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.