Thursday, September 24, 2015

More bananas

Last year, we were excited to find out we have a banana tree in our backyard.  It started to grow bananas in September, but it was January before they were ready to eat.  We had the banana tree cut down after it was done bearing fruit.  After researching online, we learned they only bear fruit once and then a new tree will grow in its place.  We were excited to have 3 new trees growing.  In June, one of the trees began growing fruit.  Last month another tree started growing bananas.  We are hoping the bananas on the first tree get ripe soon.
The first tree.  Just waiting for them to turn yellow.
 It has been interesting to learn how bananas grow.  First, a red seed pod develops.  Then, the outer layers of the pod slowly peel off and under each one is a row of bananas.  They have flowers on the end that can also be eaten.  Bananas curve up toward the sky instead of down like you might expect.  With our tree last year and earlier this summer, we had issues with insects eating the flowers before the bananas could develop.  Luckily, the insects haven't bothered this tree too much and it looks like we will have a pretty big crop.  It is a good thing we all like bananas.  Time to start researching recipes.
Second tree.  The red pod is at the bottom.  You can see the yellow flowers on the bottom row of bananas.

Wednesday, September 23, 2015

Guilin, final day

Monday was our last day in Guilin.  We had a great vacation and were sad to leave.  We needed to leave at 1:30 for the airport, so we had the morning to do a few last things before we left.  The kids both wanted to do trapeze again, so we headed over there after breakfast.  Again, not even the slightest hesitation from either one.  Tom and Tommy also did some archery.  Tom even got a bullseye!  Charlotte and I played basketball, watched archery, then played a game of HORSE with Tom and Tommy.
Tom's bullseye


After lunch, we had about 15 minutes to sing a few more KTV songs before we had to catch our bus to the airport.  Security and immigration were no problem (even after I forgot I had 4 bottles of water in my bookbag and tried to take them through security.  Removing them made my bag a lot lighter.)    
One of the highlights of the trip for the kids was playing with Lily, the daughter of one of Tom's coworkers
Our flight was delayed slightly and it was past the kids' bedtime before they got in bed.  We were all tired the next day, but it was worth it after a great trip!


Tuesday, September 22, 2015

Guilin, day 3

We woke up Sunday morning to the rain that had been forecasted the day before.  Our group was doing an excursion, a boat ride down the Li River to get a closer look at the mountains.  We were meeting at 8 AM.  With our "late" night the night before, the kids slept in and we had to eat a rushed breakfast.  We had a short bus ride to get on the boat before a 3 hour ride down the river.  The rain stopped by the time we arrived at the boat dock, but returned intermittently throughout the day.  We had a large boat for our group of 50 with 3 different levels, including 2 enclosed air-conditioned levels with seats, and an open-air deck on top for viewing.  When I had researched things to do in Guilin, I kept coming across boat rides on small raft boats.  I had really liked that idea, but with the rainy day, I was really glad to have a climate-controlled, enclosed boat.
Family pic before the boat ride

Rafts

Beautiful views

Yummy, crunchy crab to eat on the boat.  Charlotte loved it.


The 5 skinny mountains in the middle are called the Five Fingers
The views were pretty, but the ride was a little long for the kids, especially Tommy.  I came prepared for the weather with umbrellas, ponchos, jackets, long pants, but I should have brought more things for Tommy to do.

After our boat docked, we had a rainy walk through the town of Yangshou, a popular backpacking town in China, to get back to our bus.  I had my eyes open for a potential souvenir, but didn't see anything I couldn't find in the market in Hong Kong so left empty-handed.

The rain stopped by the time our bus got back to the resort.  We ate lunch and headed back over to the sports field.  Tommy and I did archery and Tom played soccer with Charlotte.

Then we went back to the club so we could try KTV, the Chinese form of Karaoke, before dinner.  The great thing about KTV is instead of singing to a crowd, you do it in a private room.  We had a lot of fun and could be as silly (and off-key) as we wanted.  


We had a wonderful day!


