China Tales 3 - A Great (Wall) First Birthday

I've been alive for one whole year!

Started out just eating, sleeping, and pooping. But now I'm up to walking, talking, and flying to China! (And did I mention that I have four teeth now?)

Well as you can tell, I'm pretty excited. And that's only partly because of the birthday party that Mom & Dad threw for me today. I mean, life is pretty good here in China, seeing as how I'm the most popular person wherever I go and all. But today, my parents really topped themselves. Almost makes me think that Mom planned this whole China trip around today?

What'd we do? We went and walked on the Great Wall of China. The Great Wall of China. THE GREAT WALL OF CHINA. And this is just my first birthday?!? I'll say it one more time - The Great Wall of China. I mean - how cool is that?!?

There's not a lot more to tell, - I'll let the pictures below tell the rest of the story. We came, we took a ski lift up to the Wall, we saw, we partied, we climbed stairs (okay, Dad did most of the climbing for the two of us), and we took a tobaggon ride back down to the parking area. That's right, a tobaggon. A small, wheeled sled that Dad and I sat on top of. Dad had a brake (which he used a bit too much in my opinion), and that was our only control for a five minute ride from the top of the mountain where the Great Wall is back down to the parking area. Pictures are below, and probably shouldn't be viewed by the more safety-conscious among you. Dad actually took video too, but we haven't gotten that online yet.

Before we get to all the pictures (which are also in Mom & Dad's China photo album, in case you're curious), I should get to the matter of the cake. We had a small piece of pineapple upside-down cake that Mom bought in a little shop with us when we were partying on the Great Wall. But then later that night when we got back to the hotel, they had a whole real birthday cake with candles and icing and everything waiting for us! Man, was that a cool hotel. So we had some cake, sang a little song, and then I hit the sack.

But man - what a birthday!

I'll let pictures tell most of the rest of the story.

Mom, Dad, and me, on the Great Wall:

Dad is great at climbing stairs!


Tobaggan time!


Mom got this last one as we headed off down the hill

China Tales 2 - Livin' Like a Rock Star

We made it to Beijing safely and found our hotel, which is this totally cool, authentic place off of some tiny alleys, which they claim are actually the local streets in the old part of town, but I know an alley when I see one, and this is an alley. But that was cool - the room has this fancy four-poster bed with orange silk hanging all around - totally awesome! Starting to think that Mom & Dad might be okay to travel with after all.


The next morning it was off to see the Forbidden City. Which I think we saw, but I was surrounded by my adoring fans for much of the day, so it was kind of hard to tell.

I mean - I got some of this in Hong Kong, but here it's just gotten ridiculous! It started when some lady on the city bus gave me a little stuffed animal. Then we were walking from the bus stop to the Forbidden City and people would come up and say hi and want to take pictures with me. And then we got to the Forbidden City itself, and it was just a mob scene. Take pictures with them. Let them touch my leg and say "how chubby". A couple ladies wanted to hold me even, but I kinda drew the line at that and let my feelings be known on the matter.



I mean WOW! Now I know how Brad and Angelina must feel. But at least people aren't always tryng to grab their cheeks and stuff.


So Mom & Dad adopted a strategy of keeping moving, which seemed to work pretty well. Saw the Forbidden City in record time, and then it was over to Tian'anmen Square, where they let me out of the backpack and turned me loose. Another mob scene! It's been kinda funny and kinda wierd, but overall it was really cool to see that stuff.

That evening, after some napping, we went to a local restaurant that the hotel recommended and had some amazing Chinese food. Pork something something, some chicken something something, a corn, pine nuts, and cucumber dish, and the best fried rice that Mom has ever had. Great stuff!

Then it was back to the hotel for more sleeping. All theis adoration can really take it out of a person, you know?

Today it was off to the Summer Palace, and more of the same. I tell you - these people can't get enough of me! Maybe we can go someplace more secluded tomorrow.

China Tales 1 - A Bit of a Rough Start

I'm off to China with the parents in tow. We're doing well now, but we got off to a bit of a rough start I'm sorry to say. Kind of makes me wonder if I chose the wrong people to take this trip with - we'll have to see how the rest of the trip goes.

Things started to go awry when we got to the airport and realized that there had been a slight AM vs. PM mixup on reading the flight times on the tickets. We were 12 hours late for our flight! Details details. But Mom showed her traveler's stripes then, and in a move worthy of the Amazing Race, got our tickets changed for a flight the next day, but then got us on standby for a flight that was only an hour or so away. Lots of running back and forth between the Delta and Korean Air ticket counters ensued, but in the end, we were off!

The flight was okay - I got to watch Shrek the Third and some other animated movies along the way, so that was kind of neat. Though there was no sound at my seat? Not sure if it had something to do with those things Dad kept sticking on my head, but they were so uncomfortable, I don't know how anybody else was wearing them. Anyway, I slept a little, but not a lot, and so my the time we reached Seoul, I wasn't quite feeling myself.



To cut a long story a little shorter, we caught our flight to Hong Kong, and made it to the hotel without any difficulty, just before midnight local time. I slept a little bit then, since it was dark, but helloooooo - it's the middle of the afternoon as far as my body is concerned. Prime party time!

That led to me and Mom and Dad wandering the lobby of the hotel at about 5:30 am (local time) in search of some fun. Dad spotted a coffee and tea service and thought that sounded good, and I agreed. He poured me a cup and set it on a low table and went back for something else [a lid to the cup], and naturally I grabbed my tea off the table. But there was no lid on it yet, so I spilled it down my front.

Boy, did that hurt!

Well Dad snatched me up, muttered something about that not being my tea after all, and we raced for the bathroom for some cold water, flinging off my monkey backpack/leash and shirt as we went.

Well, again, to cut a long story slightly shorter, by the time we got to the bathroom, I had a broken blister the size of a silver dollar and a couple of other really red spots on my tummy, and so it was off the the emergency room we went. My first trip to a hospital since I was born! And let me tell you - if you're ever going to have a medical emergency in a hotel in a foreign country, make sure that its the InterContinental in Hong Kong. They sent someone to the hospital with us to translate and facilitate, and we were in and out of the emergency room in about an hour. Try doing that in America! And thankfully, this being Hong Kong, lots of people spoke English at the hospital anyway.

The prognosis was pretty good, actually - keep the blistered area covered with gauze pads, give me children's Tylenol, keep the area dry, and I should be pretty much good as new in 5-6 days. I'm a fast healer at this young age!

I'm glad to report that it has been uphill from there. Literally! Back to the hotel for a nap, and then off to see see Victoria Peak. I was feeling fine, so it was into the backpack on Dad's back. Minor difficulties there with finding the base of the tram - Dad thinks we might have walked halfway up, and then back down before we found it, but it really wasn't that bad, beacuse there are these cool outdoor escalators. San Francisco could use some of these! (Though you'll notice that Dad was still pretty sweaty by the time we made it.)

After seeing the sights and getting some lunch at the peak, we headed back down and then got in some more napping. Lots more napping. In fact, believe it or not, I fell asleep in the Saddle on the walk back to the hotel! They woke me up for dinner, but then it was down for the night, I'd had a pretty eventful day after all!


Anyway, today its off to Beijing for five days. And yes, I double-checked the flight times with Mom. I'll write more from there!