Yunnan update

Yesterday we were in Dali and rode a ferry. Today we went to an old part of the town in Lijiang (in northern Yunnan and relatively close to Tibet). We saw some people dressed kind of Tibetan I guess. I got dressed up in the clothes for a picture. We met some people from Israel today at the this mountain we went to. They just came here from Tibet. They said the altitude is crazy high in Tibet and you almost can't make it without medication for altitude sickness. There's still a chance we might try to make it there (to Tibet). We'll look into it when we get to Xian (that's where we're going in a couple days). Xian is the area that's Bill's really interested in (lots of history).

Yunnan

I'm in Yunnan right now (a province nearer to Tibet) at an internet cafe. I've never been on the internet with spiders & webs hovering over the computers! (not to mention mosquitos)

We went to Macau yesterday. We had the worst food/service yet of the trip. But it makes Macau memorable! Lots of remnants of when the Portugese were there so looks like Europe.

Today we got a flight early in the morning and joined up with a tour in Yunnan. We're having fun with the kids and teens/young adults on the bus (they're the only ones that know some English!). We went to a big cave, waterfalls, etc. It's really fun to see horse & buggies here. And the bus has to swerve to miss waterbuffalos on the road. That's pretty fun.

I still can't actually get to see my blog to get comments. Must be a block in China. But I can still post. Weird.

Can't put any pictures on. Will have to wait til I'm in "civilization" for that.

It's nice to be in a country kind of setting. There's a lot of different ethnic tribes in this area. We can really see the Burma/Thai influence as those countries are really close (maybe 1 hour flight or less). Our tour guide is from near the Burmese border and she could probably pass for Thai. A lot of people here look quite different from the Chinese in Guangdong (where we came from).

Cute picture

Totally at peace in the midst of chaos (traffic in China) !

I love some of these different signs and "Chinglish" that you see.

Going to Shen Zhen today

eating long yuan at Irv's family's farm eating roast goose (and goose feet) and sea cucumber - this is apparently somewhere that the president of Thailand ate - we have been getting treated like royalty - it's really humbling

Yesterday we went to see a museum about China's Opium War with Britian. We're planning to go visit Irv's parents (a Chinese student that lived with us prior to Benz) today. Irv is actually in Ontario studying and won't be back in China til December. We're planning to take a trip to Yunnan in a few days. This is a province that's near Tibet and is supposed to be a really nice part of China to visit (you can see Tibetan peaks and there's more of the ethnic minorities, etc.).
Then we plan to go to Xian (this place has a lot of history), visit Grace (another Chinese student), go to Beijing, then go visit the Balzers, then take a ferry to S. Korea and visit Kelly, then maybe go to Thailand (if possible) before leaving Hong Kong on Sept. 1. The time is going by fast!
The traffic and amount of people walking, riding bikes/scooters (often in the wrong direction and middle of the road) is incredible. We're in awe of how they stay alive! It's also interesting how they have a rest in the median of the road and on the sides of the road.
It feels a little like we're royalty or associated with royalty which is kind of a weird feeling. We can't go anywhere without a driver and can't take any backpack or wear any jewellery, etc. I keep getting warned of how I could be robbed, killed, kidnapped. Nice! But God is control. We feel really spoiled (& kind of useless) but I guess I should enjoy this while I can?! We have people bring us drinks, make us food, etc. I feel a little like a child of the king that has privileges I really don't deserve (could be a spiritual analogy here!).
I can't access our blog which is a bummer so if you're leaving comments, I wouldn't know (I think it either has to do with a firewall? in China or the factory). I had lost my USB connection (but it's found now) and haven't had much internet access so haven't been able to put on any more pictures, but I'm hoping to soon!

Mainland China

at the factory
one of Kenny's friends has a dinosaur collection

We are now in mainland China (Guandong area). We took the ferry from Hong Kong to Shenzhen yesterday. Unfortunately, I haven't been able to put on more pics. I tried before we left Hong Kong, but have had problems with internet access. In Hong Kong before we left, Andy & I went to Ocean Park. It has the largest aquarium in the world. It was fun! We went on a roller coaster ride (first in the very front and then in the very back), the "Abyss" (a ride where you go up, then drop like a bungee jump idea). We saw Giant Pandas, etc. We've been touring around Kenny's factory and meeting some of his business friends. I'm now borrowing a computer at his factory to put in this blog.

