More sightseeing

So yesterday we took in the Drum Tower and the Bell Tower in Beijing. It was pretty interesting, but unfortunately it was pretty hazy in Beijing so the view wasn't as good as it could have been. We got to the top of the Drum Tower about 5 minutes before the next drum performance, so it was neat to take that in.

Here is a picture of the three of us by the drums.

And I took this picture of our guide, DoT and B on the climb down. The steps were very steep.

This is a picture of the Drum Tower, taken from the Bell Tower.

After taking in the views from the Towers we took in a tea ceremony. The room was set up for big groups, but we were the only ones there, so we got the ceremony all on our own. It was really interesting. I wish I could remember everything I learned about the teas, and which ones are better for which, but I can't. And of course, I wasn't video taping it when I should have been. All I remember is that oolong tea is good for digestion. I thought jasmine tea was the one that the guide said should be drunk by those of us who like to drink wine, since it will ward of liver disease; but DoT thinks she said that jasmine tea was good for the eyes. Alas, if only I had video taped the guide as she was explaining the teas, I'd have perfect skin, vision, and digestion, and all my internal organs would be in tip top shape. :-)

Next we headed to the site of the 2008 Olympics to take some pictures. We didn't go into any of the venues, but did get some picture outside. Unfortunately, we didn't really get any good ones -- DoT and I could have sworn the Lily took a picture of us with both the Birds Nest and the Watercube in it, but apparently not since it's not on our camera. Here are a couple of pictures though...

The Water Cube.

In front of the Bird's Nest.

Check out this building, built to look like the Olympic torch. During the Olympics it housed the media, but now I think it is an office building (either that or apartments, I can't remember what Lily said).

On the way out of the Olympic site, DoT spotted this bird, which Lily told us is a "happiness bird". Apparently if you spot it, it means you're going to have happiness.

Finally, we decided to have lunch at a hot pot restaurant (basically, hot pot is fondue as far as I can tell) ... according to our driver the best hot pot in Beijing. It was very good, so he may be right. Here's a photo of us at our first hot pot...

If any of you are going to be in Beijing and want to go to this restaurant, let us know and we'll give you a picture of the outside of it. We tried to get a card so we'd have the name and address of the restaurant, but unfortunately it was entirely in Chinese. Apparently they don't cater to foreigners too often. :-) Anyhow, we have a picture of the outside of the restaurant which I think shows the name and address.

Quiet day yesterday

Yesterday we didn't really do too much of anything. As DoT reported, we went to the Canadian Embassy to do Part 2 of the Canadian citizenship application for B. It felt more like entering a jail than an Embassy, but once inside it didn't take long at all... basically submit the form and pay the fee (in Yuan, which surprised me).

Yesterday B was not quite as happy-go-lucky as he has been. He didn't sleep a lot the night before (we were late getting back to the hotel) so we weren't sure whether his whininess was due to that or if he's just more comfortable with us now and showing his true colours. :-) In any case, I'd still characterize him as a very easy going child. Which is nice.

We had hoped to walk to Wang Fu Jing for shopping yesterday afternoon, but we also wanted B to have a good nap. He slept for about 2 hours, and when he woke up we remembered that we had sent some laundry out the day before which was supposed to arrive back after 3:00 p.m. So we waited for the laundry... which by 4:45 p.m. had not yet showed up. We then left the hotel to go see J&L's apartment and have supper at a Sichuan restaurant they like (Sichuan Yaodianzi Restaurant). It was very good... we decided to stick to more familiar dishes and passed up on caterpillar fungus and other more exotic dishes. :-) (Apparently we'll get our laundry this morning before 10:00 a.m.)

This morning we are heading to Tian'an Men Square and to the Drum Tower. Then this afternoon if we have time we'll try to get to Wang Fu Jing, and maybe the Silk Market. If not today, we have time for more shopping tomorrow.

Sorry no pictures for the blog today. I`m sure we`ll have some for ou though after our visit to Tian'an Men and the Drum Tower. Bye for now.

K...

At the embassy

Hi all here is video proof of something I could have described but is more fun watching. B has apparently been paying attention when we change his diapers (we didn't coach him on this one and I didn't believe it the first time it happened). I seem to be having problems saving video in Blogger so I put this one on Youtube. See below.

http://ca.youtube.com/watch?v=Wcg7CzYUV_U

He even tries to fold up the diaper pad after we are done. I think by tomorrow he'll be able to change himself (a dad can hope can't he?) If only he would enjoy baths. He still won't come over the threshold into the bathroom (the memories of his first experience are still fresh it seems). I added a few photos of our hotel lobby so you can see where we are living these days.

