CRYSTAL AND ISABEL This is a weblog for Crystal Sun Zhao and Isabel Sun Zhao. As parents, we'd like to keep the records for them as much as we can.

On Oct. 2nd, Wendy and I took the kids to 江苏南通, 启东. 南通 is a very nice and relaxing city.

By the original plan, I would take Crystal and Isabel to Taiwan with Dandan’s family. Since we have Canadian passport, we don’t need Visa to get into Taiwan. When We arrived at Shanghai Hongqiao airport, we found there is a serious problem: Isabel’s passport would expire in 4 months, less than 6 months which Taiwan Customs requires. I was so disappointed for my mistake. So I insist on getting onto the plane. The check-in lady told me that we could go to Hongkong first and tried again there. So, I took Isabel onto the plane anyway.

After we arrived in Hongkong, Crystal kept on checking into another plane to Taiwan with Dandan’s family. Isabel and I were not allowed to get onto that plane because the policy is very strict for people from China mainland. We could try again with Taiwan agency or Canada Consulate in Hongkong. But that was Saturday, on August 3rd. We had to wait until Monday. I only brought one bag with me with no clothes for Isabel and me. Our luggage had arrived in Taiwan successfully.

On Aug. 4th, Sunday, I brought Isabel to 浅水湾 for swimming. The wind was very strong and there are many medium sands and stones on the beach. It is not very nice for swimming.

We didn’t stay too long at 浅水湾. Then we took the local 双层 bus to 太平山顶. The view at 太平山顶 was amazing, whether it’s afternoon or evening. We walked Hongkong Trail at 太平山顶.

On Monday Aug. 5th, we tried the Canada Consulate first. The people are very nice. But temporary passport will take 5 days. It would be too late. Then we tried the Taiwan agency. After 2 minutes, I gave up the hope. The real official relationship between China mainland and Taiwan is very formal. I got the feeling that we were not very welcomed. So, why bother?

Now, where should Isabel and I go? We walked into a travel agency and we knew the answer after 10 minutes: Guilin, Guangxi. Wendy was on a business trip in Guangxi now. That was part of the reason.

We took a flight and arrived in Guilin in the late afternoon. Wendy arrive around 9pm. The next day morning, three of us rent a boat on 漓江.

In the afternoon, Wendy left back to Shanghai. Isabel and I continue the 2 weeks’ journey. 漓江 is very clean. It would be a shame if we don’t swim in it. After 4pm when the sun is down a little bit, we found a very nice place for swimming.

In the night, we took a boat show and see the night view of Guiling 五江四湖.

On Wen. Aug. 7th, we left the city and went to 龙脊. Along the way, we played our first 漂流. After changing 3 buses, we arrived at 龙脊梯田 in the afternoon. We hired a woman to carry one luggage. It took us a few hours to climb to the hotel we stayed. The view at 龙脊梯田 is definitely worthy all the efforts.

We had some local dishes for dinner, 竹筒鸡 and 竹筒饭. It was very delicious. Isabel almost buried her face inside the bowl.

The next day is a cloudy day. So, I didn’t see the sunrise. But I found another even higher hotel with better view. So, we decided to stay one more night on the mountain. We left one luggage in the middle and climbed to the top.

There was still no sunrise at the third day morning. So unlucky.

On Aug. 10th, we left 龙脊. We played our second 漂流. That was fun. In the late afternoon, we came back to Guilin.

On Aug. 11th, we headed to 阳朔. We took the 排筏 from 杨堤 to 九马华山.

We stayed at 阳朔 for 2 days. We visited 遇龙河, 银子岩 and played our third 漂流. In one night, I had a candlelight dinner with Isabel at one bar. That was nice. We tried 啤酒鱼. But still, 阳朔 is not as good as I imagined, maybe because of too many people.

On Aug. 12th, we met two girls and they suggested us to try rock climbing. So, there we went. Both Isabel and me tried the rock climbing the first time.

