So it's been about a month and a half since my last post.  Sorry!!! I'm not sure if there is anyone who actually READS this, but if there is... sorry!!! I feel as though not too much has happened up until about a week ago, but looking back, there really has been a lot of changes.

So we'll start with Hong Kong stuff:

We finished working with the kids for the school year, and planned our trip traveling around South East Asia.  Just before we left, we took 40 kids who had volunteered throughout the year, to Ocean Park (their big amusement park). It was a lot of fun... a little bit of a long day... but fun.  We rode a bunch of rides with the kids... went on the water rides, and walked around the park for 8 hours+.   That night, we met up with one of our amazing friends Nicole. You might remember her name from our trip to China.  We met Nicole (and her friend Sadie) in Chengdu when we went to hold a Panda.   Nicole and her boyfriend flew into Hong Kong to do some traveling, and we couldn't wait to see her.  The only down side was it was too short.  Both Brian and I love Nicole (and Sadie) and they really helped make our China trip.  We met up with Nicole and Ben (her boyfriend, who was great) and had a couple drinks. Unfortunately due to their need to get home and jetlag, and us needing to get home and finish packing...  the evening was cut shorter than we would've liked.

The day before that, we had JUST moved from the hotel room into the apartment on the school grounds.  We' spent 2 nights in those beds before leaving again, but those two days were amazing.  I made grilled cheese and sidekicks both nights, and it was HEAVENLY!!!  We didn't want to buy a bunch of groceries before leaving for 6 weeks, but eating at home was brilliant.  We unpacked our 'moving' stuff, and just repacked some clothes for traveling.  It was sort of a whirlwind of a couple days, and then the next morning we flew to Malaysia.

Malaysia was a lot better than either Brian or I expected.  We flew into Kuala Lumpur.  We weren't planning on spending much time there...just wanted to check it out before heading to Thailand.  Having said that, the people were super friendly and the market was fun.  We went to the world's largest free-flight aviary so Brian could see some birds.  We walked around the city, saw the big towers (two tallest free-standing joined twin towers......or something like that).  We just had an all around good experience.  Although we enjoyed it, there was no reason to stay longer than two nights...so we flew out from KL straight to Koh Sumoi... which is one of the islands on the east side of Thailand.  We had a romantic dinner on the beach by candlelight, danced in the sand and slept in a cute little beach bungalow.  We also, of course, had some AMAZING Thai massages on the beach.  It was absolutely beautiful, peaceful and perfect.

From there, we took the fast boat to Koh Tao (my favorite place). And that's where we stand now.   Brian is finishing his open water course today.  I have done 6 dives in the last 3 days already, and was thinking of taking tomorrow off, but am already itching to get back at it.   Both Brian and I decided that we'll spend a little extra time here because it's simply paradise.   The island is small, and you can walk into the little 'town' by all the dive companies.  There are very few cars, but tons of scooters.... there is sand EVERYWHERE all the time, and the weather is beautiful.  Really can't ask for more!!!!

So we'll stay here for a little while longer, and then head inland to Bangkok and the Tiger Temple...then over to Cambodia, Vietnam, Laos, and then northern Thailand for the elephant sanctuary.

It's funny, I found myself a little, not a lot, but a little grumpy this afternoon. I woke up at 6 to do my two morning dives, and didn't sleep well... diving burns a LOT of calories, so I was STARVING when we got back.... and Brian was rushing off to do his dives, so I felt a little grumpy, but in the last half hour, although still tired... and still a little hungry.... it's hard not to have a smile on your face here...it's just absolute paradise.

I also don't think I've seen so little of Brian since before Christmas...

I'll add some pictures, hopefully.... and give you all an idea of where we've been and where we're at.

There is someone behind you....

.... these are not words of some crazy, sociopathic, stalking serial killer..... although I'm sure they have been uttered by someone with that title..... no, these are simply friendly words of advice!

"There is someone behind you" is actually the phrase that I constantly feel like gently and calmly screaming at people here in Hong Kong.  There are 7 000 000 people in a land area 1/7th the size of Toronto. That is a lot of people, and not a hell of a lot of space.  People here seem completely immune to the laws of physics.  Due to the Law of Conservation of Matter, two pieces of matter cannot occupy the same space at the same time.  This seems logical, and simple..... and yet completely beyond everyone here.  They are consistently walking into me, and looking at me completely shocked and appalled that I actually exist, and they couldn't walk right through me as they must've originally thought. This brings me to my point...

There is ALWAYS someone behind you....

