Safari Zoo

Today we went to the Safari zoo with the Comfort family.

This had to be the best zoo I've ever been too, and I blame it all on the trolley train ride through half of the zoo. We had ostriches sticking their heads in car windows scaring kids, lots of different deer running around, had to slow down for a wildebeast crossing the road.



I gave the video camera to Mason and told him he was in charge of it. That really made his day! Can't wait to see what he came up with.

We walked the rest of the way, although we didn't even come close to seeing it all. Both families bought ice cream and drinks whenever the kids wanted something. It was very, very hot, but fun to see Koala bears, pandas, white tigers and bears oh my.



When we were done, we were closer to the South Exit, so we tried calling the driver to meet us there, but the guide said he might have been sleeping - not picking up. Turned out there were lots of free rides there, so Mason was able to try out his first bumper car.



This afternoon I played with both boys as mom took a nap to combat an upset stomach from the last day or so. I think Weston is taking a liking to me, although later that night still only wanted momma to hold him.

We then took two taxi cabs to Shamian Island (Where the White Swan was) with the Comfort family to pick up our laundry. We ate at the infamous Lucy's restaurant there. I ordered the same Green Curry Chicken & Eggplant meal that I had ordered there 3 years ago - a meal & restaurant that had been such a relief to us then. (Long story)

We stopped at Jordan's to get some toys for the kids, look at some knick-knacks, and get the children's names done up in caligraphy by the shop owner - which he is somewhat famous for.

Tired, hot, sweaty, but now we have clean clothes again.

Medical Checkup

A new city - a new breakfast buffet.

Guangzhou is hot! Hot enough that even a kid complains. 97 degrees and very humid. Weather report here looks funny. Weather reporters have it easy over here: 95-97 every day with a chance of rain every day.

Today we went to Shamian Island to do the Medical Checkup, with the Hardy family. This is the first time on this trip that I can point to the exact millimeter of where we've exactly been before with Mason. It will be interesting to compare photos when we get back. I am curious if this one old nurse has been there since the beginning of time.



Weston did a great job getting poked and prodded. He didn't cry getting his TB shot, but cried in a different room where they hardly did anything to him.

For those that have gone through this process before: it's really changed. Last trip I remember lines, lines, lines, loud screaming kids, and just jammed pack. Today there were maybe 5 families in the entire building, and our group consisted of 2 of them.

For late lunch we went to Pizza Hut. Weston had a melt down before our food got there so Heather brought him back to the hotel while Mason and I waited for the food. We ate there and brought back mom's "half" of the dish. It was hard keeping Mason from eating it all.

We checked out the hotel's "Children Rec Room". By the description of the paper I got from the lobby on the first night, with it's policy about death & dismemberment, I thought it would be an amazing room with climbing walls, trampolines, maybe a few diving boards into a sea of foam squares. Instead it was just a small room with some toys for a 2 year old. Mason did pretty good despite this, and luckily there was a ping pong table in the room next door. Mason must have laughed himself silly the first 15 minutes of his attempts to hit the ball.



We wondered the hotel, exploring what we could, trying to kill a couple of hours.

Mason was pretty much hungry all day, and after eating our room out of snacks, had a hunger emergency at 8 pm. We went to one of the restaurants on the 2nd floor and had a quick noodle stir-fry for him.

One of the things I really miss about home is walking to the fridge and getting a number of food choices for Mason when he's randomly hungry. Oh, and turning on the tap for some water to drink.

Despite not doing much today, we're all tired.

Goodbye Kunming, Hello Guangzhou!

On the last day in Kunming we visited the Golden Temple outside of town, on top of a short mountain. Undoubtably a peaceful and serene temple -- but not on school field trip day! About 400 children around the age of 10 to 11 were on a field trip there. It was kind of hilarious. Before they went to each section, they would queue up in line, but after that, they sort of ran around on their own.



They loved practicing their English with us, so we heard a LOT of "Hello!" and lots of waves from them. When even had a long discussion with one group of them by the temple as they asked us questions. Most of them tried to share their lunch snacks with us, but we declined them all (Not hard to do: Dried shrimps, shrimp flavored chips, seaweed fruit strips, etc)



At 4 pm we checked out of the hotel, rode to the airport, checked our luggage, went through security, and then tried to while away 2 hours the best we could. Mason was hungry so we tried a noodle place. He enjoyed it until the spicy beef on top saturated through the water, making the rest of it spicy. Then it was off to dad to finish off.