Hello Hong Kong

view from the peak view from the apartment
view looking down from the bathroom

We're staying in an amazing apartment in Hong Kong. We're on the 58th floor and the bed is right beside the window (hope I don't freak out when I wake up in the morning! Bill has "vertigo", meaning he's vertically challenged, so he said I can sleep by the window which is great with me!). The view is incredible, with all the high rises everywhere and the boats on the water. We can see where you take the ferry to mainland China, the under water tunnel to Hong Kong Island and the tallest building in Hong Kong. I've never seen anything like it. Bill also has it made now with a big screen TV and 2 massage chairs! We might have to stay here a little longer than planned! We feel really privileged to be able to stay here. It's through a friend of Charlie's dad. Will try to get in some pictures later. We met this really nice Chinese couple, too, that have been really helpful in giving us tips for finding a church tomorrow, etc. Charlie says it's time to go now...

Longest tunnel ever!

Today we went to Kenny's home town that's more towards the east coast and got to meet more of Charlie's extended family.

A new tunnel just opened last month that's 12.9 kilometers long! It seemed to go on ... and on .... Charlie thinks it's the 3rd largest tunnel in the world. This picture is just before going into it.

For lunch today, we had duck soup (without the heads thankfully).

Tomorrow we say "bye" to Taiwan and "hello" to Hong Kong (God willing and no more typhoons)!

The typhoon didn't hit very hard where we were. It apparently hit southern Taiwan more this time.

I climbed the highest mountain in Taiwan!

This was the endurance test of a lifetime! But we made it to the top of the highest mountain in Taiwan ! It's called Mt. Jade (in English) and reaches to 3952 m. or about 13,000 feet. The sunrise was AMAZING! It was incredibly awe-inspiring to see the sun come out with the mist rising off the mountain. I just kept thinking "Hallejuah! It's a miracle!". We left at about 2 - 2:30 a.m., hiked up the mountain in the dark (the full moon made it pretty light out though), then Charlie and I were the first ones to make it to the peak just as the sun was starting to come out (at about 5 a.m.). I didn't think I'd be able to do it as I had altitude sickness (bad headache, feel like you're going to pass out, nauseous), but this really nice Taiwanese lady gave me some medicine so I felt better by the next day. Unfortunately, Bill and Kenny (Charlie's dad) felt too sick (bad, throbbing headache) to attempt it to the top (they stayed at the lodge, at about 500-600 m. or 2.5 k. lower).

Charlie took this amazing photo of the sun behind the mist. He's also very modest about his photography skills (not! haha).

Charlie & I on the peak.

Museum & Night Market

Bill can spend hours and hours and hours in a museum!

We saw some nice old Chinese artwork/pottery, etc. I think Bill wants to take this chair home with us. It gives a really good massage! He's fallen asleep in it a few times already.
I know Charlie is sideways but I'm working on a computer that's all in Chinese so.....

Charlie took me to the night market on the back of his scooter. That was fun!

I've never seen cooked duck heads before. No I didn't try them.

It's actually not too hot here right now (I mean it's still hot for us but it could be worse). The typhoon is nearby (it's apparently headed for Japan) and has brought some wind and clouds and a bit of rain. Bill's disappointed the typhoon isn't coming here. He's always wanted to experience one. We're supposed to climbing up the tallest mountain peak in Taiwan tomorrow. I hope Bill and I survive! Help!

Visiting Charlie's family's farm

We had a fun time at Charlie's family's farm. We saw lots of fruit & bugs and met some country people. We saw a little car that Charlie used to ride around and a pool him and Andy would play in when they were little.

Rhinoceros Beetle
Cute kid.
These are some neighbors out in the country. This is a neat fruit that we last saw in Jamaica (kind of like an cone shaped appleish thing)

We're in Taiwan!

Picture in the living room and first "congee" breakfast in Taiwan at Charlie, Andy, and their mom & dad's (Grace & Kenny) home.

Benz leaves on the 11th!

Who would have thought that Benz would see us off first as we leave for Taiwan tomorrow!

Benz & Prim (on Mother's Day at Larrabee State Park)

Benz & Prim went to the same high school in Thailand.
Prim graduated from Lynden Christian School and will now study at a university in Thailand.
She's a very special girl and I will miss her. God has taken her on an amazing journey.

Benz & his parents at his grad ceremony

It's been such a joy to have Benz live with us for the past 2 1/2 years.

He's such a fun and likeable guy and we will miss him so much!

Please pray for God's blessing on our dear Thai friends. Thanks!