- When you are riding an escalator.... when you get to the top, do not stop to take in the incredible scenery of a MTR cement wall, please continue moving in a forward direction.  When you stop, I then trip over my own feet and stumble into you or have to be ninja-like in my movements ducking and dodging other people, as not to hit you. The reason for this is that the escalator continues to move and move people towards you.  When you stop, we are unable to stop the movement of the escalator, and hence, slam into the back of you leaving you sprawled out like a new born giraffe unable to grasp the concept of 'legs'.  Just remember, when riding an escalator, there is always someone behind you!

- When walking up stairs, actually just walking in general, there is always someone behind you.  When you insist on taking up the entire 'free' area of pedestrian flow, there is always someone behind you.  When you just have to up as much space as you can and walk at the pace of a 56K dial up modem downloading a full feature movie... there is someone behind you.   When all you need to do is take a small step to the right or left, opening up a new lane of pedestrian traffic, and you DON'T.... then the person who is behind you may simply push you over in complete disregard for your safety, and continue to walk at the a regular pace... they may.... if they weren't Canadian!

- There is ALWAYS someone behind you when you are walking and on your phone.  **note: when I say on their phone... I don't mean talking.  I mean the majority of people in Hong Kong walk while playing games or watching movies on their phone** Whilst you watch a movie or play 'pong' on your GIANT phones, you do not walk straight.  You think you walk straight, but you don't..... trust me.  There is someone behind you trying to walk straight and you... you zig and you zag. While one is trying to walk straight and therefore pass you (because while you are zigzagging, you are, of course walking extremely slow...) you make it impossible to pass (it looks like this:  ----/\/\/\/\/\/\/).  Just when one tries to predict your movement and tries zigging while expecting you to zag... you (oblivious to ANYONE around you) decide to continue on your original zig, tripping up the person behind you.... because, that's right... there is always someone behind you!!!

- One more... When you are walking anywhere outside.... sidewalk, street, market... and you and your buddy light up the most obnoxious smelling cigarettes known to man, there is someone behind you.  When you insist on walking slow enough that if you swing your hand far enough back, you'd burn the person trying to pass you, and when you insist on walking in such a way making it impossible to actually pass you.... there is someone behind you (cursing you....but from behind you).  And... when you turn and blow your smoke backwards, as not to blow it into the face of your already smoking friend... the person that is always behind you, then gets a face full of second-hand cancer.

...Believe me when I say, I could do this for hours. In one days time, I have multiple people run into me. I have multiple people simply STOP in front of me (I used to try and see the giant bottomless pit that would have to be there to make someone stop so abruptly and randomly... but to no avail).  I have multiple people walking incredibly slow (and Brian criticizes me for being a slow walker.. so if I'm calling them slow, they're REALLY slow).  And it goes on.... and I promise, because I'm the big white girl, they ALL get mad at me or glare at me when they get hit.  It's always my fault.  The biggest problem is the erratic walking. You guys just can't understand unless you come here.  You think you know where someone is  going to walk... you've been studying them for a good 10 minutes straight, observed, done mathematical calculations, ran experiments, and just when you go to make your move.... they do something completely illogical.  Remember mathematical equations can't help you here... the laws of physics don't apply.

So "there is someone behind you"... are not the words of some crazed, sociopath serial killer..... yet!

Today I was not feeling well.  I was up half the night feeling shakey and nauseous.  This morning I just felt so weak and sick that I couldn’t get out of bed.  Brian got himself all ready, and gave me a kiss, and told me to go back to sleep and get some rest.  

I mention this for two reasons.  The first is that I have been feeling very “off” for a while now.  I have felt nauseous at night, and for the past 10 days or so I have had a chest cough.  I will subtly pass over some other stomach trouble symptoms that have been haunting me.  I have been able to go to school and work and am still functional during the day, but come night, I feel like I am constantly telling Brian I don’t feel well, and curling into a ball.  It SUCKS!!!! It sucks for me to feel sick every night... but I’m not disillusioned to think that it doesn’t suck for Brian too.  I know how frustrating it is to hear someone complain about how they feel, let alone someone you care about, let alone every bloody night.  

We have somewhat come to the conclusion/hope that it is simply from living in a hotel room, having little to no room, and absolutely zero home cooked food.  Eating out every day will take a tole on anyone.  We’re not eating McDonalds every night or anything like that, last night, I just had some rice.  We have rice noodles all the time... but it is still “out” and it is still not home cooked food. On top of that, although not as unhealthy as eating out every night in Canada, it is still a diet that our bodies are not used to.  I think that Brian’s body is simply adapting better than mine.  His metabolism works better, faster and harder than mine, and therefore having such a dramatic change in foods is causing my stomach pains.  This is what we are hoping for (weird thing to hope for, I know), but in 5 weeks we move to the apartment on the school grounds.  This means home cooking for.... EVER!!! We will probably not eat out unless going out with friends, and considering we are slightly lacking in the friend area here, that will be far and few between.  

