We're back!!

Yes, I'm sure you have all noticed that we have returned. Houses I'm sure are full of memorabilia from the Terracotta Warriors, Rice Terrace Fields and the various markets where we scrounged for bargains. More importantly, I'm sure you have been entertained by the many stories your girls have shared with you about the rich cultural experience that China is.

I thought I'd share a few pictures from the end stages of the trip, in particular, our group shot where we farewelled Olive, our guide for the second half of the trip.

Back to reality tomorrow!!

Summer Palace and Silk Market shopping

Our last full day of touring in China was a visit to the Summer Palace and the Silk Market for some last minute retail therapy in the afternoon. We all made it on deck thankfully. Last night Shannen succumbed to the lergy and had a bit of a rough trot. All was good in the morning and we haven't had any problems since so hopefully we are through the worst of it.

It was chilly at the Summer Palace and the smoggy haze made visibility a bit poor. In the spirit of democracy the girls elected to walk all the way around rather than catch the boat across the lake. We were very impressed that they chose culture over convenience. It is a tranquil spot and has many an example of Chinese cultural heritage to cast your eyes over.

We left around 12.00pm and made our way to the Silk Market. The girls have become proficient at finding a bargain so many delights await you on their return. We're off to sample Peking Duck tonight for our last dinner out in China.

This will probably be the last post until we can access some free wireless at either Beijing or Bangkok airport. Our flight leaves tomorrow at 5.35 from Beijing and we are due to arrive in Melbourne at 1.35 on Thursday the 13th of November. See you all there.

Our Great Wall adventure

We began our journey out to the wall with a buffet breakfast at our hotel in Beijing, where we all wished Jess a happy 16th birthday. A donut stack with candles was waiting for her and she polished it off with aplomb.

Then it was onto the bus for the two and a half hr drive out to Simitai. We checked into our hotel, had lunch and then prepared ourselves for our walk up the very steep mountainous part of the wall that we could see from our lodgings. Even the walk to get on the wall is quite a climb and we were peeling off the layers at an early stage.

Yes, it was very steep and quite an effort. The girls handled it really well, especially Casey who had been suffering the previous day. We walked uphill for near on two hours to the point of the wall where you can go no further due to disrepair. Coming down took about an hour - it's quite difficult on the descent due to some of the very steep inclines. Casey was awarded a special medal on completion for her valiant effort. We all collapsed for an hour or so and then had dinner. A surprise awaited Jess; a lavish birthday cake organised through our trusty guide, Olive. She was thrilled. Even better was the after party in one of the rooms. The girls kindly asked us to attend and we shook up the dance floor!! (sort of, in an older woman kind of way). It was lovely of them to include us in the festivities. Jess had a birthday worthy of rememberance.

Catherine and I awoke to the sound of knocking on our door and news that Hattie and Ella had fallen foul of the dreaded lergy. They weren't up to the hike so I stayed back and Catherine and Olive took the girls to Jinshanglang where they began the hike back to Simitai. I'd told everybody that I had found that an easier hike last year but my recollection must have been awry. They all came back saying it was much harder.

We weren't happy with the girls staying at Simitai while there was illness in the group so we arranged to return to Beijing and the hotel we have been staying at. The girls were very happy about that, particularly in light of the wonderful buffet breakfast they know will be on offer tomorrow morning. Hattie and Ella are on the road to recovery and we are hoping no-one else succumbs.

Tomorrow we spend the morning at the Summer Palace and then we hit the Silk Market in the afternoon. THAT is causing considerable excitement to say the least!

Nearly at the end of our journey through China. Your girls are all looking forward to the return journey home and being reunited with family and friends.

Beijing sojourn

We arrived in Beijing after our journey on the soft sleeper. It was a bumpy ride and Casey didn't fare too well. She was sick on the train and I had to stay with her in the hotel room while Catherine and our guide Olive took the rest of the girls to Tiannamen Square and the Forbidden City. Beijing is 1200 kms from Xian and the weather was nothing like what we experienced yesterday. Very chilly here at the moment.

