Chengdu in Sichuan is famous for giant pandas, Giant buddhas and hot food. Everyone was more than happy to say goodbye to Beijing but as we were flying Air China, there was no guarantee that we would ever leave on time, or even leave the same day, During the night Skye vomited and then again in the morning upon wake up…which triggered Willow to follow suit. Good start…. We knew we had to walk about a kilometre to the subway then a good 40-60minutes by subway to the airport. Both were troopers and we made it but poor Skye hurled …
Category: Asia
Mutianyu – The Great Wall
Always a tough decision is where on the Great Wall to visit. The closer to town, the more of a zoo. The farther away then the more expensive and the longer transit time. At the end of the day we chose Mutianyu because it had a slide for the descent! It was a medium distance from town and we left early so got there at a reasonable time to avoid massive crowds and heat. Last time I was at the Wall was winter 2003 and we met some farmers who took us …
Beijing – Forbidden City and Tianamen Square
None of us were super excited that China (and Beijing in particular) was on our itinerary. However, at the end of this tour if we do not return to Asia, we thought it important that kids who were born in HK (part of China now) should see some iconic sights – Forbidden City, Tianamen Square and the Great Wall. It was a rainy morning as we set out for the Palace Museum (aka Forbidden City) and Tianamen Square, in the hopes the rain would reduce the crowds. To people born after 1989 in China the term Tianamen Square …
Goodbye Mongolia, Hello Beijing
After desert living the thought of a city with many food options, toilets and hot showers was enticing to all. We had planned to stay at a hostel near the Firbidden City and Tianamen Square tomreduce costs in transport. We took the subway across Beijing from the airport as it was cheap and efficient. Then it hit us – the massive crowds, the pushing and shoving, the heat and humidity, and the lack of language skills. Kaia is good at Mandarin but it was not enough. We found some nice folks along our way, trekking thru a very …
Ulaan Baatar Tour – Last Day in Mongolia
Mongolia is a big vast country of only 3 million people, 1 million of which live in sprawling Ulaan Baatar and our last day was a city tour. UB is the coldest capital city in the world…care to guess who is number 2? Hint – I was born there. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ulaanbaatar UB is a weird mix of old and traditional ( the ger district which is quite poor) and new and up ‘n coming. The traffic can suck as some roads are big boulevards 4lanes wide and others are single track. One can see nuclear …
Stuck in a sh**hole
I’m sharing an internal joke. Last year my eldest melted down on me about the trip. Her key worry was of being stuck in a sh**hole in the middle of nowhere with no ticket out. Fast forward to today, our last stop after being on the Mongolian ‘roads’ for 15 days and before returning to Ulaan Bataar. We have overnighted in a comfortable and very clean family ger. The outhouse is the usual long drop. It’s time for departure and the younger 2 go for the last pee before hitting the ‘road’. There is a nail on the outside of …
Beijing – 17 years later
What a cultural shock! From temperature to the hoardes of people… Beijing is a dramatic change, dramatic, from Ulaan Bataar. People have been helpful. Curious about us having 3 girls. Keen to know where we are from. Surprised that our girls, in particular Kaia, can converse in Mandarin. I have been to Beijing many times before on business, this was my first time back as a tourist in 18 years. Last time here I was single and gatecrashed a trip a friend was taking with his wife (Paine/Norman). 1. Beijing is still congested. A sprawling cartésien city, large avenues, except …
The Sand Dunes
☀️Sand Dunes☀️ That day mom stayed at the gers because she hates the thought of getting g sand I all the cracks of her body. But she missed out on loads of fun. Our guides Pujeey and Unuruu tried to chase us{Skye,Willow and me} up the sand dunes. When we reached the top there was an amazing view. We had to go down a little hill and then go to the top which was the highest point of all the dunes. 😎 Here are some pics I took when we were at the sand dunes. 👇 Me at the …
My thoughts on Mongolia
Mongolia was not really what I expected. Let’s imagine you think of Africa {If you have been to Africa don’t read this part} When I went there, before I left I thought it would look like a huge desert with a couple of trees and some animals. I thought Mongolia would look like street stalls and a lot and a lot of people. But instead U.B was green and looked a bit like Hong Kong in a way. I know hard to believe right…well look at this.
Dung Beetle Mansion
The dung beetle mansion Skye and Willow. At lunch Willow pick up a rock and found that it was a dung beetle house so they started to run all over the place. Then we started to make them houses and we all started to collect the dung beetles. After there were so many houses that me and Willow came up with an idea,”the dung beetle mansion “so we kept 2 houses and took huge rocks and billt it around the 2 house of rocks we hope the dung beetles like it. It was fun!!!