The second reason, and the more important reason, I bring this up is because of Brian.  He not only listens to me bitch and complain about it, but as I was throwing up last night, (Brian was asleep or almost asleep), he gets up, gets me some water, and comes to give me a hug.  Then this morning, I kept saying I was going to go (or I at least said it a couple times), and at one point just asked for 5 more minutes.  Brian knows me well enough that I am always the first one out of bed and getting ready first.  He knew... he knew I just needed to rest.  He knew that he had to get up, without me getting up or nagging him, or anything.  He knew that I wasn’t going to go.  He knew.  And he wasn’t mad, upset, frustrated, or anything.  He got up, got ready, and crawled onto the bed, kissed me, and told me to rest.  I know it sounds silly, but that meant the world to me.  I didn’t feel guilty for staying home, which normally I would.  

Having the support of someone like that is inexplicable.  I know that is what being in a relationship means. I know that I can be 100% myself with him.  I know that I love him more than words can describe. But to feel that support, and genuine love and caring from someone else is the most incredible feeling. Brian and I have been together for a while now, and he constantly does little things like that, that remind me how amazing he is and how amazing we are together.  

Nobody is perfect.  Brian and I have spent the last 4 months living in a 1 room hotel room together, going to and from work together, WORKING together, and pretty much spending 24 hours, 7 days a week within the bounds of 4 walls, together.  Those circumstances would be trying for ANYONE.  I’m sure I drive him crazy sometimes, and vice versa, but not only have we managed, we’ve managed extremely well.   Yes, we’re looking forward to the move, and yes, we’re excited to have a little more space, however there hasn’t even been a big fight or ‘waver’.  That’s incredible and a testimony to how incredible Brian is.  

I guess this brings me to my conclusion.  

I used to be fairly ‘nomadic’. I moved.... a lot.  I have lived in various apartments in various cities in various provinces, and even in a couple different countries (temporarily).  I have been from Vancouver to Toronto to Montreal to Hong Kong and back (and forth and back) again.  I like to claim to be independent and able. I make friends, I go out alone, I find my way around.  Having said that... I’ve done it. I’ve been to a new city of unknown.  I’ve been ‘alone’ without friends close by before.  I’ve even been to Hong Kong before (not for a long time) but I sort of ‘understood’ what to expect.  Brian is a whole different type of independent; a whole different kind of able. Without ever being outside of North America, never living outside of Ontario, he ups and leaves.  He had no idea what to expect, no one even remotely close by, and no idea what I was getting him into.  Talk about a leap of faith, talk about independent, talk about able!

A little late... but time for a bit of an update

I will start off by saying that I feel as though we should have a lot more to update you on.  Unfortunately that is not the case.  So although our lives may not be as exciting as you think they should be.... or as exciting as they actually should be, I will fill you in with the 'boring' details!

We have been in Hong Kong for about 4 months now.  Now that doesn't sound like a long time, and in the giant scheme of things, isn't a long time.  However, when it comes to living in a new place, across the WORLD from everyone and everything you know, and working full time, it is a decent "control group" of time.  I feel as though I can comment, judge, and speak my observations about Hong Kong after giving it about 4 months. It's not as though I'm trying to understand the whole city in 3 days.

For the most part, things are good.  Brian and I, although STILL in the hotel room, are settling in.  Brian has been bored over the weekend lately (me as well, but spending a couple hours at Starbucks usually helps in getting me out of the house)... We used to go out with our friend Yolande every weekend.  Lately, due to family obligations, she has been unable to join us on random outings.  So, Brian has become restless.  This weekend, he realized that being able to play his playstation might help cure some of this boredom.  How, is slightly beyond me, but it works for him.  So...

He pulled his PS3 out of the box, for the first time in 4 months.  He went to hook it up to the hotel tv.  The hotel tv is extremely old, and flickers.  We thought that it might just be the 'cable' that flickered... it wasn't. It's the TV that is set on giving us both epileptic seizures (which is hard considering neither of us is actually epileptic). However, the playstation didn't work anyways upon hookup.  So then... Brian put his mind to getting a new tv.  Now normally, this would be a ridiculous idea considering we're moving to the apartment in 6 weeks and there is a large, perfectly good tv there.  However, this was an exception.  We can use the tv in the apartment bedroom, when we move.  We can play blue rays on it, and can even hook it up to the computer if we want to watch a tv show from the internet on it.

