That was 1998, this is 2008

   I was working for the Hong Kong Government as a Simultaneous Interpreter in 1998 before embarking on the year long adventure.  The passion for travel and photography plus an early mid life crisis made the decision simple.  I just packed up a backpack and quit the job.  This travelogue was written when the backpack shoulder strap burns were still fresh; fists were still shaking from the different scams, rip offs and injustices I had endured.

   Ten years later,  the adventures from October 1998 to November 1999 can be reviewed with objectivity and reminiscence.  Without doubt, it was a once in a lifetime experience:  checking in Rongbuk Monastery at Everest Base Camp and trading a roll of color film for a guided tour by head monk of the monastery,  hiking the East and West ends of the Great Wall, horse-back riding and camping on the grass plains of Inner Mongolia, listening to Yunnan Naxi ancient music, feasting on Yak burgers and Yak cheese in the UNESCO listed town of Lijiang were just a small part of the itinerary.

    But it wasn't all hard work, I had been drenched from soggy felt cowboy hat down to squishy hiking boots while climbing the Leshan Buddha, shivered in sub sub zero temperatures (-25 C) during the Harbin Ice Lantern Festival, quarreled and almost came to blows with belligerent Xian train station cab drivers, came close to being pick-pocketed  while waiting at the Changsha train station platform, scammed by a Inner Mongolia horse-back riding tour guide and many more misadventures.  You'll have to read this travelogue again while I try to update this site and fill in all the juicy and rated bits that I missed out the first time round.  It sure beat interpreting.

   Right now, I'm working as a conference interpreter and part time university instructor; dividing my time between Hong Kong and Dongguan.  I'm married  and have 2 children born in 2006 and 2008.

   Visit:  http://www.hongkong-interpreter.com  for more information about conference interpreting.