2 . It is 10 in the morning, and I am travelling by raft down the Li River. The sun is already burning hot even though it has not yet reached full strength, but a calm breeze cools my skin. So far the day is wonderful, but the purpose of my trip is not just to have fun: I am following in the footsteps of Xu Xiake (1587 - 1641), the famous Chinese travel writer and geographer. Though Xu was from Jiangsu, he spent more than 30 years travelling throughout the country, and greatly admired my destination today - Ox Gorge.

As we flow down the river, we are surrounded by steep hills sticking up into the sky - karsts. Unique among mountains, karsts were formed over thousands of years as rain drained into the acidic soil and melted the soft rock, leaving the harder rock behind. Guangxi is full of karsts, giving it some of the most interesting - and beautiful - scenery in the world. Xu was one of the first people to make a careful study of Guilin's karsts and their related cave systems. He, like many people today, found them fascinating.

Suddenly, our raft hits some rapids, and I find myself covered in water. I turn to my raftsman and we share a laugh. The water not only keeps us cool, but it is all part of the adventure.

What made someone like Xu spend years travelling thousands of kilometres away from home? Perhaps it’s the same reason as mine: to explore the world and to discover new things. Yet, perhaps no one in China travelled farther or longer than Xu Xiake. At least, if anyone did they did not write about it.

When our raft reaches Ox Gorge, it proves to be every bit as beautiful as I expected - a watery heaven on earth. The raft is tied up, and then I head out to explore. That afternoon, I find a cave on the river. I wade into it and the water grows shallower, until finally I am walking on dry land. Up ahead I see a light and hear laughter echoing off the cave walls. There is a large pool of mud, and a group of young people are jumping into it and swimming around. I run and join them. Soon, like my new friends, I am covered in gray mud from head to toe. After an hour of play, I head back out of the cave and take a swim in the river to get clean. And I wonder, when Xu Xiake came here nearly five hundred years ago, did he examine the mud like a scientist? Or did he jump in? Of course he jumped in. You know he did.

3 . Classic Dutch Experiences Online

Take a journey to the Netherlands through online tours, streaming videos and interactive imagery. Soar over the windmills, coast along the canals, explore the colorful tulip fields and enjoy other classic experiences from your comfortable couch.

See the windmills

Not even a virtual journey to the Netherlands is complete without visiting the windmills. Visit the classic Dutch landscape with 360-degree interactive images. There’s no better way to start your day than watching a misty sunrise over traditional wooden windmills along the river.

Cruise the canals

There is a network of more than 165 canals, covering some 100 kilometers, that spirals outwards from Amsterdam’s city center. A cruise along these particularly picturesque waterways passes by some of the city’s most popular attractions, including 1,500 historic buildings. Watch this video that puts you front and center on a glass-enclosed boat as it coasts through Amsterdam, passing by beautiful bridges, houseboats, the NEMO Science Museum. It is a calming and relaxing way to get a taste of the amazing cities.

Get lost among the tulips

See Keukenhof in bloom with the flower park’s immersive 360-degree videos of Technicolor tulips. Dutch gardeners have been planting tulips for more than 400 years and today you can see 26 different varieties blossoming. Check out the interviews with expert gardeners for fun facts about the flowers or click on the “visit the park” videos to have the beautiful fields all to yourself.

Take in a Dutch concert

You can watch — and even dance along to — performances from across the Netherlands on your computer, phone or tablet. Every weekday, for example, the Rotterdam concert hall puts on a lunchtime performance, covering everything from classical piano to world masterpiece, by famous musicians.