B in the lobby waiting for mom and our guide to complete the paperwork. He looks content there but we actually had to ride up and down the escalator about 8 times while they were working. He also let me know he wasn't pleased when I finally dragged him off of it.

We did get to the embassy and hand over some paperwork to start the process. Given that the embassy is considered to be sitting on Canadian land, our guide commented that this is how she makes a trip to Canada 5-6 times a year. I think we'll investigate that as an option to speed up our trip on the way back. Later on tonight we are headed for J&L's house to visit and go out to a Sichuan restaurant they like.

Shopping at the Markets

So in response to more video from our latest Chinese movie star, here is a video from yesterday of B playing with the Panda from Uncle J and Aunt L. If you listen closely you can hear his little squeal of delight (squealing in a manly sort of way of course) at the start of the clip.

Last night we walked to a restaurant that J&L like (apparently they took J's mom and dad and sister there as well - so the whole family has been there now). On the way there we realized our hotel was only about a block away from the hotel we stayed at the last time we were here. That was good since I now know where to get groceries and how to walk to the Silk market. The restaurant is called Xiheyaju Restaurant. The sesame beef dish was great (as was the whole meal) but to the chagrin of J and I they only served Budweiser - no Chinese beer (no one said international travel was for the faint of heart). It was a long walk to the restaurant and a late meal for B but he was a real trooper.

Today we went to the Dirt Market (with J&L and our guide) and bought some artwork (you will have to visit us to see it). Thanks to Uncle J's bartering skills we got the price down quite a bit. We also considered buying some elaborate hand-carved, floor to ceiling cabinets there but when we found out that they cost about $20,000 Canadian, we decided that money would be better used buying two Hyundai Accents (we told Uncle J not to bother bartering for that). This market had a lot of neat stuff - paintings, statues, books, old swords, Chairman Mao books etc. It is the kind of place you could visit often.

After having some lunch at Grandma's Kitchen (Western-style food), B and I stopped for a shot in front of the Merry-Go-Round. This photo is for A who loves Merry-Go-Rounds and who is still talking about going to the fair as soon as the snow melts.

After that we headed for the Ya Show Market to shop for some clothes. There weren't many great deals to be had, it seems prices have gone up since we were here last. We did get B a pair of shoes but that was it. By then B, K and I had had enough shopping. In typical male response to shopping, B's defense mechanisms kicked in (see below).

Tomorrow we go to the Canadian Embassy to apply for Canadian Citizenship. B took a good passport photo, I wish we had an electronic copy to share.

Greetings from Beijing!

Hi all,

Well, we made it to Beijing. It felt like a long trip (which doesn't bode well for the flight from Beijing to Vancouver). Before we headed to the airport in Guangzhou, we needed to get B's passport. We went to the Security Office and everything went off without a hitch. Below is a picture of us with the Security Office guy who has been looking out for us this week. Both times we had to go to the Security office he spotted us in the lobby (he was the guy who originally took our photo when we first received B) and was ready and waiting for us. That was great since yesterday when we showed up at the Security office, and had taxis outside waiting to take us to the airport, there had to be close to 100 people waiting in the lobby. He spotted us though, came and got us and took us right to a window for B's photo. Then he handed us the passport and that was that. I have a feeling that had it not been for this guy moving things along, we wouldn't have been able to finish all the paperwork by the time we needed to.




















Of course because everything went so smoothly we made it to the airport the suggested two hours before our flight... only to discover that our flight to Beijing was delayed by 1.5 hours. So, we spent a fair amount of time in the airport, before boarding our plane (which was then further delayed by half an hour). We landed in Beijing at 10:30 p.m. And waiting to greet us were J&L (my brother and sister-in-law). So they got to be the first to meet B...

(The bear was a gift to B from J&L - it walks and makes a lot of noise (music), which B loves.)








B was still wide awake when we landed in Beijing and he had only napped about half an hour earlier that day in the backseat of a taxi. But amazingly he was in a very good mood. He finally fell asleep at about midnight, just before we arrived at our hotel. We carried him into the hotel and put him in the crib waiting there, which was great until about an hour later when he woke up, and I guess didn't know where he was. He got a bit upset. :-) He slept the rest of the night in the king sized bed with DoT and I.

