Sydney and Cairns, Australia

This year we were faced with a hard decision as to whether we travel over the holiday period or we return home to Michigan.  We eventually decided to travel in order to capitalize on the time we have in the Asia Pacific region to explore other countries.  This was not an easy decision as we are missing our family and friends very much, however our family has been very supportive of our decision.  So our goal became simple, travel to an area of the world on our bucket list which involves an extended period of of time to explore given the distance and the cost.  So we settled on a trip to Sydney and Cairns Australia, Auckland and ChristChurch New Zealand, then finally Fiji.  For this trip we were joined by the Turner Family; Brian, Sharlene, Timothy and Amber.  Originating from Northville, the Turners are seasoned expats and have become close family friends of ours in Nanjing.  

Sydney, Australia

Our adventure begins in Sydney, Australia.  Our first day started with our arrival into Sydney at 7:30am after a long over night flight.  We readily made our way to our service apartment for the first five days of our trip, checked our luggage until our room was ready and divided ourselves to conquer the day.  The first priority was with our wives, Christmas shopping for the kids.  In Nanjing there is no target, no Costco, no best buy nor any other store you can think of to shop for two young boys.  We were overjoyed to be back in a country where our voices could be understood and the shopping certainly more in line with the United States (with the exception of higher price points in Australia).  While the wives were shopping for the afternoon the Dads were tasked to keep the children entertained.  We decided to leave our hotel by foot and hike to Farm Cove, taking in the views of the Sydney Opera House.  On our walk we meandered through Hyde Park, past St. Mary's Cathedral and into the Royal Botanic Garden.  The park was so beautiful set against the backdrop of the city, the Harbour Bridge and Opera House.  The kids entertained one another while we rested on the lawn of the park like so many other people this day.

Our next day in Sydney started with a visit to the Wildlife Sydney Zoo.  We arrived early in the morning prior to the park public opening for our very own tour and breakfast in the Koala encounter area.  We received a guided tour of the Zoo which ended at the Koala encounter.  Here we learned all about the Koalas and each received an opportunity to touch this very delicate animal, serving as an excellent picture opportunity.  We ate breakfast with the Koalas and spent some great time watching, learning and taking pictures.  While at the zoo we saw the world's largest crocodile, kangaroos, kookaburras, emus, wallaby, wombats and cassowary.  After the Zoo we move onto the Sydney Aquarium.  Here we learned about all the 80% of fish species unique to Australia and learned all about the Great Barrier Reef.  It was interesting to learn about the Great Barrier Reef as this was a planned stop on our next destination of Cairns, Australia.  We also went on a small boat tour to see habitat found in the Great Barrier Reef area and also feed the fish.  After the Aquarium we strolled down the marina and ate lunch at the Sydney Hard Rock Cafe.  It is such a nice treat eating western food once again, the wait staff completely understanding our order and the food all arriving at the same moment ;)  After lunch we took a bus (yes we are complete city dwellers now unafraid of common all forms of public transportation) to the Sydney Ferry.  Here we took a 30 minute ferry to our next destination of Manly Beach.  The ferry ride was great taking in all the views of the harbour; the Opera House, Harbour Bridge, etc...  I should also mention we had a great day of weather for exploring with the temperatures around 80 degrees.  Manly Beach was a great place to spend our afternoon, we really enjoyed ourselves.  They have a great boardwalk for shopping and exploring.  We bought an original Aborigine piece of art for our next home in the US (we are really starting to collect many memories from our travels).  We spent some time on the beach and also ate with great view at a beech side Fish and Chips restaurant.  It was such a great day and we are really enjoy Sydney!

Day three began with a visit to the Sydney Tower.  This was a great way to get panoramic views high above the city.  After the Sydney Tower we hopped aboard a bus for a short ride to Bondi Beach for the afternoon, known as one of the most beautiful beaches in the world.  We strolled along the boardwalk stopping to have lunch at Bondi Fresh, great sandwiches and salads (a treat for us all!).  We then made our way onto the beach where the kids had a blast playing on the beach and in the waves.  It is easy to understand the attention this beach draws.  The sand is very light and the water was a brilliant shade of light blue.  The beach is a surfers dream as many waves crashing upon the shore.  The kids played for hours until we lured them away with the promise of ice cream.  Next we commuted home to freshen up and then headed out for dinner.  We walked a very blocks from our serviced apartment to Darling Harbour.  This was another great discovery in Sydney as there are many options for eating on the water, playing in the park and enjoying the weather.  We have yet to have a bad mean and again we were not disappointed.  Afterwards the kids played well into the night in the park and we returned back to the apartment exhausted.  Yet again another great day and we grow fonder and fonder of the city the longer we stayed.

