Here are some pics I uploaded. I hope you can view them :)
http://picasaweb.google.com/dianatan78/BeijingHangzhou2006

Just ok..

( Gabriel is about to eat Chicken feet)
( This pic is taken in Peijing) There was one really awsome animal Zoo, where animals were we were driving around and all the animals were just hanging out around our car )

It’s official- Gabriel and I are favorite snack for mosquitoes. I swear- they only touch us, Nick and Regina have not a single mosquito bite on them. They must have some crappy tasting blood. Oh, I am so miserable, I just blame my weight gain to mosquitoes. ;)

We have been eating out every day for lunch and dinner and I really want to slow down eating, but since nicks place has really crappy kitchen I refuse to cook in( it is really , really small probably 1 meter X 3 meters foot space. It is hard to turn around here.

Past few days we have done nothing much here – we did go to nicks workplace and I surfed online, but since my computer has some bug in again, it is really slow and I can not do much. Yes, I am a bug magnet.

Last night we saw finally one big accident. Taxi ran over bicycle driver, and she was in pretty bad shape. It was taxi drivers fault, since he was driving in road meant for bicycle drivers. Then today , I saw something really weird. Cops are even worse drivers than we , regular people. They have no mercy , when comes to driving. They almost hit us from behind, and then took over and almost bumped our side. So stupid.

Weather is back to H O T and humid and around 8 pm it showed 35 degrees of heat. HOT HOT HOT.

I miss our big house and air conditioner. And I miss my tv and I miss my bath and I miss my gym and fresh salad with Just 2 good Italian dressing. Lol

My food market experience.... Stores here are huge or really tiny and everywhere. Chinese LOVE to eat . They eat good food, bad food, Salty food sweet food, stinky food, ugly food, beautiful food lol So I walk into food store and walk aroud and admire stuff and read labels that are all in CHINESE-( no idea how many calories foods have in them, in general cal.s are not marked on products. ) So I walk and suddenly I feel this horrible smell. AHAAA- I am close to meat section . So meat section- first I see fish, then more fish and then next to fish I saw HUGE glass container full of GREEN GIANT FROGS- who all turned eyes on me like they wanted to scream out of top of their lungs- DIANA, SAVE US, THESE MEAN ASIAN PEOPLE WANT TO EAT US FOR DINNER. -- So I looked around, and ran as fast as I could out of food store. Yeah, that was my shock of the week..... Poor frogs.....

Then today( thursday) I went to other store to get me some tampons- guess what, chinese do not use tampons. Yeah, there is 2 long 5 store shelves stacked with pads but no tampons. Finally after asking around I got my OBs. I hate it. GRR. One more thing I miss about us. TAMPONS!!!!

..Hanghou..

(View from Nicks Apartment)
it really is beautiful city. For 2 days now all I have been doing is walking around here and eating. lol On monday I took a 3 hour walk around the city. Weather was really hot, but I really did not want to sit in our apartment and just stare out of window.

So I walked and sweated and walked and sweated and shopped without buying a thing... lol

Yesterday one of my DH friends wife took me out to discover west lake little more. Weather was perfect. It was raining a little but at least it was not hot. Lotus flowers were blossoming and air smelled really floweri...
After walk we had lunch. Luch was very interesting. I really wanted to get a break from all asian food . So I went to Pizza hut. Pizza hut here is "huge deal". You enter, waitress takes you to your table, inside the pizza hut it is super clean and very contemporary up to date look. It feels like you are in high class eating place. I am serios. lol Food was ok. I had salad , which was done with really sweet dressing( no options available) you get your stuff and that is it.... And I do not like sweet dressings, but oh well, whatever....

talk to you later, I have to run now...

Hunan food…

Now I can honestly say- I ate donkeys butt.. I swear, I had no idea what I was eating and I liked it, and then I was told that it was Eyores behind, I almost fell flat on my own behind…..

Today is our last day in Beijing. I really wish that Nick was better guide. I have not even had a chance to shop here , or walk around in downtown. We are stuck here some suburb area and Nick is just pain in the but… I wish I booked some tour buss for us, so we could have seen more.. LLL

Today we went to Italian farms. Nothing special--- I am just really , really tired and Kids are done with china because this country really is NOT meant for kids. No playgrounds, no fun parks, No other kids running around. I swear, This country is overpopulated, but where In the world to they keep all the kids?? In some adoption agencies???

Oh, I have to tell you about my Nightclub experience . It was funny. We went to club called CUTIE CLUB. To get a table YOU HAVE to buy bottle/vip service- which was about 500 Y. I was ONLY white girl in the club. ONLY ONE. I wish our friends took us to club that was more for “ MIXED “ people. But oh, well. Who cares about me?? Right??? So , if you think most Asians can not dance- You guessed----- RIGHT!!!!! Lol even nick laughed out loud. But again, you know, I do not blame them, for not finding their rhythm, music sucked. It was Asian hip/hop, and older US hip hop,….

