dsc_0020
Atlas

China – Lost in Translation, Found in Shanghai – Part 5

Shanghai is the glammed-up, cosmopolitan cousin of Beijing—sleeker, shinier, and with enough skyscrapers to give you instant vertigo. It’s a city that sweeps you off your feet whether you like it or not: luxury hotels, a riverside promenade steeped in colonial history, and a skyline that looks like a sci-fi movie set. You don’t visit Shanghai—you surrender to it.

With over 24 million people, Shanghai is the most populous city in the world. For perspective: Romania’s entire population in 2013 was 21.7 million. Shanghai is basically a country in itself. I remember waiting at a crosswalk to cross a street with five lanes in each direction, staring at the human tsunami on the other side, imagining my tiny self being trampled in the urban stampede. Walking in Shanghai feels like playing human pinball—and that’s on a good day.
Read more

dsc_1345
Atlas

China – Empress Cixi, Concubines & a Marble Boat – Part 4

Our final day in Beijing (and its imperial outskirts) was reserved for a dreamy escape to the Summer Palace — or, as it’s poetically called in Chinese, Yihe Yuan, the Garden of Nurtured Harmony. If the Forbidden City was the emperor’s winter residence, then yes, you guessed it: this was the royal summer retreat. And what a retreat it was! Read more

dsc_1180
Atlas

China – Chasing Buddhas and Blizzards on Beijing’s Great Wall – Part 3

I could hardly wait to see the Great Wall of China! As a child, I read about it, and now here I was, just a few kilometers away from something that once felt like a fairy tale. Isn’t it fascinating how we humans are capable of both incredible self-destruction and jaw-dropping greatness? The idea that someone started building this colossal structure thousands of years ago, without cranes or concrete mixers, seems completely mad—and yet here it is.

As you’ve probably figured out by now, Day Two in Beijing began with our chilly journey to the Great Wall.

Read more

dsc_1034
Atlas

China – Beijing, Forbidden City – Part 2

Post-Christmas, Beijing-Style (AKA: How I Froze, Found Mao, and Touched Heaven)

The day after Christmas—though truth be told, this year it was more of a non-Christmas—we kicked off part two of our China adventure: three days in the frosty heart of Beijing. Armed with neatly packed notes, camera in hand, and enough curiosity to power a bullet train, I was ready for a cultural marathon in sub-zero temperatures.

The flight from Shanghai was a breezy two hours, and when we landed in Beijing, our local guide Jack was already waiting for us at the airport. Jack wasn’t really “Jack,” of course. Like many Chinese guides, he picked an easier-to-pronounce name for European tourists—because let’s be honest, even after he repeated his real name three times, I still couldn’t get it right. Read more

dsc_1585
Atlas

China – Horns, History & a Hint of Chaos – Part 1

“Ni hao, Communist nostalgia!” – My First Days in Shanghai

The moment you land at Pudong International Airport in Shanghai, you feel it. That vague, stiff air of communism—like a flashback to a different era, especially if you’ve lived through one. The border agent looks at you like you’ve just been caught with a suitcase full of secrets, eyes sharp, posture military. Maybe it’s just the uniform. Maybe it’s my 17-hour flight-induced paranoia. Either way, I found myself wondering if I’d accidentally broken a law just by blinking too often.

One thing’s for sure: do not take photos in the airport. I made that mistake with the enthusiasm of a clueless tourist and was swiftly, politely-but-firmly shut down by the Chinese police.

Welcome to China, land of dragons, dynasties, dumplings… and very clear rules. Read more

dsc_0468
Atlas

Cape Verde Island – Sun, sand and (mild) panic

I’ll admit it—I boarded that plane to Cape Verde with the same level of preparation I give to IKEA furniture assembly: overconfident and underinformed. Life had been hectic, and unlike my usual travel-nerd self, I hadn’t done my homework. Originally, we wanted to go to The Gambia, but apparently, so did half of Europe—no vacancies. So, second choice was Boa Vista, Cape Verde.
Read more

Newer posts