"Growing in Cuteness and Love"

Wednesday, March 11, 2009

Beautiful scenery in Guilin

It was almost a new day after the kids got some much needed sleep.  We started the morning with a ride through the country to get to the place where our Li River cruise began.  Then we took a cruise down the river for about 3 hours and had lunch.  The highlight of the lunch was the snake wine which we decided to pass on (we wouldn't make it very far on Survivor). The mountains were absolutely beautiful and we were lucky because it was raining this morning but when we got there it had stopped.  It was quite foggy but the view was still outstanding.  Addy and Bailey (because of their blondish colour hair) are becoming real celebrities as people continuously touch them, rub their hair and want to take their pictures.  Addy is getting annoyed and doesn't really want people bugging her but she will get used to it as we head to smaller farming communities where the people very rarely see Caucasian people.  Bailey on the other hand is all about the camera and has no problem posing with people who want his picture.  I remember he didn't really like it last time we traveled to China though when he was a little younger.  After that we took a golf cart back to our vehicle and drove one and half ours back through the beautiful countryside to our hotel.  We had a great conversation with our guide about adoption and the changes in China (government, economic conditions, changes in policies and rules for adopting within country) that is leading to fewer babies being available.  Many things that have occurred in the past two years has impacted the whole adoption process.  Very amazing hearing it first hand from someone very knowledgeable about life in China. Our guides have been valuable resources as we try to learn as much about life in China from them first hand.  We were suppose to go to a show tonight but decided to cancel as the kids needed some down time.  We went for a great meal which was a challenge to order with no english and our limited Mandarin.  Everyone is tucked into bed and I am sure hoping that they will sleep in (like past 5:00).  We have another exciting day tomorrow in Guilin visiting the Flute Caves and a museum where we will see the children drawing and writing in Chinese.  Then we take an even later flight than last night to Chendu to see the pandas so I have my Gravol and bags ready just in case.  It is really amazing experiencing the culture and actually seeing how many people live in different places which we were not really able to do when we traveled to get Kayla as it was so busy and all encompassing.  We still have a few more stops which is so exciting as China is such an amazing country.  Ultimately as we travel we see little girls that are about 2 year old and think about Anya who will soon be with us.  As we experience this trip together as a family we know that soon we will be sharing these family times with our little girl and that life will be both different than it is now and amazing!    

2 comments:

  1. I'm really enjoying following your journey to Anya. Your pictures are great! Keep the stories coming. We can't wait to some day share China with Sophie. What a great experience this is for your family!

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  2. Wow! The adventures are endless! Too bad you didn't capture the escalator incident on video! I love the picture of the two little blond heads (addy & bailey) riding on the bow of a boat in Hong Kong - like a still out of some Walt Disney adventure movie! What a great trip....we are totally envious - and more homesick than ever for China.
    Good luck on your flight tonight.....
    Love Miranda

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