Beijing Zoo

We are back in Beijing. The flight started off early but ended up being delayed again. We sat on the plane eating breakfast for a couple of hours. Maya Lanlan got a book to read and she almost read the whole thing and we've not even taken off yet. I don't think she had any idea what to expect as far as the actual flying goes. It was new being on the plane all together. At first she seemed ok but then panicked and became unruly, not wanting to keep her seat belt on. Then as soon as the plane took off she fell asleep, just like that, I was afraid she may have passed out from the whole thing but she was breathing ok and when I tried to move her into a better position for sleeping she got  little upset but went back to sleep. At least I knew she was ok. So she slept through the two hour ride which was wonderful but when she woke up for landing it was more of the same. The flight attendant came by a couple of times and told her she had to keep the window shade up, she kept putting it down, lowering the food tray, taking off her seatbelt numerous times. At last we landed and got on the bus to head to the hotel.

The Nanchang airport was much nicer than the Beijing airport but of course more people pass through Beijing. It was a little cooler in Beijing but not by much. It is still too hot for us Canadians but a little more bearable.

Stopped off for coffee for Charlie, he got a cup and then he got a whole box of more packets. We didn't know we bought the whole box but oh well, it will be used somewhere along the way. Tea is served a lot more often so it's not all that easy to get a good cup of coffee.

At the airport our FOI flag waited for us and a new guide named Vivian and Michael.  Back in Beijing we only got a few minutes in our room and then we had to head down to get photos taken of all the children and do some more paperwork for Canadian citizenship. Our agency lady keeps everything pretty straight forward and in order. Maya did ok for picture taking though it lasted a little longer than expected as all the families piled into the room almost all at once, it quickly became over heated, I barely made it out.

There's no time to be waisted. Soon after picture taking we were off to the Beijing Zoo. Maya said she's never been to the Zoo so she was a little interested. I'd wanted to see the Zoo as I've seen it through other families but in reality it was not quite as spectacular as I'd imagined. The highlight were the Pandas, though we also have Pandas on loan at the moment in Toronto. The Pandas sat around eating bamboo and there was quite a crowd around them. They are cute, I must admit, they just look so cute and innocent and too cute on any product that depicts their likeness.  Some pens where the wolves were and the polar bear looked rather small.

Not long after this cheeky self portrait she began to show that rebellious side, climbing where she herself read moments before there is no climbing to be done, putting her foot even over the fence as if she might jump into the pen. When I take her by the hand she gets more angry. Again all too overwhelming I'm sure. It was a while before she settled down. We went to get ice cream but she changed her mind many times. Too many choices also make her confused. Whereas before she would've had set times for everything and she ate what she was given, the new freedom to choose is proving very difficult.

I don't know if this was a store or what but it was on the way to the washroom but I thought the fake forest was cool. Saw the stand up toilets only once so far. Anyway, soon after Maya's resistance it was like nothing happened. She was all Mommy and Daddy again and everything was fine for the rest of the night.