International Hotel in Beijing, China (40.044438,116.367188)
Click the LAT/LON coordinates (WGS84) for our current location
Partly Sunny, 12C, Winds W 7 km/h

Summary: Medical evaluation a the Beijing SOS Clinic near the Canadian embassy.

Details: Lauren's examination was unremarkable with the exception that she is a little small. At 7.0 kg, we believe that she is the smallest baby in our group. The examination consisted of weight, height a very brief physical examination, followed by an evaluation of her hearing and questions about her motor skills development. The doctor conducting the examination was Canadian. Dr. Lucy Chen was great to us taking the time to explain about orphaned children and their potential for developmental delays. After the exam was over, we payed our fees and off we went to do a little shopping at a local grocery store while we waited for the other families to finish.

Our lunch, after we got back to the hotel was at McDonald's. There are quite a few of them in Beijing and this was the second time we have ate there since we have arrived in China. The food is very consistent. The Big Macs and fries are identical and the diet Coke tastes a little different. It's also very cheap. A Big Mac, medium fries and a drink are 18 yuan ($2.70 CDN). This was Lauren's first visit to a McDonald's and she enjoyed the fries.

International Hotel in Beijing, China (40.044438,116.367188)
Click the LAT/LON coordinates (WGS84) for our current location
Sunny, 12C, Winds NW 10 km/h

Summary: A morning tour to the Great Wall and an a encounter at the hotel lounge.

Details: Another early morning that had us on the bus at 8:30 AM. Lauren has been an excellent sleeper and we have not had to get up during the night with her with the exception of her first night. We traveled about an hour outside of Beijing and stopped at a jade factory where they made and sold jade items. Sandra managed to talk me into buying her a nice grade 1 jade bangle. We have bought a lot of items back to remember this trip and to help tell the story to Lauren when she gets older. We will wait until I get back to tell you about all of them.



The wall is incredible. The section that we were in was in a fortified valley that was used as a tourist section now. The wall is very steep and very worn by all the tourists that climb this area. Since it we were in a valley it was quite windy so we needed to dress rather warmly. The last picture of this section shows a chain covered in modern locks. I don't know the significance of those locks but when I saw it I did remember an Amazing Race episode that had those locks in it.

Still where ever we go, we attract attention. I was having special daddy time with Lauren in the hotel lounge having a drink and feeding her Cheerios. We were actually waiting for Ross, Tracy's dad, to join us after a day of wall climbing Lauren was sitting in the chair next to me happily talking and eating. A older Chinese man and his 30-something son came over to us. The man, who was staggering drunk, sat in the chair opposite me and starting talking to me. I asked the son what is he saying and he said that his father does not speak any English. No kidding, I thought. I said to him, "can you translate for me". The son said, "No, he is my father". By this point I had picked up Lauren and the staff was encouraging me to move to another table. The older father would not leave even with his son grabbing his arm at least 3 times. I got up from the table and took my belonging and walked to another table out of site of the man. We never saw him again. I later asked the wait staff what his problem was. My waiter said that this gentleman had consumed 10 beer and some very cheap (500ml is $1 CDN) Chinese rice wine that was 56% (I have a bottle). I then asked him, what did he say? He said that that man was a old military soldier. He thinks what you are doing is a great thing and he wishes you much joy and happiness.

International Hotel in Beijing, China (40.044438,116.367188)
Click the LAT/LON coordinates (WGS84) for our current location
Sunny, 15C, Winds NW 10 km/h

Summary: Another non-touring day to fill our Lauren's visa application and a Peking duck dinner.

Details: A day of rest after yesterdays travel. We got us and had breakfast and was grateful to be back in Beijing. After we ate we have a photographer come from the Canadian embassy to take pictures for the babies visas. Her battery died in her Canon 10D and I had to lend her my spare so that she could finish the shoot. Next we had to fill out Lauren's visa application. A total of 10 documents had to be submitted with the application and we still need to complete the medical on Monday morning. Later in the afternoon I did some grocery shopping and took a few pictures outside our hotel. Dinner was at a local restaurant that basically cooked our duck on the street outside the restaurant. I doesn't look very appetizing, but it was actually very good. Tomorrow is the Great Wall tour in the morning.

Gloria Plaza Hotel, Nanchang, Jiangxi, China (28.687560,115.877704)
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Rain, 10C, Winds N 5 km/h

Summary: Picked up Lauren's Chinese passport at police station and travel back to Beijing.

Details: A little longer day that usual for us today. We needed to be out of the hotel at 10:00 AM to travel to the police station to pick up Lauren's passport. It was a busy place but we only needed to supply our passports and the Adoption Registration notice to get her passport. This was a nessesary step as she will be getting a Canadian visa in her passport for her trip back to Canada. I took a few pictures in the station, which was full of families and not just our group, getting passports.



The flight back to Beijing was at 6:15 PM and we had to check out of our hotel at 4:00 PM. It was only a 2 hour flight but Lauren was really fussy. I don't think we should have let her sleep on the bus. She didn't seem to have a problem with her ears but we really cannot tell as she was squirming and very hard to keep settled. We tried our best with cookies, crackers, toys and a variety of sitting and standing position. We got to the International Hotel (the one we stayed in last week) around 10:00 PM. We got a few snacks and then off to bed. Tomorrow is the Canadian visa application paperwork in preparation for the trip back home. Enjoy some of the pictures.

Gloria Plaza Hotel, Nanchang, Jiangxi, China (28.687560,115.877704)
Click the LAT/LON coordinates (WGS84) for our current location
Haze, 12C, Winds NW 5 km/h

Summary: Took a day off from site seeing and spent some time around the hotel.

Details: Sandra and I decided to pass on the trip into the country that was scheduled this morning and just take our time getting to know Lauren. We went on a little excursion to find the post office that was a short distance from the hotel. We took a few pictures in our room that you might want to see. Later in evening we went for dinner in an authentic Chinese restaurant. It was okay. We had duck, chicken, pork, beef, and vegetable dishes and of course some rice and congee for the babies. It cost us $5 CDN per person, including beer.