Look out China here we come!

With my family traveling all the way to China to visit us, I decided a little tour of China was in order.  If you're gonna come all this way you really should see the Warriors and the Great Wall. We flew up to Xian and went directly to the Terra Cotta Warriors, which were built by China's first Emperor to guard his grave.  Over the centuries the tomb was forgotten until a farmer, looking for water, dug up a terra cotta head.  You can imagine his surprise.  The government bought the lands, at a ridiculously low price, and the farmer now signs a book at the gift shop.  After seeing all three pits, we headed back into the city of Xian to get settled in our hotel.  While I stayed back at the hotel with the kids, everyone else explored the Muslim district, which is known for its good food and shopping.

I don't know if it's us, or Xian, but we seemed doomed to see the city in the rain.  However, unlike our first trip, we were prepared with ponchos and umbrellas.  From our hotel we walked to the Drum Tower, which can be seen in the background of the photo. The Drum Tower, which is now a museum of sorts, was originally used to signal the end of the day.  The Bell Tower, where the kids and I are standing, was used to signal the start of the day.  Both towers now give musical performances throughout the day.  The kids were determined to hear the bell performance, so we waited it out, and got to hear what some of the bells sound like.  We met up with our guide at this point and enjoyed a yummy noodle dish for lunch, something Xian is known for.  The kids enjoyed slurping up their noodles, which, thank God, are a favorite.  Next we braved Xian's city wall.  The wall originally enclosed the entire city and you can see the difference between the old and new part of the city in the different styles of buildings.  By the time we got to the top, it was raining and very cold and windy.  We managed to get a quick group shot before booking it back down to the much warmer car!

Beijing, China's capital and, home of The Great Wall and Peking duck.  Our first stop was the Wall, which is about a 1 1/2 hours drive from Beijing, depending on traffic (there is always traffic).   Everyone has heard about the Great Wall of China, we learn about it in school, and saw it on TV during the Olympics. But, being there in person, standing on something that is thousands of years old, was absolutely AMAZING! That I got to share it with my family was the proverbial cherry on top.  I was worried that it would be crowded, especially when I saw the crowds walking down the hill from the cable car. But, when we got to the wall (via cable car) it was actually pretty empty.  We spent an hour exploring the wall and admiring the views, and even got to leave our mark behind in a tower that had it's walls covered with huge canvases for visitors to sign.  On the way down, the guys had the privilege of sitting in the same cable car that former President Bill Clinton sat in :-)  In keeping with the Presidential theme we had lunch at The School House, where President Obama and First Lady Michelle ate after their visit to the Wall.  We ended our day with a Chinese acrobatic show that was absolutely amazing, that had all of us in awe, but...I don't think any Presidents had been.

Day two in Beijing started with a tour of the Temple of Heaven, a religious complex where the Emperor would pray for a good harvest.  Before you get to the buildings you walk through a large garden where locals can be found playing games, singing, or cruising the marriage market in search of a suitable spouse for their child.  Who needs on-line dating when you've got mom or dad checking out the prospects at the park?  Both the kids and Steven tried out the games played by locals, who seem to enjoy teaching the tourists how to play.

After a tour of a local silk factory we visited Tiananmen Square.  Mom and Dad hold up the 100RMB in front of the Great Hall of the People, which is depicted on the back, and is the headquarters for the National Party.  There is also a memorial to Mao Zedong, and a monument to the People's Heroes.  It was a bit strange to stand in a place that has seen so much violence and to know that most of the Chinese visitors are completely unaware of the full history to the square.  But, the Chinese like Americans are proud to visit their nations capital and to see the seat of their governments power.

Our next stop was to the Forbidden City, which truly is a city unto itself.  The city is made up of 980 buildings, covers 180 acres, and was home to 24 Emperors culminating in 500 years of history. It was taken over in 1925 by the Palace Museum, and was declared a World Heritage Site in 1987. Yellow is considered to be the color of the Emperor, so all the roofs of the Forbidden City are done in yellow.  During our visit we walked from the Outer Court, which was used for ceremonial purposes, to the Inner Court, where the Emperor and his family lived and worked.

For lunch we stopped at a restaurant just outside of Tiananmen Square and had some amazing Peking Duck, which our guide Rita showed us (fork people, as they call us) how the locals eat it. Our last stop of the day was a historic Hutong neighborhood.  Here was got to enjoy a ride in a rickshaw and the hospitality of a woman who's family has lived in the Hutong for generations.
Before leaving the Hutong we had the opportunity to meet a with THE #1 cricket fighting champion.  He had to be in his 80s at least, and he spoke almost no English, but his enthusiasm and charm had us all enthralled.  He showed us pictures of interviews he's done for magazines and news shows around the world, and then... we got to see China's #1 fighting cricket.  But, he does not limit himself to crickets.  He also breeds grasshoppers for their sound, and got a laugh out of the kids when he put one on Charlie's hat.

No visit to China is complete without a traditional tea tasting. If China is known for anything aside from silk, it's tea.  On our way from the Hutong we stopped at the Drum Tower to learn more about tea than most would care to.  The Chinese take their tea very seriously and use different pots and different methods of brewing depending on the tea.  As with most tastings, you only get a small sample to try, in what looks a lot like a shot glass.  We tried several types, including Oolong, Green, Black, Lychee, and Fruit tea.  As we tried each our server would explain the benefits the various teas offered.  The fruit tea is very sweet has no caffeine so it is often served to kids. Charlie, proving himself to have a very Chinese palate, by drinking down every last drop of tea served, even finishing off his sisters.  We ended up bringing home some Lychee tea and a beautiful tea set decorated with dragons and phoenix, a representation of male and female or Emperor and Empress, to add to my growing collection of tea sets.