On Aug. 14th, we left 阳朔 and went to 兴坪古镇. For us, it was the right place to stay. At 兴坪古镇, we stayed at a small inn for 3 days. I rent a bicycle and rode Isabel to everywhere. The view there was the most beautiful place in Guiling.

From the inn we stayed to 黄布倒影, 二十元人民币取景处, it took 10 minutes riding by bicycle. To 九马画山, it took another 10 minutes more.

On Aug. 16th, we hiked for 15km from 兴坪 to 杨堤. Unfortunately, it was a rainy day. Rain kept on and off. We kept on taking on and off our raincoat. But still, the trip was very exciting.

Following are some pictures when Crystal was in Taiwan with Dandan’s family.

On June 16th, we attended Isabel’s classmate Kitty’s birthday party.

On May 18th, I took Crystal, Isabel and Dandan to watch 2013 IAAF Diamong League Shanghai. Lots of best track and field players had attended the game.

On April 26th, I took Crystal and Isabel to a 3 days’ trip of 徽杭古道. 徽杭古道 is an old road connecting 安徽 and 浙江. The whole distance is about 25 km. It’s more for beginner backpacking people.

Day 1. We left Shanghai around 4pm after they finished their school. I found a van on the internet who agreed to give us a lift to 绩溪. The guy drove fast. But there were a few accidents on the highway. So the overall speed was not very fast. We arrive at 绩溪 after 10pm.

Day 2. We got up early and walked almost an hour to the gate of 徽杭古道. We started about 9am. Two girls were happy walking inside the mountains. I carried the only bag we brought with us. There are many small villages along the road, every few kilometers where we can buy water and food. We arrived at 蓝天凹 around 2pm. We rented a camp where we stayed overnight. The camp is a little bit small for 3 of us. We played some cards after dark. During the midnight, the camp became loose because the wind was very strong. I had to go out to fix the issue while both girls knew nothing about it.

Day 3. It’s mostly downhill today. We arrived at the village around 1pm where we could take the bus to another city. Finally, we arrived at Hangzhou around 4pm and took the train back to Shanghai.

On April 5th, we were bored and had nowhere to go because it was a rainy day. So, we finally decided to go for one day trip to 西塘 with Dandan and her parents. There were too many people and we were a little disappointed because the entry fee is 100 RMB for each adult.

On March 17th, we attent Jiayang’s 10 years old birthday party.

On March 23nd, we watched 儿童剧”阿凡提”.

We flied to Malaysia on Jan. 28th to have a 11 days vocation.

We arrived at Sabah on Jan. 28th, 2013. On Jan. 29th, we took a boat to Sapi Island and stayed there for whole day. We rent the equipment and Snorkeled at Sapi Island.

On Jan. 30th, we went to Mantanani Island. The Mantanani Island is a little bit far away. One way trip took us 2 hours driving and 1 hour on the boat. We met another family, Xuanxuan and her parents. The view at the Mantanani Island is very nice. It’s really worthy the time.

On Jan. 31st, we went to visit the City Mosque around noon.

In the afternoon, we went to the Labuk Bay Proboscis Monkey Sanctuary.

On Feb. 1st, we tried rafting. In the afternoon, Xuanxuan and her parents left us and went on with their own trip.

On Feb. 2nd, we left the city and went to Mount Kinabalu. We spent 2 hours to climb the Summit trail for 4 KM. (Crystal, Isabel and Mom stopped at 3.5 KM mark.)

On Feb. 3rd, we went to the Poring Hot Spring. It’s about 1 hour driving from our hotel. We tried the Canopy walk and Bathe.

Later afternoon, we took a taxi and took about 2.5 hours to get to the Nexus Resort. The Resort has a 18 holes gold course and located by the sea.

On Feb. 4th and 5th, we played 18 holes golf together. Also, Crystal and Isabel spent some time in the swimming pool.

On Feb. 7th, we took the early morning flight back to Shanghai.

On Dec. 14th, 2012, Crystal and Isabel’s school held the 2012 Christmas Concert.

On Dec. 2nd, 2012, I bring Crystal to watch Maksim Mrvica’s Piano Concert.