Day four our first stop was a Children's Discovery Tour of the Sydney Opera House.  It was a great introduction to the history of the Opera House and a great chance to see inside the historical landmark.  We stopped into several of the theaters and also into the Concert Hall.  Following the conclusion of the tour we stopped for lunch just off the boardwalk.  Once we restored our energy we began our hike across the Sydney Harbour Bridge.  It was a bit of a walk however from the bridge we got some great views of the city and also the Opera House.  Once to the other side we took a ferry ride back across to Darling Harbour.  This is located very close to our apartment and the kids played for a while in the park before we headed for a rest.  After a short recharge we wrapped up our day by stopping for dinner at a Tapas Restaurant near our apartment.  After a great meal we took a bus back to the Harbour so we could see the Sydney Harbour Bridge and Opera House in the nighttime sky with all the lights.   

Day five, our last day in Sydney, we took a tour of the Blue Mountains.  In the morning we boarded our tour bus for our first stop on the banks of the Nepean River.  Following this we went to Wentworth Falls.  We took approximately 200 steps down the mountain through the bush to take in some of the most beautiful waterfalls in the area.  Afterwards we stopped for lunch in Leura, the garden village.  Next we visited Katoomba home of the Three Sisters Rock Formation in the Blue Mountains.  We boarded a cable car to move from one side of the canyon to the other providing some great views.  Then we rode the world's steepest inclined railway and enjoyed a walk in the rain forest.  Following this we visited Kings Tableland which provided a tremendous view of the canyon as you peered over the edge of the cliff (yep no rails!).  Next we stopped at an Aboriginal Site to learn about their rock engravings.  Lastly on the way home we stopped at the 2000 Olympic Games Park.  Completing our journey back home we boarded a river cruise along the Parramatta River to Darling Harbour.  

We cannot say enough about how much we loved Sydney.  There is so much to take in and the city has so much to offer from historical landmarks, a beautiful Harbour, amazing animals and so much more.  The city has been such a wonderful place to visit!  On now to Cairns, Austrailia, home of the Great Barrier Reef!  

Cairns, Australia

Our second stop on the Australia adventure was the arrival at Cairns.  It was another early morning start to catch our plane, we are pretty efficient now as travelers!  We arrived into Cairns at 11am and were greeted by 90 degree weather and abundant sunshine.  We quickly checked into the hotel, grabbed the necessities and headed down to the promenade and boardwalk.  What a beautiful area and contrasting to what we experienced in Sydney.  Cairns is more of a beech city with our hotel being located right on the ocean with some great views of the water and mountainside. We ate lunch at The Pier Bar and Grill right on the ocean.  Following lunch we walked over to the Esplanade Lagoon just off the promenade where you can find many beach front shops.  This is a very large community pool right on the ocean front, I hate to call it a pool because of it's unique design.  Around the pool it was sand entry into the water and then the typical swimming pool cement bottom.  You really felt like you were in the middle of a tropical resort.  The kids had a blast all afternoon in the water and the adults as well!  While the kids swam I slipped away to look at a few Aborigine shops for something to bring home as a remembrance of our Australian visit.  I found a great store where I purchased an Australian Didjeridu.  This is a musical instrument used by the Aboriginals in their singing and dancing.  This is a piece of timber, hollow, and made from a tree branch or trunk which has been hallowed out.  On the outside the Aboriginal artist decorates the instrument with great care and detail.  The artist of the Didjeridu we bought was Nathan Mundraby (Midin) a descendent of the Jabulum Mandingalbay Clan - Yidinji Rain forest People and Lama Lama Tribe.  After our day of swimming we ate a great seafood dinner right on the Promenade looking out onto the ocean.  It was a great day!