Dinner time, or maybe not.  Our hotel was only a few blocks from the famous Snack Street, where you can find a mind boggling variety of things to munch on.  There are of course some typical snacks, like noodles, veggies, and dumplings, but that is not why you go to Snack Street.  You go to see, and if you're brave, to try some of the more unconventional snacks. Things like snake, spider, beetles, silk worms, sea horse, scorpion, and sea star to name a few.  Most of the vendors are happy to explain what they offer and will assure you, "it is very good".  I'm sorry to say that I was not that brave.  I did enjoyed a potato that had been sliced very thin in a long curl and then fried, and a sweet red bean paste bun that was made up to look like a pig.  Unsurprisingly, considering how much he enjoys watching Andrew Zimmern, my dad gave the fried scorpion a go.  According to him, it was crispy, salty, and actually quite good.  I just took his word for it.  I have a strict policy on eating things with more than four legs.

Having said good bye to Holly and Steven the night before, we headed out to see the Bird's Nest and Water Cube.  Although you can walk through the Olympic Park, we were happy with a view of the park from a pedestrian bridge.  From there we went to the Summer Palace, which is actually more gardens than palace, and was also very crowded. It was known to be Empress Dowager Cixi's favorite place, who is said to have embezzled money from the Navy to restore it. She also ruled China through first her son, and after he died, her nephew, whom she later imprisoned at the Summer Palace.

For our last meal in Beijing, we enjoyed Hot Pot, and popular Chinese style of cooking (think Chinese fondue).  We ordered two broths, a spicy and a non spicy, and then ordered meats, seafood, and veggies to cook in the broth.  There is also a bar of sauces to pick from to add some extra flavor or zip to your food.  We also ordered noodles, which are brought out by a chef who slings them about in a noodle dance before dropping them in your pot.  The kids loved cooking their lunch and almost forgot about eating.  After a delicious and filling meal we headed to the train station for our trip back to Shanghai.  It was an amazing whirl wind trip through China, filled with amazing experiences made even better because we got to experience them with my family this time.  We are so lucky to have this opportunity to live in China and to see Asia, and I'm so glad that we could share a bit of that with my family.

Shanghai Family Reunion!

It's a Krehel family reunion, Shanghai style!  What better way to see Shanghai than from the top of the iconic Oriental Pearl Tower? While this is by far my first trip to the Pearl, I always have fun and see something new every time.  It wasn't the best day weather wise, but there wasn't any rain, or crowds, and the view was as always, amazing. After enjoying Shanghai from over 200 meters up, we headed down to the History Museum, where we walked through the "streets" of Shanghai.  No matter how many times we go, the kids always have a good time.  I think they enjoy walking through the different scenes.  After our abbreviated history lesson we walked over to the Super Brand Mall for lunch before heading to Tian Zi Fang, a funky little collection of alleyways with shops and restaurants.  The guys took the kids and headed to a pub for a drink while Mom, Holly, and I got to do some kid free shopping. Before heading back home I did check to see if anyone was interested in dinner at More Than Toilet, but I didn't haven any takers.  (See previous blog from October)

Next on the Chinese experience... an ancient water village. Since mom and dad had already visited Zhujiajiao they opted to stay home and pick up the kids from school and take Liliane to gymnastics for me.  I've been to three water villages since moving here, Zhujiajiao is by far my favorite.  It's beautiful, clean, has lots to see, and most importantly, is easy to navigate. The shinny new Starbucks set at the edge of the village is a nice touch too.  Holly and Steve got there shopping on and seemed to really enjoy bargaining for their souvenirs.  I think Steven may have enjoyed his candy dragon the most though. I've seen these candies many times, but had never tried one.  It tasted a lot like honey, not bad at all.  We visited a both a Taoist and Buddhist Temple, Qing Dynasty Post Office, Apothecary, and the Kezhi Gardens.  The gardens, which are beautiful, were scene at a very brisk walk as it had started to rain.  Of course we all had umbrellas, we just hadn't brought them with us!  Luckily, it was the end of the day when the rain did decide to start so we were more than happy to call it a day and head back home.

While mom took Charlie to pick strawberries with his class, the rest of us had a quiet morning before we all headed to the Yu Yuan Gardens.  The market outside of the gardens are all modern buildings with the exception of one, that are built to look like typical buildings from the early 20th century.  At the market you can find artists selling portraits or engravings of your name in Chinese, tea sets, silk and many other typical souvenirs.  The gardens though, were built in the mid 16th century and were renovated in the 1950's after being damaged by both the Opium War and the Japanese.  The garden, a private home for Pan Yunduan, a former government official, is extensive and has a lot of history. We had a lot of fun walking around enjoying the gorgeous weather and scenery. Once again the guys waited it out, this time at Starbucks, while we wandered the gardens.

