Another amazing trip! We started our journey with the Stalker Family and flew to visit our friends, the Rhorbecks, in Shanghai. They showed us a great time in this modern Chinese city. After spending time touring Shanghai American School, and their nice neighborhood, we ventured out into the downtown area. We first hit the Bund - an scenic and historical area along the river. After wondering about and mixing with some locals, we made our way to the infamous Shanghai Aquarium. As we explored the many exhibits and chased our excited children from room to room, we decided that this indeed was the best aquarium we had attended. A tired day led to a group bath with the 5 kids, and a great night sleep.
The next day, we visited some historic river towns in the area. While we shopped to our hearts content, the kids explored and entertained the locals. It's always amazing experiencing what goes on in the local streets of China. This week we witnessed a baby's exposed butt-cheeks, sizzling squid on a street fryer, turtles for sale (likely for soup), and several interesting women preparing vegetables. Judah and Jack blended in well as they found many interesting places to pee along the way (it's a normal thing to see people urinating in public areas).
As we appreciated the hospitality of our friend's who housed us, after three days we knew it was time to move on. We said our goodbyes to the Stalkers, and took the Maglev train to the airport (one of the fastest trains in the world). We boarded our plane and flew to Central China to the city of Xian. Xian is famous for it's dumplings, old city wall, drum tower, bell tower, and terracota warriors. In three exciting days, we hit all of these places. We were fortunate to meet up with other great friends (Justin and Sarah Walker) for our travels around this city.
While it's great getting out to other countries in Southeast Asia, it was extremely exciting traveling within China. The culture, sites, and people never cease to amaze us. We are absolutely loving our time in this country and hope to be able to experience it for much time to come.
If you would like to see more pics of this trip, follow the link in our pics section or click on http://picasaweb.google.com/robbmarea/ShanghaiAndXian102007?authkey=f9fpasNyevQ#
