, China, Europe, Germany, Italy, Maps, Montenegro, North Korea, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Russia, Scotland, Serbia, Sicily, Syria, Technology, Travel, UK | Tagged , , | 25 Comments

Smoking against Mosquitoes

Posted on 2015-06-18 by

Whenever I walk through a mosquito- or fly-infested forest or swamp, I light up a cigar. A strong one preferably. It keeps these rowdy little animals at bay. Now I am happy to have discovered that this is no excuse … Continue reading →

Posted in Books, China, Death, Health, History | Tagged | Leave a comment

The Revolutions of 1989

Posted on 2014-12-24 by

1989, those were the times! With each broadcast of the evening news, the world changed so quickly that most people already lost track back then. Now, 25 years later, only a vague recollection of falling walls, fired shots and popping champagne … Continue reading →

Posted in China, Cold War, Estonia, Europe, Germany, History, Human Rights, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Politics, Romania | 8 Comments

Nobel Peace Prize 2014 for Liu Xiaobo

Posted on 2014-10-09 by

My suggestion for the Nobel Peace Prize 2014: Liu Xiaobo, the Chinese writer and human rights activist. Yes, I know that Liu Xiaobo already won the Nobel Peace Prize in 2010 and it would be the first time that one person … Continue reading →

Posted in China, History, Human Rights, Politics | Tagged , | 14 Comments

“1493” by Charles C. Mann

Posted on 2014-09-20 by

1493 refers to the year after Christopher Columbus “discovered” America and as the second part of the title suggests, the book describes how Europe’s discovery of the Americas revolutionized trade, ecology and life on earth. That sounds like an enormous … Continue reading →

Posted in Books, China, Economics, Environment, Europe, Health, History, Maps, Military, Politics, Technology, Travel, UK, USA | Tagged | 7 Comments

When to Smoke (and when not to)

Posted on 2014-09-11 by

Around 1774, the former Chinese provincial governor Lu Yao provided a set of smoking rules in his book Yan Pu (Smoking Manual). In great detail he addressed the question of when to smoke (and when not to): Do smoke: after … Continue reading →

Posted in Books, China, Health, History | Tagged | Leave a comment