That afternoon we did a guided tour of the Bund with Daniel from Newman Tours.  While I've walked the Bund many times, it was great to hear some of the history behind the buildings and the Bund, which is a hindi word.  We got to see which building the Japanese used when they took over Shanghai, and hear stories about the origins of the Peace Hotel and its owner.  We also got to see many of the ways the Chinese "rebranded" the Bund by removing or replacing images and artwork that were Western.  We finished the day off with a yummy Italian dinner at Good Fellas.

Guilin, China

Over the Qing Ming or Tomb Sweeping holiday we visited Guilin, China.  It was SO worth the trip!  Gorgeous mountains and scenery everywhere.  According to the locals, the mountains are at their best when it is overcast and foggy.  I have to admit they did look pretty spectacular.  The mountain range is huge, everywhere you looked you saw these amazing "piles" of mountains.  Our guide picked us up at our hotel and drove us to the Li River where we took a bamboo boat ride and got an up close look at the mountains.

All along the Li river are breathtaking views of mountains, waterfalls, and bamboo.  Like most, we took one of the smaller boats down the river, which gave us plenty of time to enjoy the views.  As we went along our guide pointed our certain mountains and the names the locals have given them.  As he spoke no English, it was kind of like an impromptu vocabulary quiz.  At the end of our boat ride we got to view the scene painted on the back of the 20RMB.   It was hard to get a good family picture as the dock was very crowded with both locals and tourists both coming and going.

 After our boat ride we got to see a local village by bicycle.  Charlie absolutely loved the bike ride, especially sitting in front and ringing the bell, telling me to go faster, faster!  Easy for him to say, thank God for spin class!  With Lucas and Lily sharing a tandem bike it was a great way to see the area and get a bit of exercise.  At least until we got to the mud road.  We all hoped off the bikes, and Andy our guide, carried the kids across while Lucas and I tippy toed our way carefully across.  I had a vision of us falling face first, ah la Lucile Ball, into the mud.

On our last day we visited Elephant Hill, which has a huge park and elephant carvings everywhere.  We all had a lot of fun posing with the elephant statues along with some of the more unique ones in the park.  We headed to Fubo Hill next, and climbed... a lot of stairs to get to the top.  It did give us a great view of the river and city, so it was worth the climb.  After an amazing lunch at a local restaurant we made a stop at a silk factory.  The kids got to see how the silk worm cocoon is taken and stretched and then turned into silk comforters and other things like scarfs and dresses. Unable to resist the the temptation, and I will admit, it was on my list of things to bring home from China, we got a comforter and two silk covers.  Warm in the winter, cool in the summer, silk doesn't bunch up and will way out last cotton.  Now that we'd spent lots of money, it was on to the Reed Flute Cave.  The cave is huge and has amazing stalactites and stalagmites that have formed over the Milena.  The government put in a tiled floor, steps, and lighting to make it easily accessible.  They even show a movie on the wall to explain how they cave came to be.  We took a ton of pictures, but they don't come close to showing you the awe inspiring beauty of the cave.  Such a great weekend!

A Shopping We Will Go!

I recently made my first trip to Marks & Spencer, a British department store that not only carries clothes for adults and kids, it also has a small grocery store and cafe.  To the British expats M&S is like a holy mecca, to me its one more place I can add to my list of places to find frozen peas.  Yes, you read that right, peas.  I've learned the hard way that the local version is not always the same as what I'm used to getting back home, and it is not unusual to go to 3 or 4 different stores to pick up what you might need for a single dinner.  So, having one more store to check for those hard to find things like frozen peas is great!

The Chinese love to shop, the many shopping malls are proof of that, but if you want to shop like a local you need to learn about the markets.  There are markets for crafts, children's clothing and toys, eye glasses, tailors, clothing, and perhaps the most well known, the fake or knock off market.   Last week I went to the Children's Market, a large underground space lined with tiny shops selling everything you need for your kids at a fraction of the price you'd pay at a shopping mall.  Some shops specialize in things like socks and tights, or baby clothes, but most have a variety.  You can often find "name brand" clothes like Polo, or Gap here too.  The quality varies, as does the price, which is dependent on your negotiating skills.   I didn't get any clothes for the kids this trip, but I did find stickers, coloring books, and some other fun crafts to help keep the kids busy next week during their spring break.

In anticipation of spring break I also made a trip to a craft market.  Just across from the Yu Yuan Garden, this large indoor market is filled with stalls selling ribbon, stickers, pencils, beads... you get the idea.  It is incredibly crowded, but worth the trip.  AC Moore ain't got nothin on Shanghai's craft markets.  You may have to hunt a bit, but you can find just about anything here you could possibly want for a busy afternoon with the kids.  There are other craft markets that cater more to the more serious artists with things like oil paints, charcoals, and clay.  If you're in need of paper for a project there is a whole street of shops for that.  They even call it paper street.

The fake market is one of my favorites to visit though.  You can find "designer" purses and sunglasses, silk scarves and robes, and all the typical souvenir chotchkies.  It is never boring and I'm always finding something new.

Sunny Florida, well, sort of...

After much planning and anticipation we finally made it to Florida for our annual trip.  After handing the kids over to Grammy and Papa, Lucas and I crashed, while the kids burned off some of the excitement of seeing everyone.  Holly and I got in our sister day at Downtown Disney, retail therapy and lunch at the Earl of Sandwich!  Magic Kingdom was first on the list this year, but we made a stop at a delicious character breakfast where we all over indulged while the kids got to meet the Mad Hatter, Alice, and Mary Poppins.  We had barely stepped foot in the park when we came across Aladdin and Jasmine.  As always the kids were super excited to be at Disney and happily bounced from one ride to the next.  Luckily for us Steven has connections in Fantasyland, and got us out of all the long lines!  Thank you Steven, you're awesome!  Lily seemed to really love the Peter Pan ride, especially the tick tock croc.