Guys, I can not see my blog here. It is weird, I can only post my blogs, but I can not see main page. Please someone email me and let me know that blogs are showing up OK. And forgive me not posting pictures. ,..,

Oh, I am exhausted. Today we went to see Summer Palace. It is a place where Emperors used to spend their summer vacations. Lol Just to make it sound simple enough to you. It is a beautiful place, but since China is so polluted and you never see blue sky ( except in fall), then I think gray sky just did not enhance the beauty of this beautifully landscaped and built place. We did take a boat ride, ( all by ourselves) and walked around, but weather was hot- once again, and we had our 2 kids with us, who in some weird way think that they are the EMPERORS and they want to be carried around …

Last night we went to have dinner with my DH high school friends. You will not believe the amount of food that was served there . Most of it sounds pretty cross, but tastes ok- Cow stomach, chicken necks, pig feet, duck stomachs, etc. AND since my dh is from Sichuan, and food in that area is burning spicy. I have never had such a spicy food in my entire life. I really did enjoy the food, but I regret that I ate way too much , because I woke up with the worst stomach ace ever.

Today- Thursday is Gabriels 5^th birthday. For lunch we went to Mc Donalds, because my kids just refuse to eat anything here at all. We are not really fast food friends, but what can I do??? They will not eat tofu and garlic vegetables. …. And noodles will not do the thing for them…. What is wrong with my kids…. ( well, It is my fault tho’,..)

Tonight we are going to eat out in one of the best Peking Duck restaurants here. You have to make reservations few days in advance if you want to eat there- that is how popular and good that place is…..

Tomorrow we just take it easy- maybe go to the clubhouse here and swim. We stay with our friends, who are “ rich” and community they live in is beautiful. HUUUUGE houses and security guard in every street corner- at least 100 security guys. It is kind of weird, but I guess it gives people sense of security here.

I still can not get over the drivers. I was told that it takes couple of days for people to get used to local traffic but I do not think I will ever . My eyes hurt because I just keep them wide open all the time.lol

One more note- I am starting to understand how African Americans feel in white community- I am white here , and some places where we go is just crazy. Peking is ok- and huuuge tourist attractions are fine, but smaller villages- the looks, the questions,( so what I speak no Chinese), and more looks, and more whispers…. I am starting to feel little congested. No air to breath, to much going on, no space to think , because people are here always on the go - even during the night. ….

.....

Friday, june 23'd. -- We take it easy today. No trip besides food market. I HATE SPOILED little kids. I can not stand them. Last night we went out to eat Roast Peking duck. Food was awsome. But the KIDS , they were running around( we had a private room), braking menues apart, having a pillow fight, spitting, scraming, yelling. And you know what those other 2 moms and 2 dads did- NOTHING!!!!!!!. Regina and Gabriel did such an awsome job sitting still and eating and listening, but what the fuck was wrong with other moms. They were just laughing when kids pulled menues apart and threw all over the place. I swear, I start a camp for spoiled little chinese kids. ( trust me , they are much worse than american kids. )...... Moms were asking from me what should they do to keep their kids nice and quiet, and I gave them my advice- distcipline-. I was told that they do it all the time. REALLY??? WTF is wrong with you know. Tell your kids to sit nice and pay attention to others. .... ANyway,-- I miss califronia. I usually do not get homesick when I travel, but China is not for me. I like chinese food, but today is my 4th day with the worst stomach ace( i still keep eating what they shoot be, because I have been told that I AM RUDE for not accepting their hospitality...... Damn rules....;)

Day 3

OH Beijing, Oh Beijing…

Who built this city… ??? I think Beijing is pretty big city to compare to Laguna Niguel. High buildings, jammed traffic, cars driving the way they think it is all right and cops just doing nothing but laughing … We saw few car accidents, but just little ones- Nothing major. With this driving you would guess that people have big ones, but since Chinese drivers are BAD GOOD drives, and they know how to eliminate accidents. Everything is timed for them- people crossing the streets, other cars making turns. Etc.

Today we went to Forbidden City. It is awesome city, but weather was too hot again and we just speeed in and speed out of it. The history, architecture, antiques, details, city plan- it is all amazing. It is something entirely different. You got to see to understand what I am talking about.

I often hear from people who visited china , That China is beautiful. But what is beauty all about anyway? You get here. First thing that you notice is smell , not everywhere but in lot of places. Then you see the dirt , then you see construction going on everywhere, then you see people on bikes , and people here LOVE to bike. There are way to many bikes on road and most of the time they do not care about cars, they are everywhere. Crazy, lot of the time they drive towards you ,….. Imagine that….

