China/Macau/Hong Kong June 7-11

Golden dragon of Hong Kong Over the bay for the laser show

Victoria Peak Times Square in Hong Kong

Portuguese Egg Tarts...yummy The whole group in Macau

Casinos in Macau In Macau

Next we went through a crazy series of checkpoints again...China, Macau and then Hong Kong...another four stamps in my passport in one day.

Macau was a Portuguese province so it was a fun blend of cultures. We went to a A-ma Temple, Fisherman's Warf and the facade of a burned out Catholic church. One highlight was a Portuguese egg tart...which was the first non-rice meal I had eaten and I didn't care the consequences as it was completely fabulous. Macau has an amazing skyline, shopping and very feng shui casinos.

We took a huge ferry to Hong Kong and that was the final destination for our trip. It was nice to be in one place for a few days. Hong Kong was much easier for me to get around as many signs were in English. The metro was great...the shopping is as great as you hear and I was feeling up to eating whatever. It was great. We went to a science museum, took a water tour, had dim sum, and I even found a great little Pakistani shop to make custom made clothes and we just generally had a lovely time.

China June 6-7

After a lovely (but thankfully short) stint in a Chinese hospital, my stomach completely rebelled against the food, heat and whatever else and I found myself completely full of ick...and sick in the streets of Guangzhou. Let me say that I was slightly underwhelmed by the medical practices of China. I survived, but I am sure the Red Cross will ban me from donating blood for the rest of my life.

After that - some very long bus rides took us into Taishan and Zhuhai. We stayed in a hotel next to a lovely hot springs water park (of sorts). There were all sorts of baths of different temperatures, scents, and botanical additives. It was very interesting - as were the choice of bathing suits (fashion is a bit different in China).

It rained a lot where we were. We went out for a tour of the city and the roads were so overtaken with all the water, we couldn't get back to our hotel. The roads weren't great to start with as they were mostly potholes the size of humans connected with bits of intact pavement. We went to a botanical park with plants grown without soil, plants that recoil with human touch and gigantic pumpkins. Next, we stayed at a rather interesting restaurant waiting for the water to clear. This was not the cleanest place we'd eaten at and the "bathroom" was not the cleanest bathroom, but the whole experience sure was interesting. There was a long row of vendors with all kinds of sea creatures...you pick what looks good and send it over to the restaurant you're at to be prepared. At this point, I was only able to keep rice and tea down, so I watched...which was ok with me.

China Adventures June3 - 5

The fun continues in China...

We took a flight to Guilin - which is some of the prettiest country I have ever seen - and explored the country. We stayed in a gorgeous hotel and had a grand time touring Elephant Trunk Hill and Reed Flute Caves. The women peddling their wares were the most agressive salespeople I have ever come across. The followed us from the exit of the caves right up to the door of our bus. We went to a tea house and got to pick tea leaves, learn how to make different teas and attended a master tea ceremony (very cool).

The next day we took a river cruise on the Li River and then took a very long, sweaty walk in "town" in search of a bank. We did some shopping and found a crazy little market with all sorts of fresh food to buy - live snakes, live frogs, live chickens, etc. We then took in a Chinese opera (which I have learned I don't love) at this cool outdoor theater. The sets were great with hundreds of people in the cast moving across the river on barges, boats and huge floating sets. We then stayed in the scariest hotel of the journey (ask if you want the details) but had the best Engrish of anywhere we went (ask me about that too).

Hello!

Life has been a wee bit nutty lately, so sorry I have been so in-the-dark. I have tons of photos and stories to tell about my adventures in China, so I will get posting!

Serious Schreck Situation

My oldest sister's youngest daughter (say that three times quickly) was baptised and we gathered to celebrate. This is a moment of catching us in the act of being ourselves. Yikes.

China Adventures May 31 - June 2

So the trip to China was not short. I should also add that the in-flight entertainment was down, so that makes a long flight so much longer. After about 27 hours of travel and what felt like 500 checkpoints from Hong Kong to Shenzhen, we arrived at the hotel.

Our first full day in China (June 2) was touring the area, learning about the local shopping (where to bargin, backroom "warehouses", knockoff grades, etc), a tour of a silk factory, jade shop, local mall and touring two amusement parks - Splendid of China and China Folklore Villiage.