This year when planning our Disney trip I asked Lily if she wanted to be made up as a princess again or a mermaid.  Since she's currently all about Ariel, it was no surprise when she picked to be a mermaid.  Charlie also got made up this year too, and after a bit of discussion over which pirate make-up to get done, we went with a mini version of Jack Sparrow. We got Tobias Swordcutter (can't use your real name when you're a pirate) dressed in his pirate gear and then got him to sit still long enough for the wench to do his make up.  We even got a surprise visit from Jack Sparrow (Hello, yummy).  Charlie was not as impressed and wanted nothing to do with him though.  Holly and I had no such issues and happily posed for a picture with him!  Lily was busy getting turned into a mermaid, complete with frothy skirt, jewelry, hair, and make-up.  Both kids looked amazing, Charlie in particular got a lot of comments as we walked around the park.  Unfortunately, our pirate had had enough and by the time we went to Tony's for dinner he was out cold!


We visited EPCOT the next day and had fun seeing Spaceship Earth, the Land, and of course the Sea, one of the kids favorites since it has a Nemo theme and Turtle talk with Crush. This year Charlie was tall enough to go on Soarin, and after a mad dash from the front of the line to the bathroom, Charlie and I were allowed to go right back to the front and hop on the ride, which he loved. After powering through yet another day without a nap both kids crashed at dinner.  Charlie didn't even make it to the table and once Lily sat down she was done.  Too bad, I think they would have like the food at the Biergarten.

Over the weekend, mom, Holly, the kids and I, all headed to Ft. Lauderdale to visit with family.  We took the kids to the beach, where Lily had a blast looking for shells and both kids played in the sand.  We celebrated birthdays and had so much fun, but as always, it went by way too fast and Monday morning we were headed back to Clermont.  Thank you everyone for a wonderful weekend!

Our first day back to Disney was spent at Hollywood Studios, where we took Lily on the Tower of Terror and Star Tours.  She absolutely loves the scary rides!  We also saw the Little Mermaid show, and the Indian Jones Stunt Spectacular, which the kids absolutely loved.  Charlie in particular loved all the action and was super excited when they brought out the plane.

A highlight of our Disney trip this year was our dinner luau at Ohana.  We had a table right up front for the show, thank you Holly for working your magic.  We got served an awesome dinner of classic Polynesian food and got to watch the kids try to learn to hula dance and then even better, we got to watch Grammy and Lucas get up on stage to celebrate their birthdays with a hula dance.  After the dinner was over we were treated to some seriously good looking men and women wearing very little clothing dance around the stage showing us the different types of traditional Polynesian dances.  The best part, I got a kiss on the cheek from the hottest guy there!  It was an fabulous time.

Christmas in Cambodia

Let's just start with wow, because that is the best word I can think of to describe Cambodia.  We started our tour with a trip to Angkor Thom, a former capital of the Khmer Empire.  The city is surrounded by an 8 meter wall and is known for its 54 towers which represented the 54 provinces of the empire.  We got to see the city from the back of an elephant, which the kids really enjoyed, before we explored the temple itself. The kids enjoyed exploring the ruins and the huge carved faces that grace not only the 54 towers, but can be seen everywhere in the temple.

After having a lunch of some truly amazing local fare we visited Angkor Wat, probably one of the best known ancient temples, and the symbol on Cambodia's flag as it is said to represent the soul of the Khmer people.  The temple was just amazing and I am so glad we got a chance to visit. The bas-reliefs are gorgeous and give a very clear picture of life in 12th century Cambodia.  Images of dancing Apsara, a female spirit in Hindu and Buddhist faiths, are seen throughout the temple. The lake we are standing in front of is a seasonal lake. and by summer it will be dried up only to return next wet season.

Our second day took us to Tonle Sap Lake. Getting there was an adventure itself!  The roads in Cambodia are not the best, most likely because of the heavy rains and the overall lack of money. We traveled a rather sketchy and bumpy road to a boat which ferried us out to a local village that is totally built on stilts and for the most part totally self sufficient.  The kids and I handed out notebooks and pencils to the local children, most of whom were very polite and said "thank you". It was a very sad and rewarding experience.  Poor does not begin to describe these families.  During the wet season boats must be used to get around, and if it's a bad season the water levels can rise higher than the stilts and flood the homes, shops, and school of the village.  Because it's such a necessity children as young as 6 know how to run boats.  The younger children are given a big pot and spoon to paddle around in.

After braving the lumpy, bumpy road a second time we headed to Ta Prohm temple of the Lara Croft movie fame.  The temple is slowly being reclaimed from the jungle, but trees and vines are now a permanent part of the temple.  The kids were super excited to do our very own treasure hunt.  We were given a clue and found a small palm box with a stone turtle in it and a second clue, which lead to another box with a small Buddha head and a clue.  From there we met a religious woman who gave the kids a string bracelet and a blessing, before giving us another clue.  The final clue lead us to a large palm box with a much larger carved stone Buddha head.  The kids had such fun on our treasure hunt and exploring the temple.  After a short break at our hotel so we could rest and refresh we headed out again with our guide on a tuk tuk, the way to travel in most of S.E. Asia.  We headed back to Angkor Thom and took a short boat ride around the man made moat that surrounds the temple.  We were treated to an amazing sunset and the sounds of the monks at prayer.

