A Bomb

Today we went to the Hiroshima Peace Memorial.  As you can guess it is here because of an atomic bomb (called an A Bomb) that hit in world war 2. Every thing was flattened in a 2 km radius . The temperature was 3,000-4,000 degrees celsius. Some people melted to death. Survivors say people were jumping in the river and after there were many dead bodies floating in the river. The US picked Hiroshima to drop the A bomb on because they had no prisoners of war.

The time the bomb exploded - August 6th, 1945

A photo of Hiroshima after the bomb (notice the dome)

The dome stands today as a reminder.

The origami crane is a symbol of peace. It originated from a girl who had cancer because of the A bomb and when she was in the hospital she made cranes for wishes for her life. Some of the cranes were so small she had to use a needle to fold them. She made over one thousand cranes. 8 months after she was in the hospital she died. Her classmates decided to make a memorial to represent all the children who died as a result of the A bomb.  I made an origami crane to put at the memorial. It was purple and white.

The dome through the Peace Arch

A monument to Sadako and all children affected by the bomb.

My crane (the purple one) amongst many.

Thanks for understanding the problems an atomic bomb can create and how two generations are affected by it.

Mattias

A Tale of Two Countries

The Tale of Two Countries...

Twenty-one years ago I traveled for a spell after living overseas and my travels took me to many wonderful places. Two specific countries I traveled to on that particular journey we have traveled to on this trip as well. And while it is one thing to experience a country for the first time, it is quite another to revisit a place after so many years - complete with faded memories and impressions. In Nepal and China this second experience cannot be further apart in terms of changes I’ve seen and impressions they have left on me.

Nepal, for most intents and purposes, would have ranked twenty-one years ago as one of my favourites. That did not change. The people are genuine and always quick with a smile, the towns and cities are chaotic and colourful, and the mountain experience is always exhilarating. China on the other hand I remember to be rewarding, but it was also incredibly hard traveling. It wore me down. The people were harsh, not overly friendly toward us and suspicious of foreigners. Many towns in China in 1990 seemed drab and desperate.

Happy playing - as kids should be.

In Nepal what struck me most on this trip was how little things had changed. Over two decades ago I had the impression that Nepal would go places. Granted, as a country it probably has little the rest of the world needs. But the people were so resourceful; able to deliver whatever travelers desired. Surely this could be extended to other areas like textile manufacturing and at the time this seemed to be happening. In the area of tourism they seemed progressive. On treks you saw a clear system of organization and even attention to being environmentally friendlier like incentives for locals to use less wood and more gas in cooking - the cost passed on to the trekkers.

A Nepalese bus...half full

I always wanted to return to Nepal partly to experience the magic of before, and also out curiosity. How had Nepal faired? Well, the magic is still there, but as a country Nepal has not faired too well. Since my last visit Nepal has gone through years of political instability and violence. The optimism that was evident then has lost it’s shine. The place felt pretty much the same as it did twenty years ago and maybe even had taken a few steps back. Sure there were more teahouses in the Langtang valley where we trekked bringing it on par with some of the more popular routes, but Kathmandu was more polluted, poor, and barely hanging on. Even electricity is regular rationed in the nation’s capital. The general feeling of optimism has been replaced with skepticism typical of places that have long ago seen better times (and the better times of Nepal where never really that good). Now often western tourists tout the places that haven’t changed - that town or country that time seems to have forgotten. I don’t really subscribe to that sentiment if it means people who can’t attain even their basic needs and whose rights are woefully neglected. Nepal, and especially Kathmandu, are like that.

China, on the other hand, is not. Given the above description about China twenty years ago, I do wonder how it made it onto our itinerary for the Four-eign the World trip? It could be that Mima or Mattias circled it on the map, but it also had something to do with the fact that we wanted to see what all the hype was about. Was life in China really on par with all the growth and changes we had been hearing? Well, whereas Nepal felt as if I was back there twenty years ago, China was totally unfamiliar to me. The same cities and spots I had been to were completely unrecognizable outside of a few key landmarks in Beijing. Major infrastructure projects are everywhere as building cranes proliferate both urban and rural landscapes. It seems as though apartment complexes are being built for 1.4 billion people to simultaneously move out of the Hutongs and villages and take up residence.

