Day 2 in Nanjing with Sam (our guide/translator) Yuejiang Tower

One of Nanjing's city gates near the Yuejiang Tower

On way up to the Yuejiang Tower

On way up to the Yuejiang Tower. 

That's Sam, our guide/translator, hiking up to Yuejiang Tower. Isaiah is on the right  up ahead of us.

Still climbing up to the Yuejiang Tower.

Looking down from the Yuejiang Tower in Nanjing.

The Yuejiang Tower in NW Nanjing sits on Lion Hill near the banks of the Yangtze River.   

Isaiah at Yuejiang Tower

Inside Yuejiang Tower

Roof of the Yuejiang Tower

The Treaty of Nanking (Nanjing) was signed on August 29, 1842 to mark the end of the First Opium War (1839-1842) between the UK of Great Britain and Ireland and the Qing Dynasty of China. It was the first of what the Chinese called the unequal treaties because Britain had no obligations in return. This picture was taken from Yuejiang Tower looking down over the Nanjing City Wall. The yellowish building on the other side of the wall is where the unequal treaties were signed. 

Ceiling inside the Yuejiang Tower

Sam and Becky having a peach sundae at KFC for a break in some air conditioning. Yum!

First Day With Samantha Wang, our personal guide/translator in Nanjing

Sam and Isaiah on the left--Purple Mountain, Nanjing

Isaiah lifting bar to hop off.

Nanjing City Wall--longest city wall in the world.

Close up of Nanjing City Wall

Nanjing City Tree, brought over from France, Sycamore.

Dr. Sun Yatsen Mausoleum, Father of Modern Day China. Such wonderful philosophies. Sam shared so much with us about the structure, meaning, etc. 

Becky, Dax, and Isaiah at Dr. Sun Yatsen Mausoleum

Looking down from the Dr. Sun Yatsen Mausoleum. So beautiful.

You can see Isaiah way ahead of us (kind of appears to be on my shoulder). We are walking down from the Dr. Sun Yatsen Mausoleum. Notice the sweat. Hot and humid, always. 

Subway--Isaiah casually hanging on.

Crazy boy, Isaiah, by movie theatre. On our way to eat at Sam's top pick for lunch.

Restaurant with authentic Nanjing food. One of Sam's favorite spots. Okay, one of  Dax's favorite spots, too! :)

Another restaurant picture. Beautiful place.

Bus in Nanjing

Nanjing

More of Nanjing

Nanjing

What a blessing Sam was to us in Nanjing. She took Isaiah to some shops and said, "Go nuts, Isaiah!" That boy loves to shop. Here is Same helping Isaiah sort through some toys.

Rest Day in Nanjing

This is what we saw when we walked outside of our hotel in Nanjing.  Directly across the street from us was a Starbucks. We couldn't figure out how to cross the street.  We quickly learned to go down to the subway and cross UNDER the street. 

We found a pizza hut and this boy wasn't touching the pizza. We weren't either!

Isaiah took this picture of us at Pizza Hut in Nanjing.

Okay, as hungry as we were when we arrived in Nanjing, the boys would not touch this pizza. This "sauce" is not pizza sauce. It tasted kind of like soy sauce with other seasoning, kind of sweet and maybe a hint of cinnamon? Who knows? Anyway, we paid for it, but had them take it away and bring me and Dax some spaghetti. We also noticed that all the Chinese customers in this Pizza Hut ate their pieces of pizza with knives and forks. Also, it's a "formal" restaurant setting with wonderful service. 

We had three of these in our hotel room in Nanjing. I was thinking, "Good gosh, are we going to have a chemical attack or something in this area?" Turns out they are simply for use during a fire evacuation. Whew! :)

Travel Day from Hong Kong to Nanjing

On Dragon Air flight from Hong Kong to Shanghai

Food on the plane--I thought this melon was sushi or something. The white melon was delicious! Do you know what those white long small spoon like things are for that came with our meal? I was thinking, "Great, something other than chop sticks." LOL. We didn't figure out what they were until we looked over at the guy sitting next to Isaiah. They are gum scrapers to use after you eat. 

Bullet train from Shanghai to Nanjing. Maxed out at 300 km/hr.  I wish I could have captured all that we saw between Shanghai and Nanjing from our view on the train. 