Our day two in Cairns was something we were all looking forward to very much, snorkeling on the Outer ring of the Great Barrier Reef (definitely a bucket list item).  Today was one of the days while in the middle of snorkeling I had to say to myself that I could not believe I was on the Great Barrier Reef and what a tremendous opportunity we have been given.  In the morning we boarded the Tusa Dive boat with about 30 other people and headed out for an hour and forty five minute ride to the Outer Ring.  We were fortunate to have beautiful weather at 90 degrees and calm wind, this allowed out boat to make a longer trip out to the furthest point of the Great Barrier Reef where the conditions are optimal.  We spent the first part of our day on the Saxon Reef, named the Magic Wall.   Then in the afternoon we moved onto Hastings Reef.  It is really hard to describe the experience and do it justice.  The clear blue water, amazing coral and colorful fish that inhabit the Reef is simply unbelievable to see.  If all this was not enough, I was one of the fortunate few who happened to explore upon a sea turtle in the water.  I literally did not come back to the boat but to only each lunch and change locations, thus giving myself time far away from the boat to explore.  When a stumbled upon the Sea Turtle we swam side by side for our ten minutes and he seem just as content as I was to move along with one another.  The kids loved the day as Cooper is now a seasoned pro snorkeler having done so in the Phi Phi Islands and Bali.  Brady really got into this time and he was very excited when we found Nemo in the water!  Another day I will never forget with Natalie and the boys!

Our last day in Cairns was spent unwinding and relaxing in the sun.  We returned to the Esplanade Lagoon where the kids built sand castles and played with us in the water.  W have been blessed thus far with some beautiful weather while in Australia.  We now move to our next destination of Auckland and ChristChurch, New Zealand.  We enjoyed every moment of Australia and the country truly exceeded our expectations!

Xi'an, China

While living in China we are trying our best to explore everything it has to offer, however as the world’s most populous country at 1.3 billion and the second largest by land mass this is not an easy task.  Thus far we have visited Shanghai, Hong Kong, Hangzhou and Szuhou.  Now we can cross off Xi’an from our list of places to see!  For a country of it's massive size and varied geography, it's surprising how just over a year ago from outside of China I did not appreciate the extent of the country's attractions, many of them natural wonders to rival any in the world. 

So off we went to see the 8^th wonder of the world the Terracotta Soldiers and the city of Xi’an.  Xi’an is one of the oldest cities in China with over 3,100 years of history.  Xi’an was once the capital city of China and now has 8 million residents.  Apart from the Terracotta Soldiers the city was also important because of “Silk Road”, during the Han Dynasty (206BC – 220AD) connecting east and west trade routes (Asia and Europe) while obtaining the name from the lucrative Chinese silk traded along it.  The city is literally a living breathing museum.   

On Friday we started our exploring with the Terracotta Warrior Museum.  The Terracotta Soldiers are a collection of sculptures depicting the armies of Qin Shi Huang, the first Emperor of China.   This life size soldiers standing at 6ft tall were buried with the emperor in 210–209 BC and whose purpose was to protect the emperor in his afterlife.  These sculptures were discover in 1974 (hard to believe they went undiscovered for so long) by a local farmer digging a well (Brady shook hands with the farmer as seen in the picture below).  Current estimates are that in the three pits containing the Terracotta Army there were over 8,000 soldiers, 130 chariots with 520 horses and 150 cavalry horses, the majority of which are still buried in the pits nearby Qin Shi Huang's mausoleum.  I could literally go on and on about the history of the soldiers, it is easy to understand why this is seen as the 8^th wonder of the world and the greatest discovery in the 20^th century.  Attached are a few pictures from our visit.  We purchased several soldiers to bring back to the U.S. with us to remember our visit (two of which stand about 3 ft and another at 5ft). 

Here is one of the statue's we purchased (stands about as tall as Cooper....)

Next we visited Muslim Street.  As the name implies it is the hub of the Muslim community in China covering several blocks inhabited by over 20,000 Muslims.  Walking along the streets you find Muslim food and many souvenir markets where you can find just about anything.  On Saturday we returned to the market to do some additional sightseeing and shopping, it was here that our family very bravely ate with our tour guide in a local street market restaurant.  The dumplings were delicious and we just did not think about the cleanliness in which the food was prepared ;)

Lastly we ended our day at the Tang Dynasty Show.  This was a great performance of ancient Chinese music and dance.  Throughout the show we enjoyed playing of musical instruments, singing, dancing and also beautiful costumes.  It gave us a great view of ancient China through history, arts, distinct traditions and customs.

