AN AMAZING TRIP: Part 2 - China

Now onto the part about visiting China. We were so sad to leave Taiwan, we loved it there so much. Things are different there, but different isn't always bad, its just different. We spent a great week there, and hope to return soon!

We flew out of Taipei over to Hong Kong. It was a short little 2 hour flight, and we rode a really cool train into Kowloon, which is across the water from the actual city of Hong Kong. We stayed at the Langham place. It is the number one rated place to stay at in Hong Kong per tripadvisor.com. So we tried it out, and wow, it was spectacular!!! We stayed on the 27th floor and the service, the cleanliness, the room, the food, everything was just fabulous, I highly recommend it. The door greeters even called us by name when we were leaving and coming back to the hotel, it was awesome! This is the view from our room:

Hong Kong is a huge, but little city. It doesn't cover a lot of area, but every building is so tall! We spend the afternoon walking around the city and shopping, really good shopping, but Hong Kong is very westernized, so the prices are a little higher here.

We went to a light show at a place called Victoria Peak. They play music to the lights and have a laser show from the top of all the skyscrapers. It was so much fun, and so beautiful!

We only spent one night in Hong Kong, and we flew up to Qingdao to meet Tyson's parents. We were supposed to take a taxi to the university they teach at, but when we were getting our bags, his parents were out front waiting for us! It was great to see a familiar face in such a foreign place. Plus, Tyson's mom is a really good cook, and my belly was aching for some really good American cooking! We stayed in the dorms with his parents for $20 a night; we had our own dorm room and bathroom, and it was super fun!

Qingdao is a coastal city, and it was so beautiful there, really really chilly, but very nice and beautiful. Their church is in a member's home right on the beach, a very nice view! There are about 10 million people in Qingdao, pretty large city!

We spent one afternoon getting fitted for some new clothes! Tyson had a suit and two pairs of pants made for him. I had a red cashmere pea coat made, and they persuaded me to have a silk Chinese dress made. I chose the fabric in the bottom right, the black silk with flowers woven into it. The tailor's had Tyson's pants and suit coat and my dress made in 2 days!!! They are shipping the coat to me here in a few days! It was so fun to get fitted and have custom clothing made! Plus, it was very affordable!!!

We spent 5 full days in Qingdao. Tyson's parents took us to see many fun things. We shopped our little hearts out, and Tys was a good sport because shopping isn't really his thing, but he got a northface coat for $30 and he found a Rolex for my dad and bro-in-law. It was really fun.

We went to school one day with his parents. We went to 3 classes total and just talked to the students. They would clap and cheer at any little thing we said. It really makes you feel so important and loved. They couldn't believe we have been married for almost 4 years since we are so young. They don't even date until they are finished with their master's degrees, and don't get married until they are 29 or 30. The girls loved to hear how we met and about our wedding. It was so fun!

Tyson's parents have a couple students that are very interested in the church, but Tyson's parents can't discuss religion with the students as part of their contract. One night a cute little couple came over and had dessert with us and wanted to talk to us about the church. They are very rare, they are both getting their bachelor's degree this summer and have been dating for 3 years. They can't get married for 4 more years if they want their parents' blessing. They pray together, want to get baptized, they don't drink beer or tea, they are morally clean, and they don't smoke, and everyone smokes in China. They were so adorable, and they were so fun to talk to about the gospel. They wanted to know how they could get a Book of Mormon, but they don't really sell them in China. We had a little travel one that we had brought on our trip, and we gave it to them. This was my first real missionary experience, and when we got home, there was an email from them saying that us giving them the Book of Mormon was the most precious gift they have ever been given. It was such a neat experience!

Right after we left on our trip, there was a huge train wreck in China, and sure enough, that was the same train we took from Qingdao to Beijing. I was a little scared, but the ride was smooth, and it was interesting to see the countryside in China, and get out of the big cities.

The first day we were in Beijing, we walked around the city. We went to Tianamen Square, the gates of the Forbidden City, The Temple of Heaven, Silk Market (the best shopping ever), ate Mexican food (really good, even for China), went to the grocery store for treats for the next day at the great wall, and then went and had a foot massage. It was a big day, but the foot massage was the best ending to such a busy day. They massaged our necks, shoulders, backs, arms, legs, and feet. It was so much fun!

The next day we went to the great wall! We went to a spot that is called Mutianyu. The wall is right on the ridge of really tall mountain peaks, it was so awesome, a major highlight of our trip! We rode a ski lift up the mountain, so we could hike the great wall.

We hiked for hours. Its all steps, and they are not even, some are small, and some are taller than up past my knees. They slant to the right, to the left, and it was a very steep climb. We only saw blue sky for maybe 3, at best, 4 days of our 2 1/2 week trip. The day we went to the great wall was breath taking! The sky was clear, the sun was shining, and there was just a perfect little breeze to keep you cool. We couldn't have asked for more! We rode an alpine slide down the moutnain when we were done hiking, super fun!

We spent the rest of the day sight seeing the Olympic venues, and a couple other hot spots in Beijing. This city is packed with people, and everyone stares at white people, we were asked to have our pictures taken with Chinese people several times, you almost feel like a movie star or something.

That night, Tyson and I went and had a little alone time and went back and got another foot massage together. It was $11 for 70 minutes of total relief. We had so much fun, and the foot massage helped us to not be sore from hiking all day.

We flew back to the US on Sunday. Tyson's dad lost it when we said goodbye, and I just can't handle it when mom's and dad's cry, so we cried a little too, and then we were off to the airport and 10 hour plane ride home (not as bad as the 16 1/2 hour plane ride over).

We left on Sunday, May 11th at noon, and got to San Francisco on Sunday May 11th at 7:00 AM. We lived Mother's Day twice! We flew down to LA from there, and Tyson's sister got us cheeseburgers from In and Out, and I was just thrilled to have a true American classic!!! We flew to SLC that night, and got to our house at 11:00 PM. Tyson's other sis picked us up and she brought us milk and cereal. She is so sweet, its my absolute favorite thing to eat cereal and I didn't have any (real) milk on our entire trip, and I LOVE MILK. What a thoughtful treat! Our boss didn't want us to work on Monday, he wanted us to get some rest, I seriously have the best boss in the world!

All of my family came out to SLC on Monday, so I got to see my sweet sisters, nephew, and parents. It was so great to see them. We left right before the earthquake in China. I feel so sorry for the people and their great loss. China is a magnificent country. Again, there are things that are very different, but one major thing I learned on our trip is that: good is all in the eye of the beholder.

Sorry so long, but this was a big experience for us, and we have memories that we will cherish forever.