Well, we made it back home. It was a very long trip and we are glad to be back. We were hoping to come back to some cooler weather, but no, we come back at the start of a heat wave. However, it is still cooler here than in China and the humidity is much, much less also. Finally, it is very good to see the blue sky and sun again. We have been in a perpetual smog most of the time in China and it is great to be back in cleaner air again.
I will write some more in a few days and post a few more interesting photos. Now we are just trying to get back on the correct time zone.
Wednesday, July 07, 2010
Monday, July 05, 2010
Visiting Emily's Orphanage and a trip to the Doctor
Today we visited Emily's Orphanage. It was different than Kaitlyn's. In the first place, Emily did not have one particular Nanny that took care of her. The second was that the Director was there when she was adopted. He was the vice-director at the time. It was the same in the sense that everyone was glad to see her.
Gaoyou is famous for a few things. One is being a main stop on the old postal road centuries ago. Several Chinese stamps have been created to commemorate this. Here is the director giving Emily a book describing the town and containing all of the stamps.
One of the questions we wanted answered was about her finding spot. We had gotten a couple of different places and dates of when she was found, in the various documentation we received. It turns out that she was found outside the gate of the orphanage. Below is a photo of Emily with the person that found her.
We were able to tour the facilities a little bit. All of the kids in the orphanage are special needs kids, just like at Kaitlyn's. Emily handed out some suckers to all of the children and surprisingly, we were allowed to take some pictures.
This the gate where Emily was found.
Kaitlyn has been bitten by several mosquitos. We are not sure if one was different or if it was because she scratched at it and made it bleed, or what, but one of them on her ankle started to swell. By yesterday afternoon her ankle had swelled up pretty good and was turning red. So we decided a trip to the doctor was necessary.
We contacted the tour guide to help us, grabbed all of our money and headed out in a taxi, expecting a long wait. However, we got right in to see the doctor. He did some examining, asked a couple of questions (with the guide translating) and came to the same conclusion as Kirsten and I. It was an infection. He prescribed some antibiotics which we were able to purchase right there. Total time for the whole trip, including the taxi ride, about 40 minutes. Total cost for the doctors visit, including the taxi, $7.50.
Here is a cure picture of the girls with couple of the nurses dressed in their pink outfits.
Finally here is a picture of our hotel room form the toilet. The bathroom is seperated from the bedroom by the shower which is encased in glass. There is a curtain that can be pulled for privacy.
Gaoyou is famous for a few things. One is being a main stop on the old postal road centuries ago. Several Chinese stamps have been created to commemorate this. Here is the director giving Emily a book describing the town and containing all of the stamps.
One of the questions we wanted answered was about her finding spot. We had gotten a couple of different places and dates of when she was found, in the various documentation we received. It turns out that she was found outside the gate of the orphanage. Below is a photo of Emily with the person that found her.
We were able to tour the facilities a little bit. All of the kids in the orphanage are special needs kids, just like at Kaitlyn's. Emily handed out some suckers to all of the children and surprisingly, we were allowed to take some pictures.
This the gate where Emily was found.
Kaitlyn has been bitten by several mosquitos. We are not sure if one was different or if it was because she scratched at it and made it bleed, or what, but one of them on her ankle started to swell. By yesterday afternoon her ankle had swelled up pretty good and was turning red. So we decided a trip to the doctor was necessary.
We contacted the tour guide to help us, grabbed all of our money and headed out in a taxi, expecting a long wait. However, we got right in to see the doctor. He did some examining, asked a couple of questions (with the guide translating) and came to the same conclusion as Kirsten and I. It was an infection. He prescribed some antibiotics which we were able to purchase right there. Total time for the whole trip, including the taxi ride, about 40 minutes. Total cost for the doctors visit, including the taxi, $7.50.
Here is a cure picture of the girls with couple of the nurses dressed in their pink outfits.
Finally here is a picture of our hotel room form the toilet. The bathroom is seperated from the bedroom by the shower which is encased in glass. There is a curtain that can be pulled for privacy.
Sunday, July 04, 2010
Dr. Sun Yat Sen Mausoleum and Travel to Gaoyou
Today we visited a couple of tourist sites in Nanjing before traveling to Gaoyou. According to the tour guide, there is not much to see in Gaoyou, so thee was no need to arrive there very early.
