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. 

Moon Hill and other delights

Today we woke to the sound of.......no rain! Short lived unfortunately. It was back to drizzling while we ate breakfast. This meant we were off on yet another rainy bike ride, this time to Moon Hill. Did it discourage us? No, onward we charged!!

The ride was an easy, albeit wet, one. When we got to the Karst mountain that is Moon Hill we ascended to the peak where we saw some spectacular views. Great photo opportunity. It was a steep and steady climb that is good preparation for our Mt. Huashan climb that is coming up. We took our time coming down due to the drizzling rain and we all made it unscathed.

On our return we went to a very traditional Chinese restaurant and attempted some very interesting cuisine. On the meat eating table snails were on the menu. It's amazing what the lure of 10 Yuan will do to a person's interest in consuming a new taste sensation. Ellen, Shannon, Georgie F, Georgie M and Chloe were up for it and succeeded in downing the mint flavoured mollusc. I did it too for absolutely no reward, just the satisfaction of meeting a challenge! I don't think any of us are in any danger of foraging around the backyard for an alternative dinner option anytime soon.

In the afternoon we visited the Wisdom School for Girls here in Yangshuo. It was a highlight of the trip so far. We broke off into groups and visited classrooms where we were able to answer questions and ask a few of our own. The girls loved the opportunity to talk to girls of a similar age and I'm sure they realised we share much in common with the Chinese girls. The afternoon ended with our girls singing 'Spirit' to the Chinese girls and with the Chinese girls singing to us. A wonderful experience for both cultures.

Dinner was at the Scenic View cafe and then it was off to West street for our last shopping opportunity here. Tomorrow we have to leave for Xian - we have a lazy start to the day and leave for the airport at 10.30am.

Yesterday we left the rice terrace fields and the village of Ping An. I think all the girls would agree that the experience was enlightening. They loved interacting with the people from the village and seeing life lived differently from their own experiences. We had a three hour bus trip into the village areas surrounding Yangshou where we began the bike riding part of the journey.
Mr. Long provided us with our bikes and we set off down a dirt road that led through small villages. The Chinese people were very amused by our presence and happy to shout out a hello to one and all. The children are especially keen on making some contact. The girls are delighted with the interest and respond wholeheartedly with loud ‘nee hows’ (I have no idea of the Chinese spelling of this!).

We rode for 25 kms and encountered a few hills along the way. Stony, our guide, led the way and Catherine and I pulled up the rear. We were all pretty glad to see the bus indicating the end of the ride, especially as it was drizzling for most of it and we were damp.
We journeyed to our hotel in Yangshou. The girls were thrilled with the accomodation and the town itself. It is picturesque, surrounded by Karst mountains. It’s a bustling tourist precinct and has the West St market as a big drawcard. We had another delicious dinner at a local restaurant and then walked down to the Li River where we hopped on a boat and ventured out to see a fisherman and his cormorant birds engage in the traditional Chinese way of catching fish. The birds are tethered and then released. They dive into the water and catch fish, but can’t swallow them as they have a ring around their neck. The fisherman aids them in regurgitating the fish and feeds them after the work is done. Quite a few of the girls had pictures taken with a Cormorant bird on their shoulder.

Today we woke to the sound of consistent rain. We had breakfast at the hotel and got ready for our bike ride. 17 kms today to a village near the Li River. We set out on what was a made road and fairly flat which made for easy riding. The rain didn’t let up and we were pretty wet. We were supposed to hike along the river but altered our plans in light of the weather conditions. We instead caught a ferry and travelled the Li River by this means. We returned to the hotel and the girls were given some time to shop in the neighbouring street. Needless to say this was a highlight for them!

Dinner was a western style meal at a local restaurant and then we were off to the Water Puppet Theatre. Thankfully the rain abated somewhat and we were able to enjoy the show dressed in our complimentary ponchos. It’s a show that was directed by the man who organised the opening ceremony for the Beijing Olympics so it gives you some idea of the spectacle that it was. Lots of massed performance all based on the water with a love story as its central theme.
Ice-Cream for all on our return and then off to bed, ready for another bike ride in Yangshou tomorrow.

Hiking through the rice terrace fields

Tody we hiked through the rice terrace fields. The original hike was supposed to be for 5-6 hours, but the weather was against us. We woke to the sound of consistant rain and had to rethink our plans. The hike was shortened to 2 hr hike into a village, pretty much all uphill. There were a few slips along the way but nothing too untoward. I mde one of the more spectacular slips in the first five minutes! The lunch at a local inn was fantastic. The girls are all enjoying the food and are eating heartily. They got an opportunity to do some shopping at the local stalls this afternoon and have made a few choice purchases that will make you very happy I'm sure.

We leave the village in the morning and drive out to where we begin our bike ride through the local villages. The karst mountains are simply beautiful in this region and I'm sure the girls will be entranced by the scenery. Shopping is great in Yangshou and I know they are looking forward to more of that!

I should be able to get some photos uploaded over the weekend so keep your eyes peeled on this space.

We're in Ping An village

After a couple of hectic days we're settled in Ping An village and are enjoying observing the local people live life at a different pace to the lives that we occupy back home in Melbourne. We're never going to complain about lifting heavy suitcases again after watching older village women haul visitors luggage on their backs up the mountainside to reach the local inns. People certainly do work hard here and I'm pretty sure the girls are taking note.

Our time in Hong Kong was busy to say the least. We crammed a whole lot into the time we had there. We visited the Temple Street market, negotiated the subway system, actually found the location of a restaurant that had been recommended to us, caught a ferry across Victoria Harbour, found the Peak Tram and got on board to see the sights of Hong Kong from the skydeck, found our way back to the subway system and located our hotel. Sounds tiring doesn't it? It was!

The next day we hd a slow start and then caught a train into mainland China. We had to change trains and board the overnight one that took us to Guilin. The girls really enjoyed the experience and did a great job negotiating their luggage and settling into the shared cabin with bunks.

Today we boarded a bus that drove us to the rice terrace fields. We walked into the village of Ping An and settled into our hotel. Lunch was great - all the girls made comment about how much they enjoyed it. After this we set out on hike to a neighbouring village. We arrived back late afternoon and had another lovely meal at a neighbouring inn. All are settled in their rooms as we prepare for tomorrow and the six hour hike that awaits us. We are visiting a nearby village where we will have lunch and then we will hike down the mountain. At the bottom a bus will be waiting to take us back to this village. It will be a big day but the weather is very temperate - much cooler than when I visited last year. It should make difference for this hike.

The girls have been wonderful. All are making real effort to make the most of this experience. They are really enjoying the Chinese food that we have experienced today. Plenty more of that to come!

Safe flight to Bangkok

Well, we've made it to Bangkok airport safe and sound. Everyone slept well, so things look good for our day and night in Hong Kong. It was an uncomplicated flight, except for the air pocket descent that woke us all up! Just a jolt, and we all had a bit of a laugh about it.

Here at Bangkok airport for a two hour layover and taking advantage of free wi fi here. Probably won't get time in Hong Kong to post - it's going to be busy. All is well!

We're almost there

We leave shortly for our 18 day China trip. It promises to be a life changing experience for everyone going. Having been on this trip last year, I know what is in store and I'm convinced that everyone is going to have a wonderful time. I was looking at the itinerary on Friday and saw that we have the same guide who was with us on the trip last year. His name is Stony and he did a stellar job in leading us through China and ensuring that our experience was a positive one. That's him above when we had reached the top of Moon Hill, a karst mountain, last year.

I hope everyone is busy packing and ensuring that they are ready for the flight.

Exciting times ahead for us all!