Feb15th-Temple of Heaven/leave Beijing

Feb 15th

Today we had to pack and check out of the hotel before our last day of sightseeing in

Beijing. We visited the Temple of Heaven. It is the oldest temple in China- built in 1400.

It is a beautiful circular building were the emperor came to fast, pray & sacrifice to God on behalf of the people. Lisa- our guide said there are many similarities to this "God" and the God of the Bible- one singular God in heaven- whose name was above all other names. It wasn't until later years that the Indian influence of Buddha came to China.

Lunch was spent at a lovely original Chinese restaurant where we finally experienced Peking duck. Mike loved it - Abbey & I thought it was ok. All in all still the best meal we have had in China to date. The presentation here is interesting- food often comes to the table- complete with heads & other parts we would NEVER eat in America!



The biggest adventure of the day was spent at the Pearl Market. It is a 6 story building set up with hundreds of stalls of wares. There is everything from electronics, video/nintedo games, luggage, purses, pearls, jewelry, clothing etc... where you barter for a good price. Mike & I stink at this in general but did a fairly good job on some really good bargains for some authentic Chinese souvenirs. It helped that our Chinese facilitor was looking over our shoulders telling us if we had a good price. By the end I was tired of people yelling at me "Hey Lady - I give you good deal" and grabbing at me. I HATE pushy salesman- this was even worse! When they started grabbing Abbey- I yelled at a few and said we were done.

We then headed to the airport for a late flight to Nanning- the city were we get Olivia!!!!!!!! We are exhausted - we didn't get settled in till 2:30AM and had to get ready for GOtcha day today!!!!!!!! We get Olivia today at 3 PM!!!!!!!! It is hard to believe in a few short hours our lives will be changed forever!!!

On a different note- we know there are a couple of families out there who are about to get ready to go China. We thought we would include a little FYI on expenses...

We were told from many people pack light, pack light, pack light, and there is wisdom in this...treking through the airport with fewer suitcases is easier!! The overriding reason for telling us this though was that domestic travel in China has tighter restrictions.

Turns out it's not that big a deal. On the trip over, you are allowed two 50 pound
suitcases each. In China, you are only allowed one 44 pound suitcase a piece. One couple didn't read the directions and brought 2 full 50 pound suitcases each. The fee for the extra suitcases (and extra weight) was about 100 chinese dollars (about $15 US). On top of that it's going to cost us over $100 (US) to do our laundry while we're here because we did pack light.

We're not suggesting to anyone they "violate" the directions given to them by their
adoption agency. We just thought it was interesting...

Also we were told to bring 5-6 gift bags- I brought 8 thinking I had a cushion. I gave 2 to our guide & busdriver in Beijing. Last night we were told we would need 8 while here- now I am short 2-grrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr.... I guess gifts bought in China are better than no gifts at all.
Stay tuned tomorrow for ....................OLIVIA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!