We just got back from China, and it went surprisingly well. Before the trip, I was more than a little nervous about the plane trips. I wasn't worried about Maile; It was Beck I was worried about -- entertaining him for 12-13 hrs in a very confined space. Once we purchased the plane tickets, I figured there was no turning back. So, I researched airlines. I found only two fly direct from SF to Shanghai. There was no way we weren't going to fly direct. We didn't want to make the flight longer than we had to. We decided to fly Jet Airways, an Indian airline we had never heard of, because it had individual entertainment systems and the flights were at night. Our backup, admittedly, was Benadryl.
The flight out was Friday at 8:45p. Good thing we got there early and the line wasn't that long because I forgot my purse at Vicki and Stew's. Thanks, Stew and Cameron, for dropping my purse off at the airport and thanks, Vicki, for relaying it inside.
Since our departure time was a little after the kids bedtime, both kids were tired but restless for a couple of hours. I figured Maile would fall asleep, but Beck did not look like he was winding down. So, I pulled out the Benadryl. Maile fell asleep unassisted. Both ended up sleeping 7 hrs. Movies and toys were enough to entertain them for the remainder of the flight.
We got in on Sunday at 12:30a. When we got to my uncle's apartment in Shanghai, Maile and Hansel slept for 3 hrs while Beck and I only slept 1.5. That wasn't my choice. In the morning, a woman who works for my uncle walked us over to a mall. We ended up finding all the kid stores and toys in one section. There was a ball pit, which entertained the kids for a while. I don't know what it is about kids and ball pits.
After lunch, we went to pick up my brother from the airport. He flew in from Taiwan, and then we all headed to Ningbo, which is 2.5 hrs from Shanghai via car.
Ningbo Highlights
In Ningbo we mostly hung out at my uncle and grandmother's home -- eating, sleeping, watching movies, and hanging around with my grandmother. Not sure if she really knew who I was, but I could tell she liked our company, esp. the kids. One afternoon, while the kids were playing with some remote-control toys my uncle got, they wandered out of my grandmother's line of vision. She asked for them to come back, so she could watch them play.
A couple of times while in Ningbo, we took the kids to play at the neighborhood playground. Not the cleanest or safest playground (see below), but the kids enjoyed it. I was afraid they'd have to end up getting tetanus shots. This is not an indictment against all playgrounds in China. We did see newer ones in other parts of Ningbo.
Our second day in Ningbo, my aunt (my mom's cousin's wife) took us to an amusement park. She knows the guy who runs the park, so we were treated like VIPs. We were driven around the park in a cart and got to go to the front of a couple of lines. The treatment would have been even cooler if the park had been really crowded.
The kids first ride at the amusement park 
Beck did not want to ride a carousel horse.
Maile with PoPo (maternal grandmother) 
Very bumpy ride, but the kids loved it.I think on our 3rd day in Ningbo, my brother, Hansel, and I went to a shopping area in Ningbo to get some DVDs while the kids napped. Hansel and I had been wanting to get some KFC Dan Ta (egg custards) after seeing a commercial. So before heading back to the house, we stopped at a KFC. Being 6 months pregnant, I also had to use the restroom, which of course was the squat kind. After I did my business and exited my stall, I saw that the gal waiting to use my stall had already unbuckled her belt and unbuttoned her top button. She was ready to go. She was no crude looking gal mind you. I didn't see her face since she was kind of tall, but she was slender and dressed fashionably. As I was exiting the outer door, the gal had already taken her position in the stall while her friend hung out at the stall door with the door open continuing their conversation. I don't even like talking to people in other stalls. When I relayed this story to Hansel and Ed, Ed commented with some dismay that he had seen that girl and thought she was hot.
One of the nights, my uncle treated us (sans kids) to a vegetarian meal at a restaurant, which was kind of modern in style. It's the best vegetarian meal I have had so far. There was an excellent soup with very thin strands of tofu. And I don't think any of the dishes were fried, which is common in Chinese vegetarian dishes. The service was banquet style, so dishes were served one by one, and one of our dishes was prepared for us tableside (a la peking duck). Afterward, my mom asked us how much we thought the meal cost. We were guessing $30-50 per person. The actual cost with tip was $65 total for 8 people.
My mother and uncle left for a business trip to Hang Zhou Thursday afternoon. We (including my brother) decided to leave Friday for Shanghai after lunch, so we could spend more time with my grandmother. My uncle was nice enough to arrange to have one of his live-in maids (Xiao Li) travel with us, so she could help watch the kids.
