Manchurian toy shop Beijing

http://www.beijingimpression.com/news/Little-Shop-of-Curiosities.shtml

http://www.timeoutbeijing.com/venue/Shops__Services-Arts__Handicrafts/10326/Bannerman-Tang%E2%80%99s-Toys-and-Handicrafts.html

This toy shop looks like a must do on a return trip to Beijing. 5th generation Manchu style shop and trinkets. Seems like it is just south of the Temple of Heaven park and not far from subway lines.

Recent pics

Nine lives

Lulu finally got her plastic hood removed and we will do a follow up in a week to see if she needs some anti-virals as she still has a sore eye.

The cage had come undone on the lid and it was on the cards to replace it soon. Well on the way out of the vets, while holding alls sorts of Lotus treasures, the bottom fell out. Cat ran under car in carpark and things went everywhere.

Next thing the cat had disappeared. After calling her, getting grandpa in to do some emergency babysitting, and calling again.. I came back for dinner, when the vet nurse rang and another nurse had sighted her down the street on the other side of the road. The house she had originally jumped into had 2 dogs so that had obviously frightened her off.

Tip toe-ing in peoples gardens is a bit embarrassing but she was eventually found in a vacant house in the rear garden. The heat had got to her a bit and she was quite dirty.

The girls had done some art painting as part of a holiday program yesterday and the results are impressive although Lotus got a fair bit of help.

We got to draw some dragons for CNY and need a bit more practice especially on the scales and to colour them brightly. They look great given our novice status.

The hard rubbish collection has been around and the girls have picked up oodles of dolls/dresses etc which will likely disappear as school starts back this week.

Thanks to Uncle G. we have seen plenty of movies at the cinema and we had heard that Hugo is a must see although Charlotte does not like animations scened with darker backgrounds.

Girls did some cooking class the other day and I got to do some running/walking - the first in a long, long, long time.

Made it home

We made it home safely despite having a crazy taxi driver that managed 120km/p.h in a 60 zone at the airport in Bangkok.

Girls were both tired so no school or day care today.

Need to download the photos after charging the batteries.

Phuket

We just moved to a new hotel - Sawasdee Village - and it is truly beautiful to say the least. Our last hotel had no official internet other than wifi and was a fair way out, but away from the crowds in Patong.

We saw the Phuket Fantasea show last night which was impressive. Girls got to feed a huge lot of koi fish. We went to the fun park there and all we did was look around at the very fancy shops - like fantasy style. We saw an old car and shop assistants were all dressed up fantasy style.

We did Simba Sea tour yesterday and went to all sorts of islands. One stop was at the floating restaurants and houses near the islands. We saw the end of the Amazing Race (TV show) floating soccer field that was the pit stop for Phuket stop.

The day before we did a slower boat tour and did kayak rides into very very tight caves into hongs which are like small water areas inside the islands. It was so tight into the bat cave that grandpa stubbed his toe - they had Lotus and Charlotte on same kayak and Lotus's life jacket balloned up and kept hitting the rock as the paddler man tried to get them through. You have to lay flat and I can tell you it is pretty clostrophobic.

We did another kayak trip yesterday but it was nothing like the day before as in a squeeze but still we had to lay down a few times. Lotus/grandpa missed yesterdays kayak trip because Lotus was asleep on the speed boat. We got well fed on both trips.

This hotel is simply GORGEOUS - very very fancy - the weather is rain rain rain here so different from hot Bangkok.. lucky we had no rain on our boat trips prior 2 days. Tomorrow we are doing trip up the rivers, before overnight bus back to Bangkok for some shopping. So this will be our last bed for a few days. Will be ready to come home... the pool here is small but very very tropical and bar seats in pool... Charlotte will be in her element - every place she just wants the pool and nothing else.

Phuket

We have done a few boat trips - Grandpa has been amazed but we had fun.

Comments they say

Lotus has been fanatical about Humpty Dumpty falling off the Great Wall. "If Humpty Dumpty falls off the Great Wall he will be broken and we would have to put him in the rubbish bin".

Never thought of Humpty jumping off the Great Wall before, but from where we stood he certainly would have been broken.

And when she sees McDonalds she starts singing 'Old McDonald had a farm, and says let's have Old MacDonalds'.

Charlotte moved up a level at swimming, and is seemingly getting very tired into this term, not helped by a sister that assumes 10pm is bed time!!