Mason pretty much sprawled on the floor and filled in his coloring books, and a "Pleasant Goat" cartoon book I bought for him. This is a super popular cartoon over here that we always seem to catch on the TV. Mason watches it even though it's in Chinese.



We eventually queued up for a line that didn't go anywhere. Then when the line finally moved, people cut anyway. The airport is too small to accomodate the city (they're building a new one that's almost finished) so they have to bus people from a gate to the far corner of the airstrip. We were the last ones jammed into "trolley 1".
We love "Southern China" airline. Roomier seats, and a screen on the back of every headrest. You have to sit through some commercials, but after that, they had a minor selection of movies and tv shows. Mason was yukking up a storm watching this crazy bear cartoon (which we've found on youtube before) and then watched Pleasant Goat in English. He was set the entire 2 hour flight, and 1 hour delay on the runway (delay due to last-minute luggage)

Even Weston had a great flight, as he liked punching the screen and controlling it.

We arrived in Guongzhou at about 11, met our very fun guide, and then went to our Vegas like hotel around midnight.

Yunnan Minority Village

Yunnan has a very high level of ethnic diversity. Among the country's fifty-six recognized ethnic groups, twenty-five are found in Yunnan. Some 38% of the province's population are members of minorities, including the Yi, Bai, Hani, Tai, Dai, Miao, Lisu, Hui, Lahu, Va, Nakhi, Yao, Tibetan, Jingpo, Blang, Pumi, Nu, Achang, Jinuo, Mongolian, Derung, Manchu, Shui, and Buyei. (wikipedia)

Today we visited the Yunnan Minorty Village, sort of like a living history museum, for the different ethnic minorities in China. Each ethnic minority was showcased in a different area of the park with its own unique housing/building structure. At each village, you could walk through the buildings and learn about their lifestyle. There were people who were dressed in traditional clothing who provided explanation and also put on performances, singing and dancing. One could spend quite a bit of time at each area, and there were 26 in total. I believe we saw about 11 different ones, and walked only 1/3rd of the park. Hard to believe 3 hours passed.



Our guide let us know he is Bai, and talked a little bit about his home city. They're known for 30-layer wood carvings, and ornate embroidery. He said every year his dad would paint the ceilings white and repaint the pictures that we saw on the ceilings. I asked him why they redid it every year, and he said it was their way of learning their culture.

Mason had fun most of the tour. He has recently become proud of his zodiac year, the Rooster. The other day, he asked us if he could get a Rooster sculpture from the hotel gift shop, and we got it for him. Today at the Minority Village, he practiced chasing chickens around the villages, telling me that he was going to have a chicken farm, and asking me about how many eggs they lay, and was surprised they lay one every day! At bed time he asked me the difference between the eggs we eat and the eggs that hatch baby chicks. Hey! I really liked our farm fresh eggs as a teenager - I hope he invites me for some omelettes some day.



Mason's favorite part of the park had to be this Butterfly Museum that we went into as a lark. Turns out there was only 2 butterflies flying around in there, but he was really digging the 100's of mounted and framed butterflies. And of course the monstrous beetles & bugs. (There sure are some big ones out there in the jungle)



We then went to a private Minority Museum. I thought it would be just be relics to look at, but apparently they were all for sale. It was hard to say no this person, eventually we had to leave. Some very interesting pieces, though.

For lunch we wandered quite a few blocks until we found the Jade Garden Palace Restaurant. At first we weren't sure they were open for a 2 pm meal, which is becoming our regular lunchtime. They looked at us like we were quite a surprise. When it was clear we couldn't communicate our needs, they started calling out for the name of what I assume was the best English speaker. After hunting the grounds, he finally came out and without even really talking to us, brought us through the front area, over a bridge, through a mini-forest, and to the back area where some people were eating. We then agonized over the menu while he watched. Thank goodness Chinese menus always have pictures - but it's still impossible to really tell what is inside a dish. Hard to tell what meat is floating beneath the gravy sauce.



We settled on a shrimp-like dish for Mason. A sweet & sour looking dish, but with beeef, for Heather. Both of which the waiter said wasn't spicy (we're good with charades). I ordered the spiciest looking dish I could find. It was ALL excellent. Very fun meal. Mason is really getting good with chopsticks, too. Weston ate quite a bit of the peppered beef from Heather's dish and had a couple of bites of pineapple. Was pretty funny watching Heather trying to feed Weston small portions of food with chopsticks. She eventually broke down and started tearing apart small pieces of meat with her fingers. Good thing they gave us a new box of napkins (really kleenex) for our hands.

