and a grand view it was!
Today we went to view Elephant Trunk Hill. Dating back millions of years and a with a height of about 200 meters, the Elephant Trunk Hill is a true landmark of Guilin. It got this name because its appearance resembles an elephant sucking water from the river with its trunk. On top of the hill there is a pagoda named Puxian Pagoda, which dates back to the Ming Dynasty (circa 1368 - 1644). The kids and I along with our guide Bob climbed to the top with Mom and Declan staying behind at the base due to the steepness of the climb! The hike up was steep, but the breath taking views it provided was well worth it! After coming back down the hill we walked the area a little more before taking off for our true destination of the day.
When we received our referral for Declan and planned to come to Guilin during our travels, we told ourselves that we wanted to visit his finding spot. Using the information from the referral, Bob took us to the area where he was found, and with the unexpected assistance of the local authorities we were able to track down the exact location. Declan was found in the stairwell of a building that houses many rental units on the outskirts of Guilin. The report led us to the exact stairwell where you Ann Marie with our kids right here. The moment was emotional, yet fulfilling in that we now have a visual image of what he went through before he came to us. But it also raises many other unanswered questions that I am sure all adoptive parents my ask themselves. The locals were inquisitive, yet very reserved and respectful. I think they could see in our eyes and outward appearance that we loved our children and that we only wanted to gain an understanding of what brought this precious child into our family. Emotionally spent, we walked the neighborhood for a few minutes taking in the same sites that he would have if he were able when he was placed in that stairwell to be found. With that, we bid our farewells to this most sacred of spots to our family and returned back to the hotel.
After returning to the hotel it was time to get the kids a nap. They have been running low on energy so a good nap was in order. Savannah and I ran out to grab a quick bite at one of the local eateries and a small lunchtime in the room was followed by a much needed rest for all.
After naps, the kids were still in the relaxing mood so watched a movie in the room before dinner. We didn't want to do too much tonight so we made dinner plans with our friends for a restaurant about 10 minutes away that served Muslim cuisine. After hailing a few cabs (which can be difficult in China these days) we made our way to the Yughur Restaurant where we dined on a fabulous array of foods that contained, samsa with lamb filling, rice, beef skewers, spiced asparagus, fried noodles, noodles with lamb, a wonderful bread and best of all bananas and toffee! Yummy! And yet again, the after dinner conversations were to die for and went well past our intended time to return to the hotel. A quick flash of return instructions to the cab driver by our friends and we were off on our turn trip back to the hotel!
We are turning in early tonight as have a big day ahead tomorrow on our Li River cruise! I hope the rains hold off! Have a great day everyone and we will check in again tomorrow night, which will be our last in Guilin.
Today we went to view Elephant Trunk Hill. Dating back millions of years and a with a height of about 200 meters, the Elephant Trunk Hill is a true landmark of Guilin. It got this name because its appearance resembles an elephant sucking water from the river with its trunk. On top of the hill there is a pagoda named Puxian Pagoda, which dates back to the Ming Dynasty (circa 1368 - 1644). The kids and I along with our guide Bob climbed to the top with Mom and Declan staying behind at the base due to the steepness of the climb! The hike up was steep, but the breath taking views it provided was well worth it! After coming back down the hill we walked the area a little more before taking off for our true destination of the day.
When we received our referral for Declan and planned to come to Guilin during our travels, we told ourselves that we wanted to visit his finding spot. Using the information from the referral, Bob took us to the area where he was found, and with the unexpected assistance of the local authorities we were able to track down the exact location. Declan was found in the stairwell of a building that houses many rental units on the outskirts of Guilin. The report led us to the exact stairwell where you Ann Marie with our kids right here. The moment was emotional, yet fulfilling in that we now have a visual image of what he went through before he came to us. But it also raises many other unanswered questions that I am sure all adoptive parents my ask themselves. The locals were inquisitive, yet very reserved and respectful. I think they could see in our eyes and outward appearance that we loved our children and that we only wanted to gain an understanding of what brought this precious child into our family. Emotionally spent, we walked the neighborhood for a few minutes taking in the same sites that he would have if he were able when he was placed in that stairwell to be found. With that, we bid our farewells to this most sacred of spots to our family and returned back to the hotel.
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