All of the things that we saw in the morning were in the same general park. The first thing we saw was the Sacred Way. This is a 615 meter path that leads to the tomb of the first emperor of the Ming Dynasty. The path has around 20 giant stone statues along it to guard the way. It was built over 600 years ago. Surprisingly, there no restrictions on touching these ancient statues. People climb all over them. The kids had a good time with it.
After the Sacred Way, we visited Dr. Sun Yat Sen's Mausoleum. This is the main leader of the people that overthrew the last Chinese Dynasty in 1911. He died in 1929 and they built the mausoleum for him. There are 392 steps up to it. This was to reprsent the 392 million Chinese at that time. Besides the steps, there were some long uphill paths to get to the mausoleum. We only made it step 93. By that time we were all dripping with sweat. It was pretty hot and very humid. Patrick and I had already been to the top before and the girls were done. We did get a nice picture.
Next we took a short ride on a cute little trolley car that was made up to look like a train. The wind allowed us to cool off a little, but then we had to walk to temple/wax museum. I can't remember the name of the temple. By then, we were so hot and tired, that most of us didn't really care that much. Sad really.
We were able to cool down when we had lunch in a very nice air-conditioned private room of a restaurant. The food was excellent and we didn't have to deal with the smoke from the main area.
Finally we left for Gaoyou. Our tour guide said it would be a 2 1/2 hour drive. It actually took 4 hours. Unlike the trip to Hengyang, it was through city the entire way. We didn't really hit country until we were almost to Gaoyou. The trip was not nearly as interesting. The only real highlight was the ferry ride across the Yangtze River.
All of the things that we saw in the morning were in the same general park. The first thing we saw was the Sacred Way. This is a 615 meter path that leads to the tomb of the first emperor of the Ming Dynasty. The path has around 20 giant stone statues along it to guard the way. It was built over 600 years ago. Surprisingly, there no restrictions on touching these ancient statues. People climb all over them. The kids had a good time with it.
After the Sacred Way, we visited Dr. Sun Yat Sen's Mausoleum. This is the main leader of the people that overthrew the last Chinese Dynasty in 1911. He died in 1929 and they built the mausoleum for him. There are 392 steps up to it. This was to reprsent the 392 million Chinese at that time. Besides the steps, there were some long uphill paths to get to the mausoleum. We only made it step 93. By that time we were all dripping with sweat. It was pretty hot and very humid. Patrick and I had already been to the top before and the girls were done. We did get a nice picture.
Next we took a short ride on a cute little trolley car that was made up to look like a train. The wind allowed us to cool off a little, but then we had to walk to temple/wax museum. I can't remember the name of the temple. By then, we were so hot and tired, that most of us didn't really care that much. Sad really.
We were able to cool down when we had lunch in a very nice air-conditioned private room of a restaurant. The food was excellent and we didn't have to deal with the smoke from the main area.
Finally we left for Gaoyou. Our tour guide said it would be a 2 1/2 hour drive. It actually took 4 hours. Unlike the trip to Hengyang, it was through city the entire way. We didn't really hit country until we were almost to Gaoyou. The trip was not nearly as interesting. The only real highlight was the ferry ride across the Yangtze River.
Saturday, July 03, 2010
Hengshang Mountain and more Travel
The network connections have been somewhat shaky recently. Between that and a lot of travel my blog time has been reduced. Yesterday and today were a travel days. However, yesterday we did stop off to see Hengshang Mountain. This is one of the more famous mountains in China because of the Buddhist Temple built on top of it. We didn't actually make it to the temple, but we got close.
To get there we first took the backroads out of Hengyang. This in itself was very interesting. We flet that we were seeing true country life for the first time. Also, there was a significant portion of the rode that was in less than premium condition. The bus driver has a pretty tough job, really. He has to be on the constant look out for farmers, tractors, mopeds, slow moving trucks, people passing and driving in the wrong lane and massive pot holes that could swallow our small bus. He never really got much about 45 mph and we spent a lot of time inthe 25 - 30 mph.
