Ping Shan Heritage Trail

OK , so I feel rather ashamed to say that in all time  we have lived in Hong Kong we have not ever visited this beautiful, picturesque and peaceful little village in the New territories. The photo opportunities are endless, in the hours that Odila and I spent wandering the heritage trail I took almost 200 shots. This will definitely be a place to take the children on a weekend outing before it gets too warm. There is no way I can share with you the multitude of pictures so I will just have to choose a few favourites. For those of you who live in HK, I urge you,  please go and explore this lovely little village. There is a 600 year old pagoda and a 700 year old Tang clan ancestral hall.  A beautiful old colonial style 2 storey police station has been converted into a museum with artefacts from the Tang clan including documents from before the British colonisation as well as Japanese occupation documents.  There is a beautiful bridal sedan chair cabinet  and bridal picnic boxes on display. Definitely worth a visit, to appreciate the old HK instead of the high rise concrete jungle of  modern day HK Island that is our daily life. 

Speed racers of a different kind!

OK, so turn back the clock a little here, Beijing, October 2008, just wanted to share the boys fun and games with you all. 

Speed racing of an entirely different kind. 

The journalling reads.......

Risky ?? Maybe

Lots of fun?? Definitely

OK, so every now and then we are faced with decisions , in this increasingly "cautious" world. Play it safe or take a chance and enjoy the moment.

This was one of those moments when I decided to let boys be boys!

Riley and Callum had the very best time playing catch with the rickshaw driver behind them, racing through the streets of a Hutong in old Beijing. He loved playing cat and mouse, speeding up and encouraging them to reach out to him. We weren't going fast although I guess the potential was there for a nasty spill. Still, the looks on those faces, the joy, living life.......so worth the chance !!!

Rickshaw Ride

We packed so much into our few days in Beijing. One of the really fun things to do, which I would recommend to anyone who travels to this beautiful city , is to experience a rickshaw ride (or pedicab...) through the old hutongs. The kids had an absolute blast and even got to try to pedal each rickshaw before we set out. Riley and Callum particularly had the best time trying to catch the driver behind them( the little guy driving my rickshaw, lucky me from the photo point of view) who was playing cat and mouse with them  the whole time. The late afternoon was a lovely peaceful time to be pedalling around, wandering the narrow winding shopping streets and seeing the beautiful lake .

Mutianyu Great Wall

This section of the Great Wall  is very beautiful . I have tried to concentrate my pages on the photos rather than the journalling but the beauty and scale of the whole experience is indeed difficult to capture and convey. We are so blessed to get to travel to these amazing places with our young family....

Beijing pages

OK, so my new e-class is written and underway and I have some time to get a start on my Beijing pages (alright so I am sure the weekend will end up an Album all to itself- too many photos LOL)

here is one of my pages

OK , it's subtle, can you see the change?

Alrighty, I know even though we see him every day the change is amazing in just a few weeks, but I wanted to share a little  Jasper growth.  Longer legs, richer colour, he is almost a teenager. He had his first puppy playdate today with a walk up the peak with his new labradoodle buddy Max. Should have taken the camera ! I am sure Mum and Dad will see the difference from the little puppy that embarked on his world journey just weeks back. He also went to school (not even puppy pre-school but real KID school) for show and tell on Tuesday morning. He coped admirably with some 75 children  adoring him in a 30 minute space.  

Now you see it..........

Just to give you an idea of what this beautiful city usually looks like.........