Are we there yet?

Um, that would be 'no'. We are, however, back in Canada. We're at the Vancouver airport now waiting for our connection to Ottawa. Our 6 hour wait was shortened to 5 hours because our flight out of Beijing was one hour late leaving. Right now we're all very tired (it wasn't a good flight from Beijing to Vancouver) and just putting in time until we can get on the next plane to Ottawa. Naturally, because we have lots of time in Vancouver, our luggage was among the first bags off, and we sailed right through customs. All told we were probably through and re-checked in for our flight to Ottawa within 45 minutes of landing. Not having to go through immigration was very nice. Another couple, also flying into Vancouver with a new baby from China, told us that the customs officer they spoke to said they had saved themselves a couple of hours by avoiding immigration. I believe it. It looked pretty busy at the immigration counters.

This will probably be my last post for a few days as we all try to get over the jet lag and get into a routine. I will however, try to update again in the next week or so.

K...

Canadian Citizenship

Before coming to China to get B, DoT and I made the decision to try the new process of obtaining B's Canadian citizenship... that is, to not apply for immigration and go straight to the citizenship application, now possible with the change to the citizenship legislation. We weren't sure if this was going to be a wise move, since the process is still somewhat new and we weren't sure all the bugs had been worked out. But apparently they have... at least here in China. Today when our guide picked up B's visa from the Embassy, it came with a letter stating that as of January 20th, B is officially a Canadian citizen! Yeah! So not only did it save us the 1111 RMB (approximately $200 Canadian) charge for a medical check here in Beijing, but it also saved us a whole lot of time and aggravation. (I remember with the girls we had to first apply for a SIN card, which then allowed us to get a health card, which then gave us the two pieces of ID needed to apply for citizenship.) We submitted the (Part II) form at the Embassy on Monday and had the letter today (2 days later!) stating that B's now a Canadian citizen.

K...

More shopping

I forgot to mention in my post below that we did get to WangFuJing last night. We walked there from our hotel, with B in a stroller that Lily has loaned to us. It was a mild night, so we quite enjoyed it. We went to the Children's Store there, but the prices are not as good as I remembered and they don't seem willing to come down too much when bartering. I ended up buying one pair of shoes each for the girls, but that was it. After the work that went into getting what I consider just an okay price on those, I just didn't have it in me to start again with negotiations for another pair each. (Although, who knows, maybe the price I did get is good, and I'm just out of touch on the price of kids shoes in Canada.) You all know how much I like shopping (not!)... well shopping where I have to wheel and deal is even worse. I am looking forward to getting back to Canada where the price is the price.

Here's a shot of WangFuJing at night. Given that we've been told a few times now that no one from Beijing would shop at WangFuJing, only tourists (the prices are too high), there sure were a lot of people there last night. And a lot of Chinese people. So I guess there are a lot of people from other parts of China in Beijing for the Spring Festival starting next week. :-)

But that said, today we set out for more shopping. We went to the Pearl Market and to a Silk Market nearby. In spite of the fact that I didn't plan to, I ended up buying pearls at the pearl market. And I almost bought a quilt at the silk market. They had a very interesting set up in the market that demonstrated how different silks are made. The silk quilts were beautiful and so soft, and they showed me how they vacuum seal them in bags to compress them for travelling. I resisted though. :-)

Here is a picture of DoT and I trying our hands at pulling the silk to make a quilt. They said we need some practice.

After the shopping we had a late lunch at a noodle restaurant.

Then it was nap time. Actually, it was past nap time. Normally, B would nap around noon or shortly after. Today it was about 3:30 p.m. when we got him down for a nap. Yesterday he had a late nap too, and didn't end up going to sleep until after 11:00 p.m. last night. I think we're in for a similarly late night tonight.

Tomorrow we fly home. As I mentioned previously, I am anxious to get home. However, I'm dreading the flight. When we first got B, I thought the flight wouldn't be too bad since he's such an easy-going, laid-back kid. However, over the last few days, he's become a bit less patient. Apparently he's now comfortable enough with us to be a bit whiny when he's bored. And somehow I think a 12-hour flight is not going to be nearly exciting enough to keep him entertained. Hopefully he'll sleep for a good part of the flight. We'll see.

K...

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.