Then you see people spitting on streets, blowing their noses with fingers. And let me tell you!!!!- TIP OF THE CENTURY—If you get the urge to visit restroom , be ready for holes in the ground and no toilet papers in sight. YES, holes everywhere, potty is luxury here. .. lol And I carry toilet paper with me … OH, and always carry LOADS of cash with you. Most of the places do not accept credit cards, you have to pay with cash no matter where you go. AND life here is not cheep. It is very expensive. Your every step costs you money. Driving, parking, eating, breathing. Let me tell you- Starbucks- SHORT, TALL and GRANDE—these are sizes here instead of Tall, Grande and VENTI…

And GRANDE is more expensive than Venti is USA. Grazy….

But beauty here is the OLD stuff- Great wall, forbidden city, shopping experience, handcrafts, antiques, people itself,, curiosity, awesome Chinese restaurants …. There is lot of beauty here , everybody just has to find what is BEAUTIFUL for them….

( TSINGHUA UNIVERSITY PARK/ISLAND)
(I can update blog from here IF I am right place, right building, because some of the buildings have blocked access. So weird. )

June18th, 2006 , From Air China

You know what? I have always had very pleasant airport experiences. But I swear, this time around it was nothing but pleasant. Taxi was on time and picked me up 9.30. We were at LAX 10.35. Fast and smooth ride. Loved it. But that is where my love ended.

1. I had to wait on line for 30 minutes to get my tickets and seats assigned.
2. I had to take my 2 sleepy kids, 5 pieced of luggage to x-ray machine. Line there was longer than ever. We waited another 30 minutes. Kids did really good. J No whining, no crying. They listened and it made my life much easier.
3. Then we had to wait 30 more minutes on security line because suddenly it was 12AM and everybody wanted to go to gate 25 lol. After that was done kids were wide awake. J

Then the wait was over. We just sat down and waited “regular” waiting before they opened gates. I swear, when it comes to manners, Chinese do not have them. I was beyond pissed. Luckily they announced travelers with young kids can go first so I thought Gabriel is still 4 and young lol. I took my kids and ran for life. But Chinese people were blocking me. I was pushing them to left and right and finally- VICTORY!!! I crossed the finish line and was almost first person to enter plane ( well, business class bitches were there first , fuck them.)

Now I am sitting on plane., my kids are sleeping and I just had the best chicken /tuna sandwich ever. But I do need some TUMS. I was extremely stressed today , and when I am stressed I get horrible heart burn . I thought I got my TUMS but they are missing. “ HELP, MISSING TUMS, Reward- one HUG ;)

Anyway, sandwich was good, BUT wine I asked for was one of the worst I have ever had. Iam not even sure what the heck they call slurrrr like that. Disgusting. But I have to fall asleep, so I had some. Anyway, this plane sucks. Everything here is in Chinese. I thought Lufthansa was bad, but this is even worse. It feels like I am traveling in Estonian Air, but only 8 years ago…… yeah, this Estonian bitch is off to a ruff start. But then again, I know I have great rewards waiting for me ahead( Do I sound like fortune cookie already??? )) talk to you later My Jealous American wannabefriends…;) Don’t be hatin’ Respect you all….

AND now. I AM IN CHINA!!! IT was 5.30 Am when I arrived here. Weather is HOT, STINKY, HUMID. AND I had about hundred heart attacks(just a figure of speech). NOBODY cares here about pedestrians, nobody cares about traffic lights, or when it is right time to make turns. People drive with red light, make left turns when red light is on and run you over when you step on the road. LOL

We visited Great wall- IT IS REALLY great, but we made on huge mistake and took our kids with us. It is way to hard for them to take all the steps and just enjoy. So we just did a short walk and left pretty fast.

Today we want to go to Forbidden City and enjoy that, but first we have to fina a babysitter, since my kids do not like hot weather/ walking/ dirt / and stinky streets.

1.

Yes, soon it will not be only in my heart, but it will be all over and around me. I am extremely exited about my upcoming China trip. Taxi will pick us up on 17th 9.30pm Our flight is on June 18th, at 1.40 AM. It will be 13-14 hour trip and we will land in Beijing where we will spend few days. I really have no idea where we go next,but I leave it up to my dh. I guess we will go to his hometown somewhere in Sichuan province. We will be taking boat rides, visiting Great wall, checking out some Budhas, and do million other things. AND OF COURSE I WILL BE EATING REAL CHINESE FOOD. lol My dh is frustrated with chinese food. He hates chinese food, he thinks Chinese food is full of chemicals, too salty, too fatty, and all foods taste the same. I am pretty sure when I go there I will find him some good . lol Leave it up to one very noisy Estonian who thinks that SHE knows everything. ( of course I do) ;)

Stay tuned for more updates..... .... .... ....