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)
Click the LAT/LON coordinates (WGS84) for our current location
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.

Gloria Plaza Hotel, Nanchang, Jiangxi, China (28.687560,115.877704)
Click the LAT/LON coordinates (WGS84) for our current location
Haze, 20C, Winds NW 5 km/h

Summary: Trip to the People's Park and a porcelain shop.

Details: Today we toured a little and visited a public park in Nanchang called the People's Park. We were driven by bus about 15 minutes from the hotel. Sandra carried Lauren with the carrier which has worked very well for us. The hotel has lent us a stroller but we think that Lauren will not be happy sitting in it. She has been a little fussy with sitting with us for dinner. It's winter in China and things are looking a little drab in the park and us Canadians were in short sleeve shits and pants while most Chinese were wearing jackets. A couple of shots of Sandra and Lauren in the park to give you an idea of some of the space. Below find a photo of Ross and our two tour guides, Mary and Monica (their English names) who for the record have been excellent in keeping us organized and on time. Wherever we have been we have generated some attention from all the local people. Everywhere people stop to talk to people in our group, even though we cannot understand them. Most mean us well but other stop to tell us that we should dress the babies warmer.



A short video (60s) we shot in our hotel room today can be found here. Lauren was chattering quite a bit until the camera came out. The talking that you do hear is mostly me, sorry. The link will take to to another page to play the video and it will autostart and repeat. Hit the browser 'back' button to return to this story

Another short video (60s) we shot in the People's Park can be found here. This was a little more than the typical commotion that our group would cause as we would walk about. The ladies were concerned that our children were not dressed enough. The link will take to to another page to play the video and it will autostart and repeat. Hit the browser 'back' button to return to this story

Gloria Plaza Hotel, Nanchang, Jiangxi, China (28.687560,115.877704)
Click the LAT/LON coordinates (WGS84) for our current location
Haze, 18C, Winds W 5 km/h

Summary: Trip to local markets in Nanchang.

Details: Unbelievable, we didn't take any pictures today. We spend some time shopping at the local markets and walking through the large pedestrian mall that is in Nanchang. I guess we were enjoying our time being with Lauren so picture were not a priority. I also spend all a lot of time trying to get the website back online. I am very disappointed that I have had to waste so much time trying to remember and retyping all the missing information. I've caught up now and our daily events should be available the next morning for everyone following back home.