Anyway, after 75 minutes of bus ride, we arrive at the base off the mountain. From there we walk about 300 meters until we come to the public bus station. No private vehicles are allowed on the mountain. We board the bus for an interesting drive up the mountain. It was a narrow lane, but paved all the way. There are a lot of significant Buddhist sites all along the way.
The public bus takes us as far as it can, to the start of the cable car, which we used to take us the rest of the way up the mountain. At that point we are close to 4000 feet and still have an hour walk if we wanted to reach the Buddhist Temple. We, like most of the people with us, decided we were close enough.
After viewing the temple we returned to our bus and drove another 2 1/2 hours on the back roads to Changsha. We spent the night in Changsha and flew out the next morning for Nanjing. All of the sites we are scheduled to see are outside and it rained pretty heavily off and on in the afternoon (rainy season here, after all), so we are going to tour those sites tomorrow on the way to Gaoyou and Emily's orphanage.
Here is a shot of the road up to the temple and one of the many little constructions along the way. There were a significant number of people who walked all the way and did not take the public bus. They used these sites are rest stops.
They really packed us into the cable car. I figure at least 40 people where in it.
Here is a view of the two cable cars from at the top, after we were dropped off.
Here is a photo looking straight down from the cable car. I took this shot approximately from where you see the cable cars in the previous photo.
This is the Buddhist Temple. We decided that the 10x zoom on the photo would get us close enough.
There was an alternative to walking. We could have been carried there for about $30 each, like this man here. It was slightly tempting, if only for the ride.
To get there we first took the backroads out of Hengyang. This in itself was very interesting. We flet that we were seeing true country life for the first time. Also, there was a significant portion of the rode that was in less than premium condition. The bus driver has a pretty tough job, really. He has to be on the constant look out for farmers, tractors, mopeds, slow moving trucks, people passing and driving in the wrong lane and massive pot holes that could swallow our small bus. He never really got much about 45 mph and we spent a lot of time inthe 25 - 30 mph.
Anyway, after 75 minutes of bus ride, we arrive at the base off the mountain. From there we walk about 300 meters until we come to the public bus station. No private vehicles are allowed on the mountain. We board the bus for an interesting drive up the mountain. It was a narrow lane, but paved all the way. There are a lot of significant Buddhist sites all along the way.
The public bus takes us as far as it can, to the start of the cable car, which we used to take us the rest of the way up the mountain. At that point we are close to 4000 feet and still have an hour walk if we wanted to reach the Buddhist Temple. We, like most of the people with us, decided we were close enough.
After viewing the temple we returned to our bus and drove another 2 1/2 hours on the back roads to Changsha. We spent the night in Changsha and flew out the next morning for Nanjing. All of the sites we are scheduled to see are outside and it rained pretty heavily off and on in the afternoon (rainy season here, after all), so we are going to tour those sites tomorrow on the way to Gaoyou and Emily's orphanage.
Here is a shot of the road up to the temple and one of the many little constructions along the way. There were a significant number of people who walked all the way and did not take the public bus. They used these sites are rest stops.
They really packed us into the cable car. I figure at least 40 people where in it.
Here is a view of the two cable cars from at the top, after we were dropped off.
Here is a photo looking straight down from the cable car. I took this shot approximately from where you see the cable cars in the previous photo.
This is the Buddhist Temple. We decided that the 10x zoom on the photo would get us close enough.
There was an alternative to walking. We could have been carried there for about $30 each, like this man here. It was slightly tempting, if only for the ride.
Thursday, July 01, 2010
Visiting Kaitlyn's Orphanage
Yesterday and today were all about getting to visit Kaitlyn's Orphanage. The first step was to visit the Adoption Center for the Hunan Province. We went to the same room where we first got Kaitlyn and where we did all of the adoption paperwork. There was a nice speech by the Director and they gave the girls some gifts. There was another girl from our tour group that is from the Hunan Province. She is from an orphanage in Changsha, while Kaitlyn is from one in Hengyang.
Here is a photo of the two of them in front of a welcoming sign.
Here are Kirsten and Kaitlyn sitting the same seat where we first saw Kaitlyn. She was being held by her nanny.
