Ok, we’re starting to wind down, and looking forward to our trip home. As much as we enjoy China, we’re pretty beat and not really into doing a lot of sight-seeing.
Yesterday was a bit of fun. We walked down to the Silk Market, which is about ½ an hour walk from here. The plan was to meet two of the other couples there, and then go next door to the Pizza Hut for lunch – yes, we’re getting a little tired of rice and noodles. Now the Silk Market is 5 floors, crammed full of small retailers and tourists. We walked around all the floors and weren’t able to find the other couples, so left and went to the Pizza Hut. Just as we got there it started to pour, so we figured we’d wait it out and have lunch, and then either take a cab or continue to walk. As it turns out, we missed the other couples at the Silk Market and they were still there when it started to rain. They just caught cabs back to the hotel. Anyway, by the time we were done eating the rain had stopped so we started walking back. Wasn’t long and it started back up again so we found shelter under an overpass. One of the nice crossing guards covered up Samantha in the stroller with his jacket and flagged down a cab for us.
Dinner last night was Peking Duck, or actually Beijing Duck since the city has been renamed. This was organized by our guide, and was absolutely wonderful. Besides the duck she ordered way too much North American style Chinese food which was more than any of us could eat. It was nice to have dinner with the entire group, and we have made an awful lot of good friends. We are looking forward to getting together with many of them back in Canada.
We’re also starting to pick up on Samantha’s cues, and can tell when she’s hungry, thirsty, tired, or just has gas. She is also going down much easier now, and is fighting it far less. It’s nice to not have to struggle to get her to sleep, and have her wake up with a smile on her face.
Today was travel day for most of our group. We went down at 2:00pm to say goodbye to them. We have all gone through a lot together, and our children provide us a common thread – maybe a red one. Most people are a bit anxious about the trip, 13 hours non-stop. We’re part of a group of 4 couples that are traveling tomorrow. The rest of the day is going to be very quiet, just getting our bags packed and trying to get rested. Who knows what tomorrow’s flight will be like.
So with that, we end the postings from China. The next posting will be after we get back to Toronto, and we look forward to getting back to a regular routine. We’ll let you know how the travel went at that time.
"When a child is born, invisible red threads reach out from the child's spirit and connect to all important people who will enter the child's life. As the child grows, the threads shorten, bringing them closer to those people who are destined to be together"..... This is our journey to find the other end of the red thread.