Going the Way of the Dragon

Your Chinese word of the day is "mamahuhu" (pronounced mamahoohoo).  It means so-so, and I think that pretty much sums up how I'm feeling about leaving China.  While I'm super excited to see my family, friends and cat again, I'm also sad to have to leave this wonderful, magical place. It's been a whirlwind tour of China to say the least, and now we're heading home.  In China, the roofs of pagodas serve as a sort of compass.  Each corner of the pagoda has a different animal on it and each animal corresponds to a different direction on the compass.  The tiger is always on the west corner, the turtle on the north, the bird on the south and the dragon on the east.  Today we are going the way of the dragon, winging our way back to our loved ones while leaving behind some wonderful people that it's been our privilege to get to know.  I'd like to introduce you to some of them.

This is Alan, our Shanghai local guide.  He was awesome, so knowledgeable and funny.  We all loved him to death. Don't you think he looks like he's about 14 years old?  He's actually a ripe old 33. 

This is Susan.  She was our Xi'an local guide.  Isn't she adorable?  She looks just like a little doll.  She was super sweet and we all loved her hip China fashion sense.

And then there was David. He was our China national guide and also served as our local guide in Beijing, his hometown.  What can we say?  We all loved him.  He was so patient, kind and sweet, as well as keeping us entertained with his amazing knowledge of China and Chinese culture along with his wonderful sense of humor.   He escorted us around China with a smile on his face and looked after our every need morning, noon and night while always being ready to jump in and join in the fun.  We just can't say enough good things about him.   He was phenomenal!

Last but not least, I'd like to give a shout-out to our tour group.  What an awesome group of people!  It was a pleasure being "sticky rice" with them for the last ten days.  We were so fortunate that everyone in our group got along really well and we all kind of looked out for each other.  Every single one of them was super nice and super fun and there was no drama, which is amazing when you think about 28 people, most of whom didn't know each other before they came, being jammed together and herded around China while jet-lagged and sleep-deprived.  They were a super fun group to travel with and we feel fortunate that they are all a part of our China memories.

All of us are looking forward to seeing all of you very soon.  Thanks for joining us on our excellent China adventure!  Signing off from China now...

                                                            Peace out!