A squat toilet experience in the Shanghai train station. I was so excited because it actually was in a  stall with a door. The door even had a hook on it that I could hang my backpack on that contained my Clorox wipes, regular wipes, and toilet paper. Then, I discovered what was wrong with the situation at hand. There is a space under the wall on both the right and the left. This caused issues with other women's urine splashing over onto my legs. So, they must have not been Chinese ladies on either side of me or something. I bet they don't splash. The other issue was that the door was so close to the toilet that my knees would push it open. However, there was some more good news. The door was so short that I could actually reach up and hold onto the top of with my fingertips...much easier this way so I wouldn't fall down or in. So, I did Clorox the splatter from the other people off my legs. Eww...One thing I did find impressive is the cleanliness of this restroom. There were 3 people squatting by the place you wash your hands (with only water, no soap or towels or air to dry your hands). They held a tool like you clean off your car windshields with and a bucket. They would clean the squat toilet area immediately after you used it. Interesting. Note--this was the ONLY time I saw this. 

Isaiah asleep on the bullet train.

This was taken from the backseat of our taxi from the Nanjing train station to our hotel. This taxi is basically  the size of a Toyota Corolla. Dax, Isaiah, and I sat in the back seat. Our 3 large suitcases kind of fit in the trunk, but of course, the trunk lid was wide open. The driver actually used a shoe string to tie it down. So, there we were, the 3 of us in the backseat of a Nanjing taxi with a definite language barrier. This ride was one we will never forget. It rivaled any amusement park ride imaginable. You should have seen the look of terror on Isaiah's face. I imagine our faces mirrored his. What an amazing memory! 

Victoria Peak ("The Peak") Hong Kong

We took the bus up the backside of "The Peak"--oh my! The Peak is the highest mountain on Hong Kong Island and was a natural signaling post for incoming cargo ships in the 19th century. This view overlooks the Victoria Harbor.

Sunset at Victoria Peak

Isaiah played tag for hours with kids from China and the Philippines. We loved the infectious giggles!

I grabbed this photo from the internet because Dax has the night photos on his computer. But yes, it is this beautiful from the Peak.

Series of fake sleep photos. It was like 11 p.m. after a full day exploring the Peak. This is in the Peak Tower. 

Fake sleep photo 2

Fake sleep photo 3

Fake sleep photo 4

We rode the Peak Tramway down. What a crowded, pushy, line process to get on a tram and it was nearly midnight.

Found a drink in a machine that Isaiah could tolerate. First drink other than bottled water. Waiting at the Star Ferry Terminal.

Ocean Park in Aberdeen, Hong Kong

View from Cable Car at Ocean Park, Aberdeen, Hong Kong

Dax and Isaiah overlooking ocean at Ocean Park.

Looking down from ferris wheel with Dax and Isaiah at the roller coaster called the Dragon. Isaiah and I rode the  Dragon multiple times. He had a blast--so did I! He also enjoyed the bumber cars, the rapids water ride, the flying swings among others. We also saw two small aquariums at Ocean Park. The first one was about the Yangtze River. The second was the main aquarium. We were nearly to the last exhibit of the main aquarium and Isaiah fell and nailed his shin bone on a marble like bench. Whew he hurt! Screamed, yelled, cried. Two teenage girls gave him their balloon art. A lady from India kept checking to make sure he was okay. And finally, on the bus ride back to the MTR station, some little Chinese children entertained him and made him feel better. Isaiah was like a star today. One small chinese girl (like 2-3 years old) came up to him and gave him a hug. We road the rapids ride with her parents. Also, two teenage girls wanted me to take a picture of him and them together. Too funny. He loved all the attention today.

Isaiah and a mascot at Ocean Park, Hong Kong. So entertaining.

More at Ocean Park, Hong Kong.

Dragon Dance at Ocean Park, Hong Kong

The two Chinese boys came running to the top back of the bus (from downstairs). They ran right up to us and looked at Isaiah (who had teary eyes from his fall in the aquarium). The just looked at him. We were giving Isaiah a piece of gum to take his mind off of his shin bone and also gave these 2 boys a piece of gum each. They nodded and just giggled and pointed and talked. Then, all of  sudden, they took off back to the downstairs level of the bus, Within a couple of minutes they returned with 3 little girls. We also gave them some gum. They kept disappearing and coming back to us, pointing talking, laughing. We taught them to blow bubbles. We also showed them our pictures from the camera and they would giggle and laugh. They were such sweet joyous children. Isaiah was a amazed and really enjoyed them. The next photo is actually a short video. I don't know it will work or not, but we thought we'd give it a whirl. The kids stayed by us until we all exited the bus at the end of the line.