We then walked to the nearby Green Lake Park, hoping to get another ride in a paddleboat. However, clouds were rolling in and we heard thunder. After seeing that there was no one out on the water, we decided to high-tail it back to the hotel.

A bit about Weston - He is a very mellow and content child unless there is something he wants that he can't have, then he'll get upset and cry. His smile and laugh are adorable and he is starting to open up a bit more each day. He is a bit of a picky eater. Our first day he ate a whole slice of watermelon, but hasn't wanated a bite since then. The next day he devoured a whole container of yogurt, but has since pushed it away. Thank goodness the buffet has many choices. :) Gerber puffs have been the only constant hit! He is very talkative and will point and talk about things that catch his eye when we are walking the halls of the hotel or out on a tour. He has been grieving quite a bit, mostly at night or when we are just playing in our hotel room. He loves to take the water bottles in and out of the hotel refrigerator and put them back and then rearrange them. He also enjoys taking things apart and then putting them back together. He still hunts for his shoes and puts them on when he wants to leave the room. And sometimes when he's in a good mood, he goes around and picks up after Mason. Unfortunately, that sometimes means putting Mason's toys in the garbage.

Short Update

We're a couple days behind on our daily posts. One is already written, but not pic'd yet, and today's adventures not written yet--thinking of sleep now and writing in the morning.

But thought we'd update that we just arrived in Guangzhou safely. About 11:00pm Friday night. 40 minute drive from airport to hotel. We were delayed due to a few late luggage (wow, they don't care if you ever get them in the States!) and it's now 1:20 am on Saturday here.

This hotel puts the White Swan to shame. It's huge & ritzy. Every convenience in the room.

Qujing Orphanage

Our guide was able to obtain permission for us to visit Weston's orphanage. So this morning at 8 a.m. we drove two hours to Qujing. The countryside was extremely hilly, but that didn't stop any farmers from growing corn on the steep hillsides, even if it was a small strip. Other areas were stepped up gradually, growing a wide variety of crops. The trees had a wide variety of flaura, with palm trees growing next to evergreens.

Since our guide had never been to this orphanage before, we arrived at the outskirts of Qujing City to meet our escort and followed them. Not much longer we turned off the main road, took a few corners, passed through a large, open lot between two buildings, and then through the final gated fence.

Practically the entire staff came out to meet us, and be reacquainted with Weston. He hopped from arm to arm, and was given lots of candy.

Unfortunately, no pictures were allowed in the orphanage. Two main rooms on the bottom floor. First room was a the play room, and very clean & sparse. Two other older children were sitting in high chairs, one of them was Leah, who is going to be adopted next by John & Rebecca. We were told that Leah and Weston were two of the first children brought to the orphanage when it was opened about 2 years ago.

In the 2nd room was the crib room. We were shown which crib was Weston's. There must have been almost 30 others, all filled with what I would guess were less than 1-yr olds.

Upstairs was a play area, and they had some lego like toys on a table. Weston didn't act like he had ever seen them before. We also saw a room where they had some small wooden study tables where some of the older children took their lessons. We were told there were many of the older children were off at school. The Qujing Children's Welfare Institute has about 30 children currently living there. Then we went across their private road to where the kids eat, and could see a very large industrial kitchen. Other than that, that was it. All the nannies cried when we left, and Weston screamed up a storm that lasted well over an hour on the car ride back to the hotel until he finally fell asleep

The director took us to the finding site, which was a small park by a roundabout. We hopped out in traffic and took some quick pictures. Then we returned the director to the orphanage and went home. West cried almost the whole time.

We relaxed at the hotel, and then took a walk looking for somewhere new to eat. Most restaurants were only open for supper, so we ended up going with "Dico's". Which is a fast food chicken sandwhich restaurant. Mason had a lot of fun climbing their cartoon climbing wall.

Right next to the restaurant was the Green Lake park we went to earlier in the week. We jumped on a paddle boat -- much to Mason's insistence. Glad we did, it's the best way to enjoy the park: away from the people, and a leisurely way around (quickest way too, as we didn't have to follow the curvy, confusing pathways). We got a whole hour to pedal around, and by the end, Mason was giving out orders like a real captain.