The girls loved the day and were very tired at the end of it. Apparently the crowds at Tiannamen Square and the Forbidden city were huge and representative of all the nations of the world. Catherine believes that most of the population of China was in the Forbidden City today!!

In the afternoon they visited the Hutong residential area and shared a lunch with a couple in their seventies who have recently opened their home to international tourists. The girls enjoyed both the food and the company and were pleased to be able to gain some insight into the everyday lives of the Chinese people.

Casey and I were able to join the group for the late afternoon performance of the Beijing Acrobatic Troupe. They were fantastic. We were amazed at the young age of some of the troupe and at their incredible flexibility and strength. Then we were off for yet another magnificent Chinese feast. What on earth are we going to do when we get home and have to cook again (I'm referring to Catherine and myself here obviously!).

Breakfast at this hotel is buffet style and we gorged ourselves this morning so will do so again tomorrow. Shannan's plan is to attend a first sitting, retire to her room to digest quietly and then return for another go before we board the bus taking us to Simatai. Plans are afoot to celebrate Jess' 16th birthday with an oreo cake at our hotel at the base of the Great Wall. What a birthday memory that will be.

I don't know if there will be internet access there so there may be no posts until we return to Beijing Tuesday. This has been a wonderful trip and we have enjoyed the company of the girls immensely. They are so funny and we have been laughing our way through China. We have been coined 'Sport' and 'Champ' - wonder how that will go down in a Toorak College assembly hall!

Xian turns on sun and blue sky for us.

It's a beautiful day here in Xian. We have walked around in T shirts and shorts and have thoroughly enjoyed seeing a blue sky again. It's a vast contrast from our initial arrival when there was a brown haze that greeted us.

Today we had a late start and made our way to the city wall. There we hired bikes, some tandem, and rode the 14.7 km circuit of the wall. It was great fun, particularly given the idyllic weather conditions. After this we had a really wonderful lunch, one of the best so far. Dish after dish came out with the finishing touch being a plate of potato covered in sticky toffee. Sounds like a weird combination but it was delicious.

We are gearing up now for our overnight train journey to Beijing. Some of the girls are here with me in Starbucks and are going to leave a comment below. Sorry it's not everyone. I'll try and ensure everyone gets a chance to add a comment during our stay in Beijing. Be mindful that we will be out at the wall for two daqys and I may not be able to get access to update.

Ellen, Sarah, Casey and Chloe:
Hey there families and fellow bloggers! Ni hao from China Town. Just reporting back to let you know were all alive and well, even though we spent the night at an extremely creepy hotel at the top of Mt Huashan- which bought back memories of movies such as Vacancy, Saw and The Grudge. Exhausted, happy and increasingly muscular, but when shopping time comes we seem to find a source of energy from deep within and pull through. We have had our fair share of rice (Ellen says: Mum please have tuna casserole ready when i arrive!!!!), and soy sauce has become our new vegemite. Today we rode on tandem bikes and realised the meaning of 'double the fun'. Tonight however, we are being rather cultural and adventurous and opting for a McDonalds dinner. On the bus yesterday we had a little karaoke, and found our inner Delta Goodrems and our Michael Jackson dance moves. Sarah was the star of the show. We have found many different ways of entertaining ourselves, including our Chris Brown supplementary concert for Chloe and Steph. We're especially looking forward to Jess's Birthday! And shopping in Beijing of course (Silk Markets!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!). See you soon, Zi Jen.

PS. Go Romy for losing your tooth :)

PSS. Congradulations for your skills in sheep showing jayden:-) mwa :-)

hi family! love talya

We conquered Mt.Huashan (and have done a few other things too!)

Wow, have we had a couple of big days.