One of the nights, my uncle treated us (sans kids) to a vegetarian meal at a restaurant, which was kind of modern in style. It's the best vegetarian meal I have had so far. There was an excellent soup with very thin strands of tofu. And I don't think any of the dishes were fried, which is common in Chinese vegetarian dishes. The service was banquet style, so dishes were served one by one, and one of our dishes was prepared for us tableside (a la peking duck). Afterward, my mom asked us how much we thought the meal cost. We were guessing $30-50 per person. The actual cost with tip was $65 total for 8 people.
My mother and uncle left for a business trip to Hang Zhou Thursday afternoon. We (including my brother) decided to leave Friday for Shanghai after lunch, so we could spend more time with my grandmother. My uncle was nice enough to arrange to have one of his live-in maids (Xiao Li) travel with us, so she could help watch the kids.
Uncle Ed playing with Beck
Clockwise: Uncle Ed, Lisa, Beck, Hansel, TaiPo (maternal great grandmother), Maile, PoPo Shanghai Surprise
After we got into Shanghai and took the kids to the complex's playground, we (sans kids) met up with my cousin Howard at Ding Tai Feng (famous for their dumplings). After dinner, we stopped by the condo Howard is renovating. So far it looks fantastic. Howard has a great eye for design.
The next day we went with the kids to a place called KidTown that Mae-Ling (a friend of ours who lives in Shanghai) had recommended. It's a cute, indoor play space. Maile at first was mostly playing on the indoor play structure, and Beck was playing with the trains, but by the end the kids were only preoccupied with...the ball pit (of course).
For lunch, we walked to Howard's spa & cafe -- ZaZa. The web address I have for the place does not appear to be up (http://www.zazashanghai.cn/), so here's another link -- http://www.cityweekend.com.cn/shanghai/listings/health-and-beauty/beauty_services/has/zaza-cafe-and-nail-spa/ The cafe with some outdoor seating is on the first floor -- very light and airy. And, the food was delicious, including the kids' gourmet mac and cheese. I was even able to have a vegetarian panini. The second and third floors are where the spa treatments are done. Howard set Hansel and I up on the third floor, which has a flat-screen TV, so the kids could watch a movie. We got pedicures. Hansel's first, and I didn't even capture it on film.
Mae-Ling was able to meet us for lunch and gave us some great suggestions on where to go with and without the kids.
We left ZaZa's later than I had wanted, and Beck fell asleep 2 minutes into the car ride. Luckily, he stayed alseep when we got to the apartment. We asked Xiao Li to watch the kids for the rest of the day. Hansel and I then went to two places Mae-Ling recommended -- Tai Kang Lu and Xin Tian Di. Tai Kang Lu consists of alleys with small shops and restaurants. The area was cute and very other worldly. The bamboo construction structures here and there added to the atmosphere.
After we got into Shanghai and took the kids to the complex's playground, we (sans kids) met up with my cousin Howard at Ding Tai Feng (famous for their dumplings). After dinner, we stopped by the condo Howard is renovating. So far it looks fantastic. Howard has a great eye for design.
The next day we went with the kids to a place called KidTown that Mae-Ling (a friend of ours who lives in Shanghai) had recommended. It's a cute, indoor play space. Maile at first was mostly playing on the indoor play structure, and Beck was playing with the trains, but by the end the kids were only preoccupied with...the ball pit (of course).
For lunch, we walked to Howard's spa & cafe -- ZaZa. The web address I have for the place does not appear to be up (http://www.zazashanghai.cn/), so here's another link -- http://www.cityweekend.com.cn/shanghai/listings/health-and-beauty/beauty_services/has/zaza-cafe-and-nail-spa/ The cafe with some outdoor seating is on the first floor -- very light and airy. And, the food was delicious, including the kids' gourmet mac and cheese. I was even able to have a vegetarian panini. The second and third floors are where the spa treatments are done. Howard set Hansel and I up on the third floor, which has a flat-screen TV, so the kids could watch a movie. We got pedicures. Hansel's first, and I didn't even capture it on film.
Mae-Ling was able to meet us for lunch and gave us some great suggestions on where to go with and without the kids.
We left ZaZa's later than I had wanted, and Beck fell asleep 2 minutes into the car ride. Luckily, he stayed alseep when we got to the apartment. We asked Xiao Li to watch the kids for the rest of the day. Hansel and I then went to two places Mae-Ling recommended -- Tai Kang Lu and Xin Tian Di. Tai Kang Lu consists of alleys with small shops and restaurants. The area was cute and very other worldly. The bamboo construction structures here and there added to the atmosphere.