Our third day we were supposed to start a two night cruise on the Mekong River, but instead of an 11:30 pick up, it was changed to 3:00.  With some extra time on our hands we headed to the Angkor National Museum.  We'd just finished the first floor when our guide found us.  When she'd confirmed our departure a second time she was told that, no 11:30 was the correct time.  So, we high tailed it to the boat and managed to get there in time for lunch.  We spent a relaxing afternoon and evening on the boat and found out that we weren't the only ones with a screw up in the plans.  But, unlike us, they were going to miss our first night on the boat and much of our first days sightseeing.

The next morning we headed out to see Cambodia's largest floating village which is made up mostly of Vietnamese families.  Like the village on stilts, this village is self sufficient and totally mobile. moving around depending on the depths of the lake.  Most in the village work in the fish industry or in support of it in some way.  The locals were all very friendly and seemed to enjoy waving to the funny looking tourists as much a we enjoyed them. Like all small towns, they had shops, gas stations, schools, and religious houses.  The only thing it was missing was a medical facility, but a large and very high tech boat could be seen on the outskirts of the village.  Our captain told us that it is a medical facility owned by a private individual who has the boat make rounds of the villages on the lake so they have access to medical help at least at some of the time.  

After a short trip down the river we stopped at a village known for its pottery and a sugar made from the Thnot tree.  We met with a local farmer who harvests the sugar from the trees and sells it as a spread and a liquor.  The farmer, who is 62 years young, clowned around (easily 60 feet up) for us as he climbed up a bamboo "ladder" to show us how he collects the sugar from the trees.  From there we headed to met another local, a woman who makes a variety of pots in a very old, but tried and true method. She made a pot for us in a matter of minutes, all by hand and amazingly with a consistent thickness throughout giving it strength. We bought a charming tea set from her for just $5.  It makes a great addition to my tea set collection, which now stands at 4, if you count my sake set.  We said our goodbyes and headed to a local market.  Most markets in Asia are all encompassing, meaning it is one stop shopping.  Here you can buy your daily groceries, pick up some shampoo, a new dress, shoes, and matching purse, a shiny new pot to cook dinner in, and even everything you need to set up an alter to worship Buddha.  Asia's version of Walmart!

We spent our second night on the boat, the captain offered a simple pasta dinner served early for the kids as the 7:00 dinner time was a bit late for them. After dinner we got them into Christmas jammies and set them up with the Grinch on the iPad, before heading up to a quiet kid free dinner. Christmas morning the kids found their stockings filled with goodies and two presents each to open (we'd opened gifts before leaving home). After breakfast we caught a village taxi, aka, an ox cart. As we went along in our cart the local children ran after us and practiced their English by asking us questions and pointing out the local flora and fauna.  The little boy chatting me up brought a lotus flower for Lily and I and although he was 12 years old he was Lily's size.  The little girl we talked with was 8 years and Charlie's height and probably half his weight.  They were all so sweet though and happy.  The little boy proudly pointed out his mom, house and baby brother as we went by.  It was for me one of the best parts of the trip. The cart brought us to a local temple where we were given a blessing by a monk and a red bracelet to wear for luck.

After lunch we headed back to the village, this time by van, to see the local artists.  We met a woman who makes her living by making plates of copper with the image of Angkor Wat on them. She does it all by hand with no drawing for reference.  She just uses different nails and strength to get the desired effect she wants. She is amazingly talented, Lucas bought a plate from her for his office, while I bought us a smaller silver plate for our home.  Silver and copper smithing is the specialty of the villagers.  Children walked around with baskets balanced on their heads with bracelets, necklaces, and earrings for sale.  We also went to a shop where we learned how they give copper a silver finish.
Our final stop for the day before heading to Phnom Penh was Cambodia's old capital, Oudong, where the royal Stupas (burial chambers) can be seen from some distance.  We climbed 509 steps, no I did not count, I took the captain's word, and was rewarded with an amazing view.  The funny things was, while we are all huffing and puffing, local children were running up and down the stairs like it was nothing!  At the top we also saw the ruins of the Anthareu Temple which were impressive.  On the way down I carried Charlie on my back, if we'd let him go at his own speed, we'd still be there!  Lucas some how got talked into carrying Lily down.  Needless to say, my calves were a bit sore the next day.  I hate steps, give me a bike any day!  That night we said goodbye to the captain and our new friends before heading to our hotel in Phnom Penh.  Amazingly, I'd had the forethought to make dinner reservations. The kids were each given a small gift and we all enjoyed a fabulous meal of Khmer cuisine.  It was a unique Christmas that will always have a special place in my heart.