The drive from Changsha to Hangyang took about 3 hours. Most of it through the country side. This is the first time we have really seen anything but city in China. Here is a photo of some of the rice paddies we passed.
Today is when we really got to go see the Orphanage. We were very surprised when they took us out of town. Even more surprised as the roads got narrower and eventually turned to dirt roads. Before we got to the orphanage we were driving on roads like below. It made us a little worried, but we arrived at a standard Chinese structure for the orphanage.
We were able to meet with Kaitlyn's Nanny. The one that was so attached to her when we adopted her. Here is a photo of Kaitlyn giving her a hug.
We had created a picture book of Kaitlyn growing up. Kaitlyn gave it to here nanny and we went through it describing each picture. The lady in black and white stripes is the nanny's daughter.
As we toured the orphanage and later went out to dinner, Kaitlyn and her nanny stayed very close. The nanny wanted to be very close to her. At lunch, she helped Kaitlyn eat and dished more food on her plate. We learned later that the nanny has worked in the orphanage for 30 years, since she turned 18. Also, before that she was an orphan herself and was raised in the same orphanage.
Here is a photo of the two of them in front of a welcoming sign.
Here are Kirsten and Kaitlyn sitting the same seat where we first saw Kaitlyn. She was being held by her nanny.
The drive from Changsha to Hangyang took about 3 hours. Most of it through the country side. This is the first time we have really seen anything but city in China. Here is a photo of some of the rice paddies we passed.
Today is when we really got to go see the Orphanage. We were very surprised when they took us out of town. Even more surprised as the roads got narrower and eventually turned to dirt roads. Before we got to the orphanage we were driving on roads like below. It made us a little worried, but we arrived at a standard Chinese structure for the orphanage.
We were able to meet with Kaitlyn's Nanny. The one that was so attached to her when we adopted her. Here is a photo of Kaitlyn giving her a hug.
We had created a picture book of Kaitlyn growing up. Kaitlyn gave it to here nanny and we went through it describing each picture. The lady in black and white stripes is the nanny's daughter.
As we toured the orphanage and later went out to dinner, Kaitlyn and her nanny stayed very close. The nanny wanted to be very close to her. At lunch, she helped Kaitlyn eat and dished more food on her plate. We learned later that the nanny has worked in the orphanage for 30 years, since she turned 18. Also, before that she was an orphan herself and was raised in the same orphanage.
Tuesday, June 29, 2010
Interesting Sites in China
Not a lot happened today, so I thought that I would post some of the more interesting other photos that we have taken through out China.
This is a McDonalds Delivery Moped. Yes, McDonalds delivers.
This gentleman couldn't pedal his bike up the slight incline. He jumped back on at the top of the small hill and took off. We see a lot of over loaded bikes like this around town.
This sign was out side of the Wal-Mart in Xi'an. no 'pats' and you aren't allowed to 'eat foot' in the store.
This man was hauling a fridge across town. They will haul anything they can strap to a bike.
There was a traffic light at this major intersection, but police were still needed to direct the traffic. Traffic rules are more like suggestions in China.
Another seriously loaded bike.
This is a three wheeled truck loaded with firewood. It only has one wheel in the front. We see a quite a few of these old type trucks around.
I was surprised to find this poor translation in one of the fancy restrooms by the Bird's Nest and Watercube in Beijing. It is trying to tell you to put your hand under the faucet and it will turn on automatically.
Here is a common panel in their elevators. Notice all of the skipped floors. 13 is unlucky to westerners and 4 in any form is unlucky to Chinese.
This is a McDonalds Delivery Moped. Yes, McDonalds delivers.
This gentleman couldn't pedal his bike up the slight incline. He jumped back on at the top of the small hill and took off. We see a lot of over loaded bikes like this around town.
This sign was out side of the Wal-Mart in Xi'an. no 'pats' and you aren't allowed to 'eat foot' in the store.
This man was hauling a fridge across town. They will haul anything they can strap to a bike.
There was a traffic light at this major intersection, but police were still needed to direct the traffic. Traffic rules are more like suggestions in China.
Another seriously loaded bike.
This is a three wheeled truck loaded with firewood. It only has one wheel in the front. We see a quite a few of these old type trucks around.
