Welcome back Jodi~~~sounds like a wonderful trip. Glad you had a fun and returned safely;)

It sounds like a good time was had by all! :0)

Looking forward to seeing all the pics. DId you purchase any tang horses? Snuff bottles? Jade jewelry?

I saw some of your pictures on FB, an amazing trip! Welcome Home!

Nicole, no snuff bottles (didn't find any) or jade (don't care for it) but I did buy a Tang horse at the Great Wall. It was my last purchase of the trip and we had already checked our luggage so I had to keep it small but I'm pretty happy with the choice I made. It's only a little smaller than a couple of my other horses and it's made of a nice heavy cast iron (much to DH's chagrin LOL). I bargained down to a decent price (50% off the asking price) so that made me happy though we did have to eat a little less at lunch because of the purchase.

We were only in Beijing for 14.5 hours so we didn't want to have any money left over so we didn't bring much. What we did have mostly went toward the tips for the tour guide and his driver, their lunch and our lift tickets to the top of the wall. It's a steep and difficult walk to the top of the wall. Heck it was a tough walk just to the cable car.

Jodi-

This post was edited by jodi_in_so_calif on Fri, Mar 8, 13 at 5:06

Sounds like an amazing adventure! I felt the same having recently been cruising to several areas, some with such poor housing, they may as well have lived in a tree. Made me thankful to live where we do and yet appreciate the people who have a totally different way of living.
Sounds like you made it through all the foods without discomfort. Meeting new people and new friends is one of the best parts for me along with the amazing sites. I'm sure you took plenty of pictures to remember your time there! I'll have to check out facebook tonight. Welcome home.

Welcome home. We'll look forward to your amazing pictures.

Great post, Jodi! Welcome home.

What an amazing post Jodi. I loved reading all the different things you experienced. And those last 3 words says it all - "God bless America".

Your experience sounds fascinating. I look forward to reading more.

Sounds like a wonderful trip!!! I saw some of your pics on Facebook and I must say I am jealous - especially about the Great Wall! LOL

What a beautiful description of your trip. You are a wonderful writer.

I can't wait to hear about your feet cleaning. It sounds scary to me!

WELCOME HOME!!!

It sounds like a wonderful trip. You certainly did see a wide variety of things and experienced a lot of local food and drink. I envy you! How funny that the U.S. Officials were the only ones with smiles! Thanks for sharing your experience with us.

Wow, you made a lot of memories to be sure. I'm exhausted just reading your post. LOL

Nothing like being in another country to really appreciate our own.

That was some vacation!! Welcome back to the USA!! YAY!!!

I don't travel all that well any more if it involves walking but I am envious of your trip...sounds amazing...

Welcome HOME! We do have it so good here, don't we?

I loved the way you captured your trip in your post here. We're so lucky to have you do all the work of travel, then share the 'good parts' with us homebodies.

Sounds like a great trip. Looking forward to pictures.
Welcome home.

Had the pleasure of going to China, back in '87, with 4 other educators. We were gone 13 days.

Great experience, I'll never forget.

"They were the only officials in six countries that smiled"
This is a cultural issue, not a friendliness issue. Officials in South East Asian countries are trained to regard smiling as unprofessional.

Wow! just WOW! such an exciting trip. You must be exhausted! aahhaha
can't wait for more pictures!

{{gwi:1568399}}

Jodi, best trip description I have ever seen! Thanks!

After you've rested up could you do a blog, or something similar, using what you have posted here, and adding the pictures? I would love to see all of that and be able to go back to it from time to time.

Yes, God Bless America!

Sue

what an awesome synopsis of your extensive trip! can't wait for all the pics! ~ liz

I've been working for days on my photos and am not even through our first stop, Hong Kong, yet.

I sure wish I could get back on a regular sleep schedule. I'm going to bed at 5am, 6am or 7am and getting up at 2pm or 3pm. My life is upside down right now. ugh.

Jodi-

Welcome back to the wonderful USA, Auntie Jodi! Loved your recap of the trip and I'm so glad you were welcomed home with genuine smiles, that makes me smile, too.

I've been enjoying your photos, too and the little snippets you posted on FB, it made me feel like you weren't so far away. Missed you, though, glad you're home and I'm really glad that YOU are glad to be home, too! That is so nice to hear. :)

Nothing like travel to make you appreciate home! Welcome Home Jodi!

Sounds exhausting, but like fun as well. Looking forward to your pictures.

Moni

Liz, had to reread your post. I couldn't remember mentioning how expensive the trip was, and then I realized you wrote "exTensive". :-) Regardless, it was both all encompassing and all depleting and we probably won't be doing any more big travel for a while.

Ahhh, thanks Flamey. I missed you and Gravey too. Maybe I'll go domestic next year and visit AR. Even though you're way out in the boondocks, it's got to be easier to get to than SE Asia. But to give it an international flair, I'll bring Margarita mix. :-)

I've spent, at this point, about a zillion hours going through my photos and have only covered our four days in Hong Kong. Give me strength, I still have 17 more days of photos to go through.

Jodi-

Oh, yeah, come to AR! I guarantee it won't take you weeks to go thru all your photos! ;)

I'll start cutting up some limes!

Thank you for sharing your travel experiences with everyone... It sure sounds like one awesome vacation... But you are right.. there is no place on earth like home...

Carolyn