We had only one day to spend in Cambodia's capital but we made the most of it.  We started our day with a tour of the Royal Palace which has many buildings open to the public, but because the king does reside there, many areas are closed off.  We did get to see where the king was coronated in 2004 and the gold chair that was used to carry him to the ceremony.  We also got to see the silver pagoda, so named for its silver floor.  The floor is mostly covered up to protect it, but some is left uncovered for you to see. Unfortunately photos were not allowed, you'll just have to take my word that it was amazingly beautiful.  We headed next to the National Museum where we got to see some amazing statues, but the kids were quickly bored so we didn't stay long.  We went to our final temple, Wat Phnom, which is the name sake of the city, and of course at the top of a hill.  Yay, more stairs (said in a sarcastic voice).  Charlie was mostly interested in the birds you could buy for release.  I don't really understand it, someone catches these birds, and then you pay money to have one released as an offering to Buddha.  Does it not offend Buddha to catch them in the first place?  Should have asked the tour guide, but my calves were crying so it slipped my mind... The last stop of the day was the Russian Market, so named because it used to be owned Westerners.  It is a souvenir and tchotchkes mecca.  We picked up a few "must haves" before calling it a day and heading back to our hotel to crash.

The next day we got an early flight to Siem Reap and then flew to Bangkok where our friend Pat picked us up.  We did a quick dinner out at a local place that had both Thai and Western food since the kids seemed to be over rice and noodles.  Our last full day of vacation we went to a local park and let the kids run around and have some fun. The park was beautiful, flowers were in season, and the kids were having so much fun being kids. It was a perfect way to end a busy but fun vacation.  It was a truly amazing trip and so far one of my favorites.

Holiday madness

Dulwich had their Christmas concert the week before Thanksgiving, which really threw me off my game!  I don't know why they did it so early, but they did a fantastic job.  Each class had a song that they sang, with the other kids backing them up.  The costumes were amazing and so adorable.  In previous school productions Lily has been very shy.  Not anymore!  She was front and center and singing her little heart out.  She loves her music teacher and is always singing around the house.  I couldn't have been more proud of her.

Being an expat can be challenging, but we do our best to celebrate all the holidays the way we would back home so the kids don't miss out.  In the spirit of that, we celebrated Thanksgiving on the Saturday after T-Day.  With the kids in school and Lucas working it made the most sense.  We had Jane and Duane (Brits) and Mark and Carmen (Canadian) over along with the kids to celebrate an American Thanksgiving complete with too much food, the Macy's parade, and football.  It was a great day with good food and good friends, can't ask for much more than that!

On Sunday we headed to Mohamed and Warda's for a second Thanksgiving with our BASF family.  There was turkey and two different lamb dishes as well as all the usuals.  We always have fun with our BASF family, swapping relocation stories and vacations ideas and tips.  It's always hard to be away from family during the holidays, but Lucas and I are so lucky to have made so many good friends here in Shanghai.  Without them the holidays would be a depressing thing indeed!  Now, if you'll excuse me I have to go wrap presents, I am determined to have it done before the 24th!

UN day, Halloween, & Mommy's birthday!

One of my favorite school activities is UN day.  In the weeks leading up to UN day, the kids learn about different countries, and how they differ from us.  Parents are invited to go in to the class to speak to the kids about their home country, I volunteered to speak to both kids classes, but unfortunately Charlie was sick the day I was to talk with his class so I had to cancel.  I did talk to Liliane's class though.  I read a book that talks about what makes America the Land of the Free and showed them pictures of the things they talked about in the book, and then showed them pictures from around the country so they could see the huge diversity of America.  Most had no idea just how big America is.  I finished it up with a quick book about Betsy Ross and a flag for the kids to color.  It was loads of fun and the kids asked lots of smart questions.  On UN day the kids are all invited to dress up in their countries local costume for a parade that the whole school puts on.  Charlie was still sick for this so he had to stay home, but I dressed Lily in jeans and fourth of July shirt and a Red Sox cap, sounded pretty American to me. You can see how proud they are to take part of the parade and show off their country. One of the best things about being an expat is the exposure the kids get to other countries, languages and cultures.  Most Americans never leave the country (Canada does not count) and in my opinion, this often makes them very unaware of the world beyond America.  It's a shame really, because there are so many amazing places to see and things to experience.  But I digress...

For Halloween this year, the kids were allowed to dressed up in costumes for school.  Charlie made an adorable pirate, and Lily a beautiful mermaid!  I think they just loved the novelty of wearing something besides their uniform to school.

Last year we didn't go trick or treating because the idea of running up and down stairs in the apartment just didn't appeal to us.  This year a friend invited us to join them in Green Hills an American style neighborhood.  The best part, for the hours of trick or treating the whole complex is closed to cars, no worrying about crazy drivers! The kids had so much fun running from door to door collecting candy, and I'm pleased to say, remembering to say Thank You.  If not for the ayis taking kids around the neighborhood we could have been back home in New Jersey, well maybe not Jersey, there was no snow after all.  The kids came home with an impressive haul.  Charlie was even complaining about his bucket being too heavy for him to carry, poor guy!

I celebrated my eighth 29th birthday this year, yay!  My day started with beautiful cards that the kids made for me, my favorite kind, and each gave me a Pandora mom charm and a new leather necklace for them.  I proudly wore them all day.  After dropping the kids at school some of my friends took me out to breakfast and surprised me with flowers and a gigantic cookie.  We had a great time enjoying a leisurely breakfast and chatting, something that we can't seem to manage with the kiddie around.
Lucas has planned to take me to dinner in Puxi at an Italian restaurant originally, but our ayi had to go home to help with a minor family emergency and our backup babysitter was busy too!  So, we decided to just do a family dinner instead at the Blue Frog, one of our favorites, that just happens to be across the street.  Little did I know that Lucas had also invited friends to join us.  It turned out to be an amazing birthday, it's going to be hard to beat next year!  I am super lucky to have such a wonderful family and such good friends!

