Initial Impressions of China

I had read terrible things about China's lack of friendliness toward foreigners. I was prepared for everyone to not like us, give us a bad time, and otherwise abuse us as tourists. I was intimidated by its reputation before I arrived but I think I understand the reputation a little better now and have figured out how I will deal with it.

China at its best....or worst

Ch'in Shih Huang TI, the first unified Chinese emperor, planned to build the Great Wall of China. About 2,600 years ago he did this to keep the Huns out of china. The Great Wall is made up of brick and plaster being 25 feet high and 30 feet thick. The Emperor of China forced about 1,000,000 people from their homes to work on the wall. The workers were forced to build watch towers every 100 yards to spot enemies and to signal to the warriors on the wall that a battle approached. Workers that died while building the wall were buried underneath the wall. The wall was worked on for hundreds of years . About 1,000 years after Ch'in Shih Huang Ti, the new Chinese emperor decided to make the wall even longer to protect unprotected area.

Disneyland Hong Kong [BY JENNA]

They planted a bunch of flowers to make Micky Mouse

We went to Disney Land Hong Kong, and it was so much fun. The first ride we went on was a roller coaster.  I had never been on a roller coaster before in my life. One of the parts was going up a hill most of the way and then falling backward, once you stopped right in front of you was a fake bear that was hitting TNT when he hit it it came down and launched us like 60 miles per hour In 2 seconds.

The Visa Game

Most of the places we have visited on this trip we have been able to get a visa on arrival.  We have only had to apply in advance for two, India and China.  Those are also the most expensive visas we have had to get.

Shortly before we began our trip we applied for our India Visas.  They were good for 6 months so we were able to time it to get them before we left.  It was a major ordeal to get them all filled out.  It seemed like what should be a straight forward process was not.  We spent hours getting the applications ready to send.  When I dropped them off at the Fed EX office to be shipped I felt like I was turning in a college paper and just needed to get my final grade.  Yes, that much work and effort went into those applications.  It was a huge relief to get our passports back and get the passing grade of an Indian Visa.

New Zealand Scenery

While on our RV trip through New Zealand we saw some amazing scenery.  We spent a lot of time hiking in the national parks and saw so many beautiful lakes, rivers, mountains, glaciers, waterfalls, and green forests.  If you enjoy being in the beautiful outdoors, New Zealand has a lot to offer.  I will include a few of the photos we took in New Zealand so you can get an idea of the places we visited.  

Souvenirs (this post will be updated)

In all of the places we have been I have liked to pick up a souvenir or two. I know this is not the most exciting thing, but a couple of people have asked me if I have gotten any souvenirs. We have gotten so many souvenirs we have had to send 9 boxes back full of souvenirs. Most of the Souvenirs from Thailand on were from night markets. Here is a list of the Souvenirs I have gotten on my own. 

Stick-tron

During our time in the RV we rented, Jenna, Seth, and I played a game I call stick-tron. On lots of the hikes and at campgrounds Jenna, Seth, and I collected good sticks, so that we could use them during stick-tron

Stick-tron is kind of like Frisbee tag. For the Frisbee we use a Frisbee with a hole in it. The person that is it throws the disc and tries to hit someone, but you can block it with your sticks. Most of the time there are lots of bushes to hide in and trees to climb.

New Zealand RV Trip [BY JENNA]

We were staying at my dads friend's house, and he drove us to the place where we were got our Abuzzy RV.  We followed our friend to the nearest grocery store so we could buy some food.  When we were parked and ready to go in he left.  We got some really bad dish towels, but we made them work.

We looked around the RV and opened up cabinets and we found a GPS and that was really helpful, all you needed to do was type in where you needed to go and I programmed it in and you could go.

The first night we made the beds and one of the beds had a crack right in the middle of the bed, the person who got to sleep there got a blanket and the nice pillow.  There was a bunk bed the crack bed and a mini king size bed on top of the drivers seat.

My Office Pictures - 2013-04

This picture was taken in the ferry from Wellington, New Zealand (on the north island) to Picton, New Zealand (on the south island). Our van was on deck 3 and this was taken on deck 7. The ride took about 4 hours. Going in to Picton was really cool. It seemed like we just kept going and going and going inland.