Today we headed out to the Great Wall. Of course we'd already been to the Wall the last time we were here, but it truly is worth the repeat visit. It's really something to see. This time we visited a different section of the Wall (the JuYong Pass). Unfortunately it was a hazy day so we didn't get any great photos. Here are a couple though...

As you can see from the ice on the lake, it is still a bit cold here in Beijing (despite the fact that the Spring Festival starts next week). The temperature here today was somewhere around -5 degrees -- I know.. nothing like the temperature in Ottawa these days.











This picture I thought showed the incline of the steps pretty well. Or at least as well as any of our photos. I have a feeling my leg muscles may be complaining tomorrow.






According to our guide Lily, this sign says that if you haven't been on the Great Wall, you're not a real man.
















After the visit to the Great Wall, we visited a jade store, saw a couple of sculptors creating pieces from jade, learned how to tell real jade from glass or fake jade (although I think I'd need to have both the real and the fake together to compare, and know ahead of time that one was fake and the other real, before I could tell), and spent a lot of money. :-) Here are a couple of photos from there...



















These pictures really don't do it justice... there are some truly amazing pieces here.

In a few minutes we will be heading out to dinner with J&L, and then hope to have an early night since I think we could all use some sleep. Tomorrow, we spend more money (probably)... we're heading to the "Dirt Market".

k.

P.S. Our hotel in Beijing is beautiful.

Off to Beijing today

Hi again all,

This morning we went to the Chen Clan temple (http://www.china-travel-tour-guide.com/attractions/chen-clan-temple.shtml). This temple was built by the Chen family in the late 1800's. We had a nice morning of wandering around and checking out the architecture and the gardens. Very peaceful. It truly felt like a late spring day... I don't know for sure but I'm guessing the temperature this morning was in the high teens, maybe even 20 degrees, and it was sunny. Very nice. Here are a few photos...

There were also a lot of shops at the temple selling jade, art work, porcelain, etc. I bought a couple of small hand paintings for my office when I get back. I don't think they're as nice as the ones I bought in Beijing on our last trip, but they are still pretty nice. And very reasonably priced. And this time I paid a bit extra to get them already framed. Not as convenient for packing, but after our last trip I spent a lot of money back in Canada framing some of the artwork we'd bought.

We got back to the hotel at about 12:30 p.m., and it took about half an hour to get B to sleep for his nap. This kid really does not want to sleep. The last couple of nights he's started to be a bit weepy in the evenings, and I think it is just because he's getting tired and doesn't want to go to sleep. Same thing at nap time. So, anyhow, today he fell asleep at 1:00 p.m., and we need to be checked out of our hotel room by 2:00 p.m., so it will be a short nap today. Then we head to the Security office to pick up B's Chinese passport. Then it's straight to the airport for our flight to Beijing. I'm not sure what time we will get into our hotel in Beijing, so I may or may not put up another post later today.

Oh, yes, one other thing. We discovered last night that B is terrified of the bathtub. Poor kid. So, it seems he'll be getting sponge baths for at least the foreseeable future. :-) I remember E was the same way, and now she loves a bath. Can't remember how long it took for her to gain her love of baths, though.

K....

Low key day

So today was a pretty quiet day. Our guide spent the day at the notary office, on our behalf, to verify the documents being prepared for us, and to make sure everything moved along quickly. (Because we're compressing this visit into a shorter time frame than is typically the case in this province, we need everything to go along without a hitch.) So that left DoT, B and I on our own for the day.

We had a relaxed day today. We slept in, had a late breakfast, played a bit in our hotel room, then B had a 2-hour nap. After that we ventured out and went shopping around our hotel. The streets of Guangzhou, at least the area we are in, are lined with little shops selling pretty much everything. We didn't buy a lot, but did pick up a pair of shoes for B, and a couple of little outfits.

Here is a picture of what the shops along the street look like...

Also, since China is gearing up for the lunar new year, everywhere you go you see lunar new year decorations going up, Chinese lanterns, and orange trees. Here's a shot of the trees appearing at the entrances of practically every major business or hotel...

We had a pretty good day with B today, although we've had a few tears this evening. We're not sure what that is about. It might just be that he's a bit bored. Apparently he's gotten used to a faster pace. :-) Well, we'll be back to that again starting tomorrow. Tomorrow morning we are taking in a local temple, and then in the afternoon, we fly to Beijing. So, I have some packing to do tonight. Gotta go.

K.