Thursday became our first full day where we had no appointments or agenda. Our guide was planning to take us and the other two families who are here on an afternoon sightseeing and shopping trip, but we decided late Wed night to skip out of that optional time and go off to spend the day doing something else. After some quick research and investigation, we told the kids Thursday morning we were taking them to a Safari Park (aka - a massively large zoo located here in Guangzhou). This safari park/zoo has over 400 different types of animals (including a koala bear exhibit, rainforest, African themes, and an entire section of panda bears), a few animal presentation shows, cable cars/gondolas, and a safari tour that takes you through the African savannah to see the animals up close. Did we mention they had PANDAS?
To add to the fun, a friend of ours, Jared, who currently lives with his wife in Macau, offered to come up and spend time with us in Guangzhou and celebrate our adoption with us. We met Jared five years ago in S. Korea when we adopted Joshua, as he lived there at the time and was a huge blessing to us as he helped us navigate Seoul, translate the language, and offer incredible support to us during that time. When we found out we were only an hour apart from one another, he graciously offered to come visit and be a part of our process again. We loved the idea and are excited to have him hang out with us for the next few days and agreed to meet him near the park, after we jumped onto the subway to get us there.
The subway. How shall we begin to describe this? Although not difficult to manage and navigate, the volume of people coming and going on the subway trains made you re-evaluate your need for personal space and double down on your supply of Germ-X. We saw many overfilled trains, and in one case, a man (who was the last to get on the train), keep budging himself in, determined to make it work even though there was no space for him to squeeze into on the train. He tried to keep himself away from the door, but to no success. Once, twice, three times the doors opened and closed (and prolonging the train from departing the station). Although it would have been quicker and easier for him (or those he was leaning against inside the train) to push him out and wait for the next one, he persisted for the fourth time, and the doors finally closed. Off the train went, with a sardines-tight train of passengers. Hope ya'll took a shower! B.O. is our friend?
Our time in the Safari Park was packed with seeing every animal and species we could find. We saw everything from a Giant Anteater to the Zebras, and everything in between. In some cases, you were allowed to get very close to the animals, or (for an extra fee) feed the giraffes or elephants. Since we were already feeding the monkeys in our family, we opted to stick with those snacks and treats throughout the day. Despite the extensive amount of walking and standing we did throughout the day, we were able to get a "this is the best day ever!" comment out of Joshua after we walked through the snake exhibit and he got to see every snake under the sun - including a few 30 ft Anacondas, pythons, and rattlesnakes.
Hannah did great throughout the entire day, but her smiles became quite large when we walked into the panda exhibit. Although other parks/zoos here in China also have pandas, this location is known for having the only live panda triplets in existence in the world, born back in mid-2014 (the chance of survival of panda triplets is only 1%). This safari park/zoo not only had these three triplets, but many others as well, that we were able to see up close and enjoy - with very few crowds! By far this was the highlight of the day for her...and for the rest of us too!
Enjoy the fun pictures of our day at the safari park/zoo - more appointments are scheduled for tomorrow (including a trip to Hannah's orphanage).
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| Jared & this guy were like best pals all day long! A great joy to have along! |
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| Hannah loves riding the zoo train with her big brother Nathan! |
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| The amazing subway experience! |
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#twinning              |
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