We came back to the hotel and blew bubbles on the 2nd floor hotel balcony. Weston loved it! His first real belly laugh. He liked how it felt on his face. His hands. And loved grabbing for them. He even learned how to blow some bubbles all by himself. He cried when we ran out of bubble solution..

A pretty restless, late night last night. Weston kept getting his shoes and making mom walk him down the hall. Over and over and over.

Daguan Park & Tea House

This morning he woke up he was a little upset and was immediately hungry. Having a bottle certainly seems to help calm him down and give him comfort.

We had some more play time after breakfast and Weston really seemed to open up. Smiling and carrying on with Mason.

Today we went to Daguan Park - which means Grand View Park. It connects the city and a waterway to the huge Dianchi Lake. I thought the whole area was beautiful, but it's most prominant attraction is supposed to be the Daguan Pavilion. There are 2 couplets written on the front of the building. The first couplet is 90 characters and describes the sights and beauty around you. The 2nd couplet is also 90 characters, but is a masterpiece as it describes the whole 2000 year history of the Yunnan province.



We were walking by one of the shores, admiring and being told about the bamboo growing in clumps. Our guide mentioned buying or bringing home some bamboo? Next thing we know, Mason has grabbed a small branch or a dead branch to show off to us, and our guide quickly explained not to do that! We had to pick and wipe off all these small hair-like slivers from his hand.

At another area, we discovered some spiderwebs and a 4" monster living in there. I tried my best to get a good picture up close, but unable to focus well. We will just have to remember him in our nightmares. :)

From some snippets of TV here and there this last week, I have learned that while Japan may be famous for its bonsai tress, China lays claim to their origin: Penzai (Tray Plant) and Penjing (Tray Scenery). At the park, we were able to see a large collection of many different kinds of bonsais & rockeries. Each time I saw one that I thought would be my choice to have at home, another one came up and made you want to put it in the other part of your future mansion.

A lot of older people used the park to exercise. We saw Tai Chi, tennis ball on a large rubber band, and badmitton. they also use it as a regular gathering place and saw many tables hosting Mahjong games, and even saw one Chinese Chess board in action.

If there was one part I would do over it would be these big green tanks we walked by. I thought I'd get a picture of Mason sitting at the top of one. But then I found out it cost money to do that, so I passed. But once we walked away, we saw there were moving targets. Oh! Mason would have loved a little target practice with these (pretend?) cannons!

We walked by some rides - it didn't look like they were open yet. We saw a large ferris wheel in the distance, and I saw pictures & maps that showed roller coasters. The park must be very big - our guide didn't get us near those today. Overall, very fun, but a little too short.

After the park we went to a Yunnan Tea Exchange. Our guide, Jerry, has been describing Pu-erh tea all week and today we finally tried some. We sat in an ornate room, and were described an interesting history of Pu-erh tea. To summarize: Most tea come from leaves of a tea bush. Pu-erh tea comes from leaves of a tall tea tree. This is a highly prized tea, and is another Yunnan Province treasure. Although Hunan and Guangdong provinces & bordering areas of Vietnam, Laos & Burma may produce some of these tea trees, a similar "Champagne" label rule applies to Yunnan's Pu-erh tea.

The pu-erh tea goes through a long fermentation process, which means that it gets better as it ages. Thus, you may purchase differently aged and differently priced pu-erh "cakes". It loses its bitterness, and also darkens red with age. Our guide had earlier mentioned that when you have a newborn, you will purchase a cake at that time, and then present it as a wedding gift for them.



It was fun watching all the steps our hostess went through to prepare the tea in the different cups and filters. The first tea we tried was Sleeping Beauty. Completely caffeine free, it actually aids in sleeping. Then we tried a green tea. Then a Oolong Tea (very frangrant). And then we tried a 1-yr pu-erh tea (quite bitter). Then an 8-year old pu-erh tea. And then a 12-yr old pu-erh tea. Since we all had our different favorites, we ended up getting most of them. Heather really liked Sleeping Beauty, and Mason really liked the green tea. We got an 8-year pu-erh cake for trying at home, and a 12-yr pu-erh cake for "keeping" indefinitely as a gift for Weston.

We had a really late lunch across the street at Blue Bird restaurant, that carried us through supper. Dustin ordered the Devil Rice Dish. The manager came back later to explain that it was full of chillis and very spicy. Dustin assured him that it would be ok, and really liked the dish.



Weston and Mason had a great time playing legos today. Mason wants to help with everything we do for Weston. Also, Weston took his first bath, and seemed just fine with it.