Monday, September 21, 2015

Guilin, day 2

We woke up Saturday for our first full day in Guilin.  The forecast had called for a 100% chance of rain, but we woke up to a nice, sunny day.  Tom and I had a non-kid friendly presentation to attend for Tom's work for a few hours in the morning, so after breakfast we took the kids to the mini-club for ages 4-10.  The first thing they were going to do was "mini-circus" where they got to swing on the trapeze.  We had a little time before we had to leave for the presentation, so we went along to watch.  I was amazed when I saw how high the ladder was they had to climb.  Of course, they were attached to a rope and there was a net in case they fell.  They both had no fear climbing up to the top and taking their turn.  

Charlotte on the trapeze
Tommy's turn
After their turns, we had to leave to go to our meeting.  When we picked them up a few hours later, they had a busy morning.  After trapeze, they went bike riding around the campus, which they both really enjoyed.  Then, they dressed the kids up, I guess to look like clowns.  When we saw them, Charlotte was all smiles, she was having a great time.  Tommy clearly was not a fan of his costume and was ready to go.  He asked both Tom and I when they could leave several times within minutes of us arriving (we had to wait for them to go back and change into their regular clothes before we could take them.)
Tommy and Charlotte dressed as clowns

After lunch and some rest time, we went back to the sports area so I could try trapeze.  I figured if the kids could do it, I could too.  It was fun, but definitely a little intimidating climbing up the ladder.  I was glad I did it.  Tom and Tommy also tried archery, which Tommy really liked.  Then we went swimming in the indoor pool and the kids tried playing ping pong.
my turn





We had a group dinner that night, then we watched a little bit of the Michael Jackson impersonator show that evening.  The dancing was good, but he was lip-syncing and there wasn't much of a resemblance.  It was a late night and we were all tired when we got home.

Guilin, China

We were excited to take a trip to Guilin, China with Tom's company.  Guilin is a city in Southern China with the "most beautiful scenery under the heavens." It is known for its karst mountains.

I was also glad to have a reason to apply for Chinese visas.  Tom has to travel to China occasionally for work and the visa process is time consuming.  He had to get a 2 entry visa, and then reapply for a 6 month visa that was expiring.  Each time there is quite a bit of paperwork.  Recently, the Chinese government decided to allow US Citizens to apply for 10 year visas with multiple entries.  I wanted to get the visas before they changed the policy.  You have to have confirmed hotel and flight reservations for the visa, so I couldn't apply unless we had a trip booked.  

We were going to spend Friday to Monday in Guilin.  At the airport, Tom got a lounge pass which allowed him to bring a guest, so he took Charlotte with him while Tommy and I headed to the gate. We were going to stop and get some McDonald's, until Tommy found out they were only serving breakfast.  He decided he would rather go to the gate and take advantage of the free wifi to watch some videos before we got on the plane.

While China does not enforce copyright laws and it is much easier to buy illegally copied DVDs or imitation watches and handbags, they also greatly censor what their citizens have access to.  The Chinese government blocks Google, Gmail, Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, etc.  They also censor the news their people can access.  When our flight was getting ready to land, they made an announcement they were required by law to collect all newspapers before we landed.

Guilin is only a 1 hour and 15 minute flight from Hong Kong, so it was a nice easy flight.  Then our group took a bus to our resort.  We were staying at Club Med, which is an all inclusive resort with locations in Europe and Asia.  This was our first time at Club Med and our first time at an all inclusive with the kids.

The resort was beautiful.  Guilin is inland, so unlike most resort locations, there is no beach nearby.  Instead, they really played up the beautiful scenery.  The grounds were dotted with modern art sculptures, with the mountains in the background.


We checked into our rooms.  We had 2 interconnecting rooms.  The kids were so excited they got their own room.  We had stayed in suites and apartments before, but this was their first time with their own room.  They felt pretty grown up.  After getting a bite to eat, we had time for a quick swim in the pool before getting changed and ready for dinner.

It was a fun first day and we were all ready for bed that night.