Yesterday we left in the morning for our pilgramage to the Terracotta Warriors museum. It's an hour long drive fron Xian and we used the time in the bus for some karaoke singing. I don't quite know if you'd call it singing, but it was a lot of fun. The Terracotta warriors didn't fail to disappoint. It is a real moment to walk into Pit 1 and see them laid out before you, row after row after row. The girls were all very impressed. It is wonderful to see them gain such an appreciation of the historical significance of this find. Olive, our new guide, was terrific. She gave us commentary as we walked through the pits and we were in command of knowledge that gave us greater insight. Many a picture was taken and I'm sure you'll be privy to some amazing slideshows on our return.

We left the museum after 2.30 and made our way to Mt. Huashan. We didn't get to the Gondalas that took us up the mountain until nearly 5.00pm so we knew we would be completing part of the climb in the dark. The gondalas themselves caused much excitement- they go up 1600 metres on a steep incline and the girls were surprised at the height. We started the climb just after 5.00pm and it was pretty much everything I remembered from last year - up and up and up! The girls were great. It was hard, but all of them showed strength of spirit and put their all into getting to the hotel at the top of the mountain. By 6.45 most of us were at the hotel, and a few of us bringing up the rear made it by 7.00pm. It was dark but it just made for a more interesting experience. We got to see the lights of the surrounding area below.

The hotel was basic, but it is simply amazing that there are even hotels up there. Everything on that mountain needs to be carried up. We all went to bed early ready for our 5.15 start to the day to see the sunrise. We hiked to an area where we could see it but cloud cover prevented us from getting a view. The girls were happy to begin the descent, and even happier to finally get back in the coach and sleep on the way back to Xian. On our return we celebrated with a visit to Starbucks!

We freshened up, had a lovely lunch and hit the Muslim Quarter market for the afternoon. Off to dinner soon.

I'll try and get a quick post in tomorrow if I can. We ride bikes around the city wall tomorrow and leave in the late afternoon to catch a sleeper train to Beijing. The girls are having a wonderful experience here and we are enjoying their company. They are a pleasure to be around (when they aren't squealing that is!)

We're in Xian

Woke in Yangshou to no rain. Wait a minute! Am I seeing right? I was, but it was only momentarily. Rain returned happily to see us off from this very friendly town. The girls really enjoyed their time here. It gives them an opportunity to interact with the Chinese poeple in a way that is not possible in the bigger cities. We bid farewell to Dragon and Mr. Moore, extra guides who accompanied us on this part of the trip. Before we left we sent off some postcards that will probably arrive after we return home. Amazing that I can update this blog and give you almost instaneous feedback, but a postcard still takes an age to travel to its destination!

We had a two and half hour bus trip to the airport for our flight to Xian. Then it was an hour and a half flight to this city centre. We had to farewell our guide, Stony, at Xain airport. He has had to return to his family due to a situation there. The girls were very sad to see him go but all understood that family comes before all else. At Xian airport he handed us over to our new guide, Olive, a lovely young woman who is more than capable. She has a very happy outgoing manner and has already endeared herself to the girls. We settled into our hotel, The Bell and Drum Tower, and headed into the Muslim quarter for dinner. Xian is a city, not a small town like Yangshou, and the girls were very aware of the difference. Many more people and beggars on the streets. Dinner was an interesting variety of tastes and we were thankful to not have any garden variety molluscs make an appearance!

Everyone was very tired after a day of travel and retired to their rooms to get ready for the big day ahead. We visit the Terracotta Warriors tomorrow and then tackle Mt. Huashan for our overnight stay on this mountain. I'm pleased to report that in my discussions with the girls all realise that it is going to represent somewhat of a challenge, but they also recognise that it is going to be a challenge with great personal reward at its completion.  

I won't be able to post tomorrow, but will try and do so on Thursday. Thanks for all of the comments. The girls have been thrilled to see that you are watching and interested.  Sorry no photos today. The hotel has no wireless so I'm having to use their desktops for internet connection. All of their screens are written in Chinese and I can't figure out how to read the USB to retrive the pictures I copied to it. I'll try and get some up on Thursday.