Shanghai skyline and smog

Xian - symbols of old and new

Even the people have changed - they are somehow softer, friendlier, ...they wear brighter clothes (though the fashionista side of me tells me they have some work to do here...). Sure, in lineups they push as well as they ever did, but they are different from what I remember. They are no longer the communists fearing the evil westerner. In fact, they have embraced more aspects of capitalism than I could ever had imagined possible in a short twenty years. I’ll ignore the ramifications (especially environmental) of this incredible growth, and China’s human rights record will still be questionable for a while yet. However, there are livable cities being built, food in the markets, and happy and fed children going to school.

15 seconds of protest and ???

If Nepal felt like time stood still and even slipped backwards, the contrast of China is one of a whole nation having been transported on their high speed trains. For different reasons, I will continue to think, maybe worry, and wonder about both.

Dun da da dah dah dun dun dahhhh....Disneyland

Dun da da dah dah dun dun dahhhh!

I am a super hero and I am here to tell you about Disneyland!

(He he he...)

Hi this is Emilia and we went to Disneyland while we were in Hong Kong.

The first ride that we went on was called Space Mountain. If you ever go to Disneyland you HAVE to go on Space Mountain. It is a roller coaster that when it starts going it goes into pitch black where you can't see anything. All of a sudden there are some flashing lights but still you can't see anything. In fact, you can't see anything for the whole ride. Then you start going up a steep hill and when you get to the top of the hill you can see lots of stars and planets, then suddenly - zooooom - you zip around the place and there are sudden turns and drops. The first time on it I was screaming. We actually went on Space Mountain six times because it was one of the only non-babyish rides.

Another one of my favorite rides was driving the Disney cars. It was pretty fun as I sat next to mom in a Disney car driving around the tracks. Luckily (because I'm a crazy driver) there were special things attached to the car and track that stopped the car from going off the tracks.

We also went to two shows. My favorite one, Encounters with Stitch, was really fun because Stitch picked me to tell a little about myself in front of absolutely everybody. He asked a few things like what my name was and how old I was. Then he asked where I was from and when I said Canada he said "Canada, Canada, yippee!! Canada... huh? ... Never heard of Canada". That made me laugh into the microphone which sounded quite awkward! The other show was Lion King and it was fascinating. It was well thought out and my favorite character was a flying bird.

I thought Disneyland was quite the experience and if I ever have the chance to go again I would.

Bye, Emilia

Just When You Think You Have Seen It All!

"Just when you think you have seen it all!" is now the family motto! While we were in Nepal hiking through the mountainsides full of blossoming rhododendrons, Emilia came out with this. How true it is. Nine months of seeing so much and doing so many different things and there seems to be endless more to do.

Hiking at 3000m

In Nepal we reached new heights, hiking to a peak of 4780m...in the beautiful sun - only to be socked in the next day and hiked out in 15cm of freshy. Timing was everything on summit day. Eating delicious Yak cheese made in the village at 3500m that we stayed in for 3 days, playing with the local villager children and stunning the other hikers and porters alike with our kids hiking 10 days with no porters or guides were just a few of the things we did in the Langtang valley. The kids felt proud and confident after that. We were proud of them.

Hong Kong was not new for Bernie or me, but it was fun to share our favorite haunts and to find a new one - HK Disneyland! What a blast and really we just got there in the nick of time for both kids to still appreciate the cheesy little kid stuff.  It is a small venue so we did spend a lot of time on Space Mountain (see Mima's blog). And thanks to Dave and Shelley for putting up with us for so long. Our rushed one day visa only took 7 days!

On to China where we became more the attraction than the attraction we were at. The kids tire of it at times but have been in lots of photos too.  Hanging out at Blu's place was great, the kids are ready to move in...good food, comfy bean bag enormous chair, pools, soccer fields, kids-this is a life of the rich and famous.

