Beijing-Wednesday

Today we took a 3 hour plane flight to Beijing from Hong Kong. When we arrived we entered a huge airport terminal which we heard was now the biggest terminal in the world. Our guide, Jonathon, met us and drove us to our hotel. He told us we were free tonight, so we just walked around the area. Everyone here is very proud that they are hosting the Olympics. Not as many people speak English here, but they are all friendly & helpful in spite of the language barrier. Still very crowded with people, and lots more bikes on the streets. After our walk we went to a dumpling restaurant and the dumplings were really, really good. Now I'm sleepy, so it's off to take a shower & go to bed. We'll be touring all day tomorrow.

To read Andy's blog, please click here.

Hong Kong-Tuesday

We got up very early and found the Flying Pan for breakfast. It was very American - I had pancakes, eggs & bacon, and hot chocolate. It was great. Then we took a taxi to Victoria's Peak. We took a nature walk which was very hilly, but overcast & smoggy so the visibility of the city was poor. Next we took the tram down the mountain. It was fast at times and had to slow down on steep hills.

Next we took a taxi to the Star Ferry Pier. We got there at 9AM and nothing opened until around Ten so we found an air conditioned mall and mall-walked. We found our favorite store, Watson's, and made our 1st of many purchases today. Watson's is a drug store. We're also finding that most people speak some English. When the Ferry office opened we bought a half-day pass for the Star Ferry to tour Victoria Harbour. On the Kowloon Peninsula part of the tour we saw the Bruce Lee & Jackie Chan stars, like on Hollywood Boulevard. It was after that I had a very bloody nose, probably from the pollution. Mom ran out of Kleenex and a very nice lady gave us a pack (she didn't speak any English). Dad made 3 or 4 trips to Watsons for Kleenex and other items. When it finally stopped we decided to head back to our hotel where Daddy napped and I played Nintendo. We went for dinner at Big Eddie's for American food, possibly our last of this trip. Early tomorrow morning we fly out to Beijing.

To read Andy's blog, please click HERE.

Hong Kong

Sunday we flew to Hong Kong for 15 hours and arrived Monday afternoon. We flew North over Greenland, the North Pole, Siberia, Mongolia, and China. The plane was big, and it is the coolest plane I've ever been on. There was a home entertainment system on each seat, but Mom's was broken.

When we arrived in Hong Kong we took an express train to our hotel. It went really fast - faster than the cars we passed.

Hong Kong is very crowded, hazy & smoggy. We ate dumplings for dinner and went to bed early about 4PM Hong Kong time. We woke up at 3AM and couldn't go back to sleep, but we all feel rested and ready to explore the city today.


To read Andy's blog, please click HERE.

First Leg-Toronto

Today we went to Niagara Falls. The actual falls were really big and amazing. We got up really close to the falls and I saw how fast the water was moving, it was really cool. We also went to a cool Lego place. There were lots of Star Wars space ships and 19 Lego trains all running. They even had the Falls built all out of Legos.

After the Falls we drove to the CN Tower which is currently the tallest tower in the world. The 3rd tallest tower is in Shanghai, the Pearl of the Orient. We're supposed to see it next week

Tomorrow we are flying to Hong Kong. I hope they have food on the flight.

To read Andy's blog, please click on http://andytravelstochina.blogspot.com/

Andy Prepares for his Trip to China!

This is my trip to go see where I was born. I was adopted into a loving family 13 years ago when I was very little. I don't quite know what to expect from this trip other than to have a fun vacation. First we are going to Hong Kong. Then, we travel to Beijing. I'm looking forward to seeing the Forbidden City. I'd like to find out why it was forbidden. After Beijing we travel to Xi'an. We'll see the Terracotta Soldiers and also the Huaqing Hot Spring. I wonder if we'll be able to get in the hot spring. I've heard they are supposed to be good for your health. After Xi'an we're going to Shanghai. From Shanghai we travel by car to Zhangjiangang. That's the city where I was born. We'll visit the orphanage and have lunch. I don't know what to expect from this part of the trip. It's hard to explain. I am glad I'll have the opportunity to see it and maybe even meet the caretaker we have a picture of from my adoption day. We celebrate my Adoption Day each year on July 31st. That's the day our family was made. On the trip we'll see the Forbidden City on the 31st and then we see a Chinese Kung Fu show.

I'd like to thank Mr. Wu with Gladney for helping my parents put this trip together. I'll post after the trip to let you know how much fun we had.

Andy