This picture was taken at a laundromat in Hokitika, New Zealand. It was a great find for us. Not only did we get our laundry done but there were electrical outlets and we found free Internet access from a nearby library. It was just about perfect for campers.

Australia Summary

We spent 10 days in Australia: 5 outside of Sydney and 5 in Sydney.

Food Adventure- Kiwano

While we were in the grocery store I saw a fruit that was about the size of a pear. It was bright orange and had hard spikes around it, We decided to buy it and try it. We took it to our RV and cut it open. We were astonished when the inside was dark green. It was really hard to get a bite without also getting a mouthful of seeds so I'm not sure how you are supposed to eat it, but anyway it didn't taste very good and so we threw it away after having a nibble.

Lake Matheson

We've been in New Zealand for a few weeks now, and I think it's my favorite place we've been to. Everything is green, and the people speak English. We avoided big cities and stuck to nature, and we've been on a ton of hikes. We've seen a few waterfalls, and some awesome beaches, but I think our favorite was Lake Matheson.

Lake Matheson is basically this super reflective lake by a mountain. The first night we went, it was all ripply and not good for reflecting, but we decided to come back the next morning. It was amazing. Here's a picture:

Yes, I did take this.

Mount Doom

Remember Mount Doom from Lord of the Rings? Here's a picture:

While here in New Zealand, we got to see it, and sort of climb up it. It's really called Mt. Ngauruhoe, and it's usually covered in snow, not lava. Here's a picture:

They look exactly the same right? 

Family Togetherness in an RV

Since beginning this adventure we have had a lot of family time together. Sometimes that has been the best part of the trip and sometimes it has been the hardest part. Here in New Zealand we brought the togetherness to a new level as we spent two weeks in an RV.

Bush Walks and other Adventures

We split our time in Australia between the Blue Mountains and Sydney. We started off taking a train to Katoomba in the Blue Mountains and then a taxi to the apartment we had rented. We were pleasantly surprised to find the apartment was actually a whole house. After living out of hotels and hostels for the prior month it was so nice to stay in a house with different rooms and a real kitchen! The downside of the house was it was located a bit out of town. When I had inquired about renting it I had asked if we needed a car or if there was public transportation available. The owner had given me directions on public transportation and said it would take 20 minutes to walk to the town. Once we were in our house I took a few of the kids on the 20 minute walk to town to find the grocery store. Forty minutes and many hills later we arrived in the town. So much for the 20 minute walk to town! We loaded up on food and then took a taxi back to our house. I looked into renting a car, but there wasn't one available in the area that would hold 6 passengers so we opted for expensive taxi rides and long walks for a few days.

Funny Things We've Heard or Said on this Trip...

Update: added "Whoa, there's a glacier!"

“Do you want to get undressed and play some games with me?”

Context: One of the children was excited to play some games and meant to say "After we have our pajamas on do you want to play some games with me?"

“How are your breasts?”

Context: We were at Kentucky Fried Chicken and we had just explained the names of the different pieces of chicken that were available.  Later, during the meal the child, thinking that I had ordered the biggest pieces of chicken available, had meant to ask how my chicken tasted.

“Hey! Shut the door!”

Context: In our apartment in Germany the bathroom door was right off the kitchen.  Near the end of dinner one of us needed to use the bathroom.  While doing his/her business someone else needed to go, hadn't noticed someone else going in to the bathroom, and opened the bathroom door. What would you have said?

“Jenna just ran into a pole.”

Context: Pay close attention.  We were in Krakow (Poland) and the Elaine and I were in the ticket booth buying tickets to a soccer match.  The kids were restless and outside playing around.  One of her brothers came and reported the incident to us.  Apparently Jenna had run into a pole and not a Pole.

“Whoa, there's a glacier!”

Context: In New Zealand, after hiking for 30 minutes with the express intent of seeing the glacier that has been there for hundreds of years, one of the children was so surprised to see it when we actually got there.


Check back later. I'll update this as we go.