At Tai Kang Lu, taken with Hansel's phoneWe then walked to Xin Tian Di. We'd been there 5 years ago. It's an area where old historic buildings have been restored into shops and restaurants. It has a European feel to it. We met up with Ed and Howard and ate at a place called Shanghai Spring. The decor had a Studio 54 feel to it. We ordered a lot of food, and we managed to eat it all.
The next day (Saturday) was our last day in China. In the morning we went to the Shanghai Ocean Aquarium http://www.sh-aquarium.com/en_index.asp. It's the best aquarium we have been to, even better than Monterey's. It has a great variety of fish, including poisonous fish we've never seen, and there are a lot of water tunnels. The aquarium had a really good flow more so on the 2nd and 3rd floors, where you would naturally progress from one zone to another. The only minor complaints we had were that in the smaller exhibits kids could not view the tanks without being lifted, and the air circulation could have been better in the tunnels. Not great for claustrophobics.
We ate lunch there out of convenience, and then went to the Shanghai Oriental Pearl TV Tower. We decided not to go up to the tower since it was going to cost about US$22 per person. We likely wouldn't have had to pay for it, but it didn't seem worth it, and it was an overcast day.
We decided to go through the Bund Tourist Tunnel, which Mae-Ling said kids like. Basically, you ride in this tram (like an airport tram) through a light-show tunnel that gets you to the other side of the river. On the other side, we took a couple of photos, and then rode the tram back.
The next day (Saturday) was our last day in China. In the morning we went to the Shanghai Ocean Aquarium http://www.sh-aquarium.com/en_index.asp. It's the best aquarium we have been to, even better than Monterey's. It has a great variety of fish, including poisonous fish we've never seen, and there are a lot of water tunnels. The aquarium had a really good flow more so on the 2nd and 3rd floors, where you would naturally progress from one zone to another. The only minor complaints we had were that in the smaller exhibits kids could not view the tanks without being lifted, and the air circulation could have been better in the tunnels. Not great for claustrophobics.
We ate lunch there out of convenience, and then went to the Shanghai Oriental Pearl TV Tower. We decided not to go up to the tower since it was going to cost about US$22 per person. We likely wouldn't have had to pay for it, but it didn't seem worth it, and it was an overcast day.
We decided to go through the Bund Tourist Tunnel, which Mae-Ling said kids like. Basically, you ride in this tram (like an airport tram) through a light-show tunnel that gets you to the other side of the river. On the other side, we took a couple of photos, and then rode the tram back.
Maile, Xiao Li, and BeckThe kids fell asleep in the car on the way back to the apartment and then woke up as soon as we got there. I stayed home with the kids while Hansel went DVD shopping with Ed. Hansel came back from his shopping trip beaming and holding up a big bag of DVDs, kind of like what Carrie Bradshaw looks like after buying a pair of Manolo Blahniks.
The flight home was at 9:45p. We got to the airport a couple of hours early. We took our time making our way to the gate. Once we got to the gate, the kids wore themselves out on the moving walkways. The flight came from Mumbai, but there were not many people boarding from Shanghai, so we had a lot of room. Hansel and Maile sat in one section with three seats, and Beck and I sat in another 3-seat section.
Before we got on the plane, I was a little worried about how I was going to make 2 diapers last for the rest of our travels (11 hr 45 min plane ride and car ride home). I had put one on him at 4p after a poop, so I figured I would change him after we got on the plane. But as soon as we were getting ready to take off, Beck was already trying to put his head down to sleep, which is not typical, so he must have been exhausted. He was soon asleep, and no Benadryl this time. Maile stayed up watching a movie and coloring before falling asleep.
Hansel wrapped a napkin around the headset to keep it from slipping down.Beck slept for about 8 hrs, and I was able to watch the Incredible Hulk and get some shut eye. Soon after he woke, I took him to the bathroom to change his diaper. It was like a water balloon filled to the max. The rest of the flight went well even though Beck wasn't really interested in watching any movies.
Waiting at the airport to be picked upBeck fell asleep on the ride home, which we thought would really mess up his nightime sleep. We got home around 7:45p, had a late dinner, gave the kids a bath, and put them to bed around 10:30p. We asked Maile if she wanted to sleep downstairs thinking that they would sleep better apart that night. Hansel and I went to bed shortly thereafter. I thought for sure one or both of the kids would wake up in the middle of the night. But they both slept until 8:30a when I woke them up.
The next night we put them in bed around 8:15p (since they didn't nap much). Maile again slept downstairs, and they didn't wake up til 8a when I woke them up. I am amazed how they don't appear to be suffering any jetlag, esp since they were waking between 5-6a everyday in China. Hansel, on the other hand, is still recovering.
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