Travel & Day 1 in Beijing

Our trip yesterday was long but relatively smooth, as those things go.  Our flights were on time and smooth…just long.  The flight from London to Dubai is about 6 hours and the flight from Dubai to Beijing is close to 7 hours…with a 4 hour layover in between. 

If you ever get a chance to experience Emirates, they are really world-class.  The economy cabin seats are almost as nice as business class on an American carrier.  They had awesome individual in-seat entertainment systems, with USB and outlet connectors in each seat and they had delicious food and beverage service.  Their children’s packs were amazing – Zack came away from both flights with a backpack filled with goodies (to include a magna-doodle and a Dr. Seuss book), a blanket, a stuffed animal, a new coloring book with crayons and a pack full of sundries/toiletries.  The kid meals included enough snacks to keep even the whiniest kids happy on a long flight. 

Zack did really well in flight – he slept about 75 percent of the way. The on board entertainment had Mickey Mouse Clubhouse, which is his flavor of the moment, so all was good.  Considering we had to visit the ER “between flights” he was a total rock star. Zack has upper respiratory crud right now, which showed up our second day in Ireland.  We took him to get checked out to make sure he was OK to travel and spent 4 hours in the ER to be told to give him honey and Benadryl.  Since this is a blog post dedicated to travel, I will hold off on a rant about military healthcare and their stinginess to prescribe real medicine. 

We were met at the airport by Michael, our Beijing guide from last year, who was very happy to see us again and to meet the kids.  He is very polite about it, but I think he is very puzzled about why we are adopting again…three kids seems like a lot to him and I think the “large family” concept is something he just does not get. 

It took us almost 2 hours to get to our hotel (we’re at the Novatel Peace again) and we were WIPED by the time we got there.  We have a pretty nice setup – connecting rooms – and I like the hotel a lot better this time around.  We have a nicer room and a larger bath. 

We exchanged some money and went out in search of some food.  We went to a local restaurant that specialized in dumplings…it did not seem like a place frequented by tourists, but the staff was very nice and friendly.  They had a picture menu and we managed to order by pointing at some stuff.  We had a bunch of different dumplings and some soup.  Very delish…Zack had 3 bowls of soup. 

We started our first day in Beijing pretty early and went to the Temple of Heaven.  It is HOT here.  We enjoyed the temple and the exhibits and watching the older people do their exercises and socializing in the park.  Michael told us that in China the compulsory retirement ages are 55 for women and 60 for men.  The park was a plethora of “seasoned” Chinese folk doing all sorts of exercise routines, playing badminton and a game that sort of looked like hackey sack, knitting, playing chess, singing in groups and in general, just hanging out and visiting.  It was very cool. 

 

We got stared at a lot, which doesn’t really phase me, but it is a different experience for Laura.  I think that the Chinese are surprised to see a Chinese child with a Western family.  I’ve been told that the average Chinese person is unaware of foreign adoption from their country, which makes sense when you consider how many people there are in China versus how many kids are adopted out each year…it’s actually a pretty small percentage.  Another thing I learned is that Zack is a really handsome boy.  I know people might think I say that because I’m his mom, but he really is a good looking kid.  He gets a lot of attention from Chinese people of all ages, which he totally eats up. 

After the Temple of Heaven, we went on a rickshaw ride and tour of the Hutong District.  Hutong means “narrow street”, and basically, this is the old part of Beijing.  We met some of the locals and bought some really cool artwork – another paper cutout to compliment the one we got last year and some watercolors on delicate rice paper.  Love them. 

 

 

Michael took us to a “time honored” vegetarian restaurant for lunch.  Lee and I kind of crack up each time Michael says “time honored”…I don’t know why.  We love Michael…he is such a great guy and so eager to show us the very best his city has to offer.  He was the first person we interacted with when we came to China last year and we know so much more about this strange and wonderful place because of him.  Anyhoo…this vegetarian restaurant is famous because all of the stuff they serve tastes like it has real meat.  I was skeptical, but oh my word…it was totally true!  The things that they can do with tofu are just amazing!  We had a spicy “chicken” and peanut dish that I am still not totally convinced was vegetarian.  We had deep fried lotus flowers that tasted just like a buffalo chicken strip.  It was amazing.  Zack had 5 bowls of tofu soup and nothing else.  He is seriously on a soup kick. 

We are chillaxin’ at the hotel this afternoon…we plan to check out the pool later and maybe wander down to the Forbidden City area for some pictures.  Snack street is definitely on the agenda later…but probably not on the menu.  Although…Laura is really hell bent on sampling a starfish on a stick.  More power to her. 

We have a late start (10 AM) tomorrow but a long day.  We are going to visit the Great Wall and go to a tea house for the traditional tea ceremony and then go to the acrobat show at night.  These are all things we did last year, but we enjoyed them, so happy to have a repeat.  It will be different with Zack and Laura in tow this time, so it will be fun to have see them have fun…stayed tuned!

Thanks for all of the prayers and good wishes. They are definitely felt and appreciated and we are having a great time so far.