Sightseeing with Blu Man Chu

We volunteered at the panda research and breeding centre - yet another highlight for all of us ( see Mattias' blog). We battled 1.4 billion Chinese to see the terra-cotta warriors, hiked nature's stair master up one of China's 4 sacred mountains- the best part was getting high enough to be above the smog ( seriously), and then.....just when we thought life was good and we started to get a bit cocky about how easy travel was.... Our flight to Beijing went sideways. Really, we landed two hours west of Beijing for some unknown reason. We were held on board for three hours, fed dinner and then told the flight would get to Beijing, but perhaps not for another 3 hours or so, maybe.....so a new adventure of busses, fast trains, subways and taxi to get to Donna's. We have a few unknown 20 something helpfuls to thank for getting us here.  First on the plane, then at the train station and then at the taxi stand in the middle of nowhere at midnight! Our Chinese is non existent and we were hooped without their help.

And now after the Great Wall excursion - yet another icon on the world list checked off.... Mima has decided to go to school. She is joining a grade 2 class tomorrow at Western Academy Beijing. Who knows what she will see in the classroom?! She is converted and is trying to talk us into moving abroad to teach internationally. The three schools we have toured are state of the art, and all top notch in all they do, and our friends who work at them all live in pretty swanky places.  But not to worry, though she is sold, we are not. We love the fresh air life at home and think our schools are pretty good too, not to mention our home.

Great Wall image by Mattias

We had the luxury of traveling with some new friends for half our China visit - the Rahals: Daren, Cynthia, Molly and Marcus are on a very similar trip. We were sorry to say goodbye to them;) but hope to see them in Vancouver when we get back!

Hangin with the Rahals

Who knows what is left on our "just when you think you have seen it all" list, but we can't wait to see. And we will let you know as we see it!  

Racoony Bears

Yesterday we went to a Panda Breeding and Research Centre. We volunteered and helped clean up poop and their mess. The poo was very stinky and really really heavy. Did you know that only 20% of the bamboo gets digested? And they need to drink a lot of water even to get that much.

Scooping poop!

We were in charge of Ling Ling’s enclosure. Ling Ling’s poo from one day weighed 38 kilos - we scooped it all, separating it from the bamboo left over.  We had to clean up the one day old bamboo that he wouldn’t eat any more.

Their favorite foods are apples and Panda Cakes which are made out of wheat, corn rice and vitamins. We tried a little bit of one and it would be the last food option I would eat. They only get one cake about the size of a cupcake each day so they don’t get too fat.  We fed them the apples, cakes and bamboo shoots. They are very intelligent and are amazingly quick at stripping the skin of the bamboo.

Feeding Mei Lei apples

We fed one of the most famous Panda’s in the world, her name is Mei Lei. She was a very queen like panda bear and would sit with the cakes in front of her nose that we were holding while she ate her bamboo. Every now and then she would take a bite of her cake or apple. She is very lazy.

There are only 1600 pandas left in the wild in the world and they are only found in China.  Though the Chinese are trying to reintroduce them, the wild bears are stronger and will kill the reintroduced bears for food. There have been no successful reintroductions but they are making a new habitat for bears that is closer to the natural habitat - at the same altitude -  so they can hopefully have a successful reintroduction program.

The section of the center that we worked had nine bears. Three adults and six cubs two years old. One of the cubs won’t eat the healthy cake unless it is with a special formula so they have to do that so the bear gets its vitamins.  When we were feeding them the apples with special vitamins in them, the bears were so smart that they spat out the pills!

Ling Ling snacking on bamboo shoots

Panda or raccoon?

We also saw some red pandas. There are 5000 left in the world and they are found in a few countries. We didn’t clean their sanctuaries but we could observe them for an hour. They are really funny because they always lie in the trees. One time when we were watching them they were fighting for some weird reason. Our volunteer worker said that the red pandas are territorial and solitary like the giant pandas.

It was so fun I would definitely do it again if we could.

Bye Mattias