The next installation in my ongoing series of “Guest Traveler” posts, written by people I’ve met along the way. This post is from 陈峦 Helen Chen Luan, a Chinese friend of mine who lives in Shanghai. She writes about her trip to Lugu Lake in the Yunnan Province of China.

After 9 hours on buses, taxis and a ferry boat, I stepped onto the beach of the small island of Jin Xua, China. I was, reportedly, the first American to ever visit the island’s small fishing village of 1,000 people, of which exactly none spoke English…

Born of a Portuguese father and a Chinese mother (or the other way around depending on what gender Portugal and China are…), Macau is a place I once only knew as the home of sweatshops—not exactly the most desirable of professions.

Some photos from across Hong Kong.

(Hong Kong, China) See the previous post about The King of Karaoke, before watching this video. Shot in Neway Karaoke in Mong Kong, Hong Kong, China, the group includes my 59-year old American parents (the stars), my brother, myself and my friends from China, Hong Kong, Cameron and the US. You have to watch it twice, because it’s funny for two reasons.

Well, in Asia, on the other side of the world, where everything is opposite—including the direction the water swirls in the toilet—there’s a bit of a difference in what is required to be considered “The King of Karaoke.”

“Meet me at the corner of Temple and Tai Chee Lo Street, near the taxi stand,” the voice on the other end of the mobile phone said in Chinese, as we wandered the narrow streets of Mong Kok, the literal beating heart of Hong Kong’s lively local youth shopping and night scene. We were in search of illegally pirated designer handbags…

With the possible exception of Jackie Chan (who most Hong Kong people have a sort of love-hate relationship with) and Yo Yo Ma (who is actually French-born Chinese, I think) most Americans can not name a famous Chinese movie star or musician. I decided I needed to fix this, at least for myself. So, I joined a few Hong Kong friends to see ‘Sammie’ live in concert.

My “To Do” list for my trip around-the-world is long, but it does not include the goal: “Shut Down A Post Office,” yet somehow as fate would have it there I was at the postal counter in the Tsim Sa Tsu district of Hong Kong nearly positioned, oblivious to me, to do just that.

When you wake up in the morning intent on joining a pro-democracy march in China, its one of those things that sounds impressive to brag home about. So, I put on my best fitting running shoes, protective long pants, and of course, grabbed my camera before heading out of the door. This is what I learned.