Sports Day

Dulwich celebrated there annual Sports Day a few weeks before Halloween, yes, I'm that behind in my blog.  Anyway, each year has their own day so it's not too crazy.  Year 1 had fantastic weather, that actually had the parents seeking out shade.  Starting in Year 1 each child is assigned to one of the four houses of Dulwich, designated by color.  Liliane is in Howard, the red house.  The point of each sporting event they took part in was to earn a point for their house.  To earn a point they had to complete the task properly, not finish first.  Don't want them getting too competitive!  Lily did very well in following the instructions and seemed to be quite fast when racing.  We may have a future track star.  It was only an hour long, which flew by, as we cheered the kids on.  The points were tallied at the end and unfortunately Howard came in dead last.  Luckily Lily and the other kids didn't seem to be upset by this, and I can only think that it has to do with how well the school encourages them to be supportive of their fellow students and even to reward house points to someone if they feel they did something nice or really well in class.

Nursery had their sports day just two days later.  We didn't have the sun, like we did for Year 1, but it wasn't bad either.  Since the nursery kids are all 3-4 years in age, parents were asked to take their child around to each of the ten activities.  They were given a sheet with the activities and explanations and once they completed them they got a stamp.  There was no competition here, just a fun way for the kids to spend an hour.  Charlie really loved the obstacle course and once he completed all ten activities we headed back to do it over and over!  I was worried that he would be upset when I left, but he gave me a hug and kiss and got in line with his class and waved good bye!

Toilets and Family Picnics

It was a busy week for the Marks family, so what better way to relax and unwind than a night out with your hubby and some friends?  As I mentioned in an earlier post, I just had to try More than Toilet, the restaurant themed around the toilet.  It did not disappoint, as you first enter the restaurant you walk past a tub with a pair of leg and smoke coming out of it, complete with a poo filled sink.  Then, in keeping with the theme you walk past a row of gold urinals hanging from the wall just like any other artwork you'd display.  We were shown to a table with four toilets with two sinks between them.  Each sink had a little pile of "poo" in it, which was covered with glass, thus making up our table.  The seats are all sealed and they do not flush.  Cold drinks came in little urinals and hot ones in small toilets.  Food came served in a variety of dishes, including a tub, sink, and a toilet.  It was mostly Western fare and nothing spectacular, you are obviously not there for the food.  A unique experience for sure!

Sunday we took the kids to the Green City Annual Family Day Picnic.  The kids got to play in a bouncy house, slide down a shark, ride a bull, and play a clue game.  These events are always sponsored by local companies that all have booths set up and in an effort to get more traffic they made a game out of it, giving you a clue card that would send you to a vendor that would then give you an informational pamphlet and another clue.  All in all we visited maybe 20 vendors and came away with several pens and a few other little goodies.  The kids also each got a Halloween hat and a popcorn and soda.  However; I would personally like to thank who ever came up with the clue game.  If it had not been for that game, I would not have visited the Philippines booth and entered their raffle.  I am a planner and I can tell you exactly what trips we will be taking right up to our move back home in June 2015.  The Philippines did not make the cut, there were other places that were just higher on our must see list.  But, I did go to the booth and I did fill out the raffle ticket, and I did WIN the grand prize of a trip to the Philippines!  Holy Crap, right!? Guess I'll be revising that plan!

Tokyo

We spent six days in Tokyo, and it was not even close to enough!  Our first day we saw the Imperial Palace gardens, where lucky visitors could come across the Emperor feeding the koi, or like us, you can just enjoy the absolute beauty of the gardens.     From the palace gardens we headed to the Hama-rikyu garden where we stopped at a tea house and had probably the worst cup of tea I've ever had.  We then caught a ride on a boat to the Drum Museum in the Asakusa district.  Here the kids were allowed to bang and hit all kinds of drums, it was a loud 30 minutes!  From there it was a short walk to the Senso-ji Temple, Tokyo's largest and oldest temple, and 

very different from any other temple we've seen.  The street leading up to the temple is lined with stalls selling all kinds of stuff, mostly touristy junk.  We didn't stop much along the way because it was absolutely mobbed!  With Charlie no longer using a stroller much I worried about him getting bumped into so I kept an iron grip on him as we walked, hoping the temple was less crowded.  It wasn't, but at least there was room to move instead of being trapped on a narrow road between shops.  The temple was loud and chaotic, and pictures were allowed.  All other temples we've been to have been quiet and there is absolutely NO photography!  We ended the day with a walk down kitchenware street.  Unfortunately most of the shops were closed, but there were a few open.  Here locals can buy anything they need for the kitchen.  We also got to check out an entire shop dedicated to plastic food.  The truly amazing thing is that it wasn't the only such shop!  It was a long day, but we had a lot of fun exploring Tokyo.