I was surprised to find this poor translation in one of the fancy restrooms by the Bird's Nest and Watercube in Beijing. It is trying to tell you to put your hand under the faucet and it will turn on automatically.
Here is a common panel in their elevators. Notice all of the skipped floors. 13 is unlucky to westerners and 4 in any form is unlucky to Chinese.
Monday, June 28, 2010
Panda Reserve and Bamboo Park
Today we visited the Panda Reserve. This was very interesting. There are about 1000 pandas in the world and just under 100 of them are at this reserve. We visited on a cooler misty day in the morning. It was perfect for very active pandas. I took lots of photos and movies. This is picture of some younger pandas. About 1 year old. They were the most active.
Is we wanted, we could get a picture holding a baby panda for only $150 per person. Some of the families did this, however we didn't feel it was worth the money. However, later on we found that we could get a picture holding the more common (and cuter) red panda for only $15 per person. This seemed reasonable so Patrick and Emily got to hold a read panda. They look like a cross between a raccoon and a panda.
In the afternoon we visited the bamboo park. This was a very nice park like setting with over 100 kinds of bamboo. There are large areas where the local people come to do tai Chi and dance or play music, etc. Also there is a large tea house. The local people go there and purchase a cup of tea leaves, which they steep several times over the course of a morning or after noon. They sit and relax and play mah-jong. For money of course.
At the tea house there are also people giving massages and ear massage/cleanings. For some reason this was a hit amongst the teen agers. I don't think there is any reason that a stranger needs to be sticking things in my ears. Anyway, they would massage around the ear and then gently work their way inside. Afterwards they got a big kick out of showing you the ear wax they removed. Here is Patrick getting his ears done.
Also in this park there were some kid rides. Bumper cars, a small roller coaster, etc. The kids rode the roller coaster and the bumper cars. Only in China can you find a roller coaster where it can't get to the top to start. It would get part way up and then got back down. So the attendant would back it up and get a run at it and help to push it up and over the top.
This is a picture of Kaitlyn with one of her new friends. A 12 year old that is very patient with the smaller kids.
Is we wanted, we could get a picture holding a baby panda for only $150 per person. Some of the families did this, however we didn't feel it was worth the money. However, later on we found that we could get a picture holding the more common (and cuter) red panda for only $15 per person. This seemed reasonable so Patrick and Emily got to hold a read panda. They look like a cross between a raccoon and a panda.
In the afternoon we visited the bamboo park. This was a very nice park like setting with over 100 kinds of bamboo. There are large areas where the local people come to do tai Chi and dance or play music, etc. Also there is a large tea house. The local people go there and purchase a cup of tea leaves, which they steep several times over the course of a morning or after noon. They sit and relax and play mah-jong. For money of course.
At the tea house there are also people giving massages and ear massage/cleanings. For some reason this was a hit amongst the teen agers. I don't think there is any reason that a stranger needs to be sticking things in my ears. Anyway, they would massage around the ear and then gently work their way inside. Afterwards they got a big kick out of showing you the ear wax they removed. Here is Patrick getting his ears done.
Also in this park there were some kid rides. Bumper cars, a small roller coaster, etc. The kids rode the roller coaster and the bumper cars. Only in China can you find a roller coaster where it can't get to the top to start. It would get part way up and then got back down. So the attendant would back it up and get a run at it and help to push it up and over the top.
This is a picture of Kaitlyn with one of her new friends. A 12 year old that is very patient with the smaller kids.
Sunday, June 27, 2010
Chengdu Brocade Embroidery and Hot Pot Dinner
Today we travelled from Xi'an to Chengdu. We left in the morning and arrived in Chengdu around Noon. It was raining today. Actually more like an Oregon Mist. Which isn't too bad, because it keeps the heat down.
The first thing we did was lunch. Chengdu is in the Sichuan Province and is well known for it's spicy food. They took it easy on us foreigners and only served a couple of spicy dishes. Since I like spicy food, I found it all to be very good.
After lunch we visited a Chengdu Brocade Embroidery Museum. It was the same drill, a lot of interesting facts about this type of cloth is produced, which is very amazing. Followed by a tour through their museum and then ample opportunity to buy your Brocade and Embroidery.