To think that everything we did on Friday was enough, what we experienced on Saturday was icing on the cake!  Our first stop of the day was visiting the City Wall.  Originally built during the old Tang Dynasty (618 - 907) it's the most complete city wall that has survived in China, as well being one of the largest ancient military defensive systems in the world.  The wall now stands 40 feet tall, 40-46 feet wide at the top and 50-60 feet thick at the bottom. It covers 8.5 miles in length with a deep moat surrounding it.  It is impossible to miss the wall that surrounds the inner city, it is very grand and also beautifully decorated.  The best part was that we rented to tandem mountain bikes and rode around the entire wall, stopping at various points to see the city views.  It was surreal to think of all the history and take in the once in a lifetime experience.  We all had a blast!

As mentioned we traveled back to the Muslim Market area to do some additional shopping and we also visited the Great Mosque. This is one of the oldest, largest and best-preserved Islamic mosques in China.  This mosque was built in 742 during the Tang Dynasty (618-907).  This was a result of Islam being introduced into Northwest China by Arab merchants and travelers from Persia and Afghanistan during the mid-7th century when some of them settled down in China and married women of Han Nationality.  It was great to see the design of mixed architecture - traditional Muslim and Chinese styles.

Next we stopped to see the Big Wild Goose Pagoda, an ancient building and a holy place for Buddhists originally built in 652.  Inside the pagoda there are stairs which twist up to the top which we climbed to overlook the panorama of Xian City.  Legend has it the higher you climb the more success you have in life, of course we had to go to the top!  We learned the origins of the name from our tour guide.  One day the Buddhists could not find meat to buy. Upon seeing a group of big wild geese flying by, a monk said to himself: 'Today we have no meat. I hope the merciful Bodhisattva will give us some.' At that very moment, the leading wild goose broke its wings and fell to the ground. All the monks were startled and believed that Bodhisattva showed his spirit to order them to show more devotion. They established a pagoda where the wild goose fell and stopped eating meat. Hence its name.



Lastly to finish our day we walked from the Pagoda and stopped to see the City Fountain.  However this is not your typical fountain, it cost $60 million to build.  It’s the largest musical fountain square in Asia, music and light is set against a dramatic backdrop of the thousand year old Big Wild Goose Pagoda.   

Our last day in Xi’an was no disappointment.   We traveled to the Bell Tower which marks the geographical center of Xi’an.   The tower was built in 1384 by Emperor Zhu Yuanzhang as a way to dominate the surrounding countryside and provide early warning of attack by rival rulers.



Our next stop was to visit the grandmother of our tour guide.   We had asked about cave living in China and he allowed us to see where he grew up and his grandmother still resides.  We learned that 30 million Chinese people live in Caves.  Since it is built into the mountain side it is naturally cool in the summer and warm in the winter.   Many caves  are not for sale or rent because they are handed down from one generation to another - though for just how many generations, people often can't say.  This was the case with the grandmother, she could only estimate for her family of 150 years.  The grandmother sleeps on a kang, a traditional bed with a fire underneath for warmth.  There was a separate building (small) that was used for cooking.  She seemed very comfortable and at ease with her lifestyle entertaining all the questions that we had.  She loved Brady, asking many times if he would live with her.  What a great experience, making us appreciate even with very little hapiness is easily measured.

 

 

 

Next we visited the Hanyangling Muesum of Han Dynasty.    This was a joint tomb of Liu Qi, a notable emperor of the Han Dynasty (206 BC-24AD), and his empress, Empress Wang. It was built in the year 153 AD and covers an area of 4,942 acres.  There are 86 outside pits laid with burial objects around the tomb.  In the 1990s, archaeologists excavated ten outside pits and found burial objects include naked pottery figurines, chariots and horses, weapons, articles of everyday use and a large number of pottery animals.   Compared with the Qin Terra Cotta Warriors and Horses, the pottery figures are one tenth of the actual objects. According to the archaeologists, the naked figures had clothes on and wooden arms which had decayed and fallen off over years.  It was another piece of history that we are glad to have experienced.

 

We loved our trip to Xi’an and the history we learned in the process.  Looking forward to our next trip in three weeks to Austrailia, New Zealand, and Fiji!