Our second day in Tokyo was much more relaxed, we didn't have anything planned until after lunch, so we had a leisurely breakfast and spent some time at the hotel pool.  That afternoon we joined a small tour group to the Ghibli Museum.  For those like me who didn't have a clue, Ghibli is a famous Japanese anime studio.  The only film name I even recognized was Spirited Away, but Lucas knows many of their films.  The whole museum is very Dr. Seuss and was designed by Hayao Miyazaki, an anime artist and director who has won an oscar for his work.  Kind of Japan's Walt Disney.  The kids loved it, especially the short film they showed, and Lucas seemed to be in his element.  This robot friend is on the roof of the museum and can be seen from a distance.  Even though the museum was very kid friendly, the Japanese adults seemed to way out number the kids.  We grabbed an ice cream at the cafe before heading back to the hotel via bus and taxi.  I should mention that they drive on the left on Japan, but after visiting Vietnam and Hong Kong it doesn't freak me out too much anymore to see the driver on the wrong side of the car or to turn into the wrong lane of traffic.  

Tired of the ridiculously expensive hotel restaurant we asked at the concierge for a family friendly place to eat.  He gave us two places to look that each had multiple places to choose from.  The first was the top three floors of a high rise, but they were all VERY expensive.  Apparently the guy at concierge dose not have kids!  We headed on to spot number two where we found a German place.  We were handed menus in Japanese.  I can not read Chinese characters, never mind Japanese.  We asked for and received an English menu, but Lucas and I were both shocked by the lack of English menus.  Everywhere we've been, even the smallest towns in SE Asia had English on their menus.  Apparently Tokyo is not as international as we thought.  

Day three we headed to Tokyo Disneyland, by bus where we checked into our hotel and turned right around to head to the park.  We were thrilled to see all the Halloween decorations, it hadn't dawned on me that Tokyo would also celebrate Halloween.  They are also celebrating 30 years of magic at Tokyo so we picked up a few special souvenirs including our Halloween inspired Minnie ears.  We had a lot of fun at the park, most of the rides can be found at WDW, but it was fun to pick out the differences and similarities of our favorites.  We saw three parades including a Halloween one and the electrical parade, which WDW needs to take note of, it was awesome!  We had dinner at the Queen of Hearts Banquet, which is cafeteria style, pick your meal and sides, pay, and grab a table.  But, Disney doesn't do a boring normal cafeteria.  Aside from all the Queen of Heart decorations much of the food was shaped like a heart and you could of course pick up souvenir plates.  Yep, we've got two.   We stayed till park closing, ending the night on the Splash Mountain ride with some ups and downs.  Charlie peed his pants, having refused to go to the potty several times and Lucas was so crammed in his seat he was in pain.  On the up, Lily and I loved it!  But, I don't think the Japanese considered extra large men like Lucas when they designed some of these rides.  

Rain, lots and lots of rain.  That's what greeted us at Disney Sea.  Luckily we had already bought ponchos at Disneyland, but with it coming down so hard we ended up buying two umbrellas and a cover for our rented stroller.  Unlike Disneyland, this park had a lot of unique rides, including several that are Little Mermaid themed, which is Lily's current favorite.  No parades or character greetings with all the rain, and with no English at the park, no shows either.  We were able to finish the park early and get back to the hotel for some rest after two very busy days.  

We were on our own the next day, so after a ridiculously expensive taxi ride we checked back into our Tokyo hotel.  I had planned on seeing the Sky Tree, the Oriental Bazaar in Harajuku, and Ginza for dinner.  We only made it to the Sky Tree.  What I didn't realize was that it was a 60 min walk/subway trip and on the other side of everything else I wanted to see.  I am glad we got to see the Sky Tree, which is the world's tallest tower (for now).  The kids enjoyed seeing all of Tokyo from so high up and loved the souvenir Hello Kitty Sky Tree box and cookies they got.  The Japanese seem to have a serious love of food that comes in souvenir boxes.  Lucas and I brought home a very cool replica of the tower and I got my magnet.  By the time we finished the sky tree including a detour to McDonalds the day was pretty much over.  As we headed back by subway we looked up the bazaar and found out that it was closed every Thursday.  Yep, we are just that lucky.  At this point we decided it was best to go back to the hotel, grab an over priced dinner and go to bed early.  We knew that our trip to Mount Fuji and Hakone was going to be a long day and it started early, best to rest when we can!

We took a group tour to Mount Fuji and Hakone, it was a nice drive and our guide had a lot of information about Tokyo and Mount Fuji.  Once again the weather wasn't the best, but at least there was no rain this time.  The bus took us to the 5th Station, the highest you can go by car.  If you have good weather you can see the summit, if you have our luck, you see it for a few seconds before it disappears again.  After Mount Fuji we took a short boat ride across a lake to Hakone where we took a cable car ride.  We got off at the second stop and walked around, enjoying the views as best we could with the fog.  Done for the day we took the Bullet train back to Tokyo where we switched to a local train at the Shinjuku station.  The Shinjuku station is not only the world's largest subway station it's the busiest.  This station has over 3.6 million people pass through it everyday.  It is gigantic and very confusing, and we were trying to catch a train during rush hour!  Luckily our tour guide took us right to the platform we needed and we made it back to the hotel.  As crazy busy as it is, the Japanese would stand in lines on the platform waiting to board the train.  The doors would open, people would file out and then everyone would file in.  We were amazed.  All in all, Tokyo was an awesome city.  The weather and the kids nonstop arguing took a lot of the fun out of the trip, but I'm glad we went.  I'm working on a new plan of attack for our next trip.  There will be less arguing or there is the possibility that we will come home with fewer children than we left with...