Finally we arrived at the hotel. We like this one much better than the one in Xi'an. it is right downtown. After checking in, we walked around town some. Kirsten and Patrick got drinks at a Starbucks and the girls got ice cream at a McDonalds. All the comforts of home. :-)
We also visited a Chinese grocery to pick up some snacks and a Chinese department store to get a couple of umbrellas for tomorrow. These types of stores are very interesting. There is at least one employee at each end of every aisle to help you with your purchases. I have never seen so many employees in a grocery store.
In the evening, we went to Hot Pot Dinner. This was optional and our family was the only one to participate. The meal was very good. We all enjoyed it immensely.
Here is Patrick before he tried a piece of on of the peppers:
Here he is trying to eat enough rice to cool his mouth. Notice the color in his face?
The first thing we did was lunch. Chengdu is in the Sichuan Province and is well known for it's spicy food. They took it easy on us foreigners and only served a couple of spicy dishes. Since I like spicy food, I found it all to be very good.
After lunch we visited a Chengdu Brocade Embroidery Museum. It was the same drill, a lot of interesting facts about this type of cloth is produced, which is very amazing. Followed by a tour through their museum and then ample opportunity to buy your Brocade and Embroidery.
Finally we arrived at the hotel. We like this one much better than the one in Xi'an. it is right downtown. After checking in, we walked around town some. Kirsten and Patrick got drinks at a Starbucks and the girls got ice cream at a McDonalds. All the comforts of home. :-)
We also visited a Chinese grocery to pick up some snacks and a Chinese department store to get a couple of umbrellas for tomorrow. These types of stores are very interesting. There is at least one employee at each end of every aisle to help you with your purchases. I have never seen so many employees in a grocery store.
In the evening, we went to Hot Pot Dinner. This was optional and our family was the only one to participate. The meal was very good. We all enjoyed it immensely.
Here is Patrick before he tried a piece of on of the peppers:
Here he is trying to eat enough rice to cool his mouth. Notice the color in his face?
Interesting Sites in China
Not a lot happened today, so I thought that I would post some of the more interesting other photos that we have taken through out China.
This is a McDonalds Delivery Moped. Yes, McDonalds delivers.
This gentleman couldn't pedal his bike up the slight incline. He jumped back on at the top of the small hill and took off. We see a lot of over loaded bikes like this around town.
This sign was out side of the Wal-Mart in Xi'an. no 'pats' and you aren't allowed to 'eat foot' in the store.
This man was hauling a fridge across town. They will haul anything they can strap to a bike.
There was a traffic light at this major intersection, but police were still needed to direct the traffic. Traffic rules are more like suggestions in China.
Another seriously loaded bike.
This is a three wheeled truck loaded with firewood. It only has one wheel in the front. We see a quite a few of these old type trucks around.
I was surprised to find this poor translation in one of the fancy restrooms by the Bird's Nest and Watercube in Beijing. It is trying to tell you to put your hand under the faucet and it will turn on automatically.
Here is a common panel in their elevators. Notice all of the skipped floors. 13 is unlucky to westerners and 4 in any form is unlucky to Chinese.
This is a McDonalds Delivery Moped. Yes, McDonalds delivers.
This gentleman couldn't pedal his bike up the slight incline. He jumped back on at the top of the small hill and took off. We see a lot of over loaded bikes like this around town.This sign was out side of the Wal-Mart in Xi'an. no 'pats' and you aren't allowed to 'eat foot' in the store.This man was hauling a fridge across town. They will haul anything they can strap to a bike.There was a traffic light at this major intersection, but police were still needed to direct the traffic. Traffic rules are more like suggestions in China.Another seriously loaded bike.This is a three wheeled truck loaded with firewood. It only has one wheel in the front. We see a quite a few of these old type trucks around.I was surprised to find this poor translation in one of the fancy restrooms by the Bird's Nest and Watercube in Beijing. It is trying to tell you to put your hand under the faucet and it will turn on automatically.Here is a common panel in their elevators. Notice all of the skipped floors. 13 is unlucky to westerners and 4 in any form is unlucky to Chinese.
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