Although it could still be considered redundant, it was going to make Brian happy.  We hadn't watched a tv nor had he played video games for 4 months.  He went on a mission looking for a tv.  Within minutes he had found a couple that work.  After a few texts back and forth, he had verbally bought a 26" tv that we could pick up on Sunday.

There is an escalator in Hong Kong that goes from Central station to the mid-levels. It is the longest escalator in the world at 900m.  We missed it.  We, instead, followed our map, finding the most 'direct' route.  I'm pretty sure it was the most direct route as it was practically straight up.  We climbed stairs after stairs, hiked up steep hills, and just when you think it MIGHT level out, you turn the corner to find another 3 flights of stairs leading up to a steeper hill.   I am not in the best shape.  I haven't made it to the gym, and not being able to cook has been killing me... I honestly thought I wasn't going to make it to the top.  It...... just........ kept....... going...........

After a good 40 minutes of 'sidewalk' climbing, we made it.  Sweaty (it was bloody hot out), and exhausted, we made it to the ex-pat's apartment.  It was beautiful.  It was large (I think at least 2 bedroom), with a big kitchen (from what I could see) and a giant living room even for Toronto standards. This was a very expensive apartment to rent by any standards let alone Hong Kong.

We picked up the tv for about $150 CAD.  It was cheap, good, big enough, and worked.  The people were super nice, and besides wanting to die getting there, all in all a successful transaction.

We made it back to the hotel, hooked it up, Brian was all excited, and, the PS3 didn't work.  We got on the mtr, and headed to Sham Shui Po.  We had looked up the Computer 'market' (don't know what else to call it), and headed inside.  It was huge, with NOWHERE to walk, and too many people and counters.  There was a mass amount of computer, video game, and lord knows what else, electronics.  Everything you might want, was in there, I'm not sure where in there, but in there.  We purchased an hdmi cable, got some useful information by a video game salesperson, and headed home.

Putting the advice to good use, changing out the hdmi cable, and my magic touch, we got it up and working.... Brian was extremely happy.  So, we have made our hotel room, slightly more like home with a PS3 and some beautiful flowers that Brian picked out for me.  6 more weeks and counting.

It's dark, but this is Brian's new tv and ps3 set up.

While we were out, Brian said to me "nothing seems to be easy. I just want something to work for once". That seems to be the overall feeling of our time here.  Everything just feels like work.  Nothing just works, and works the way it should... there is always some sort of obstacle to get over, some sort of hiccup in the plan.

Not the best pic of the flowers, but it is a big bouquet of pink roses and lilies and white.... something else.

I keep saying to myself, 6 weeks and we are in the apartment. 6 weeks and I can cook our own meals.  6 weeks and I can join the gym across the street, and have time to go.  6 weeks, and we're moving.  6 weeks and we get to go traveling.... 6 weeks everything should work they way it should work.  I know it won't, but maybe living in a real apartment, and having home cooked meals, will at least make it FEEL easier.

Juizhaigou, Nicole, Sadie and the Tibetan home stay

We found a mountain, and snow!

So, the next day, we got up super early, headed to the bus station to start on our TEN hour bus ride up to Jiuzhaigou. Jiuzhaigou is a national park in the Sichuan province.  We had heard about it before at brunch with a family friend and his daughter-in-law, and did some research on it. We figured if we're that close, we probably should go.  

A Gorgeous waterfall

Brian was able to find a traditional tibetan home stay that we were going to stay at.  The park was beautiful, really it was.  The water was extremely clear, the waterfalls gorgeous, but you walked around on a wooden boardwalk the entire time.  The most scenic spots were also bus stops where hundreds of chinese tour groups would get out, take a bunch of pictures, make a bunch of noise, and then climb back onto one of the billion buses going by.  We took the bus to the top, and then down a little ways (no where to walk down the side of a mountain) and then walked the rest of the way.  Our favourite moments were those in between bus stops where it was just us.  

The wooden BoardWalk

Although the park, in itself, was gorgeous, it was $50 CAD to get in, which is stupid expensive for a PARK.  And, you can really only do the park for one day, and see it all.  So we both determined we would have hated it, had we gone 10 hours on a bus there and back for one day at the park.  Luckily for us, we were staying in the Tibetan home stay, and that made the whole trip worth while.  

The lakes were so clear

Not sure exactly what made this formation, but it looked cool so we climbed on it.

The water was ACTUALLY that colour!!!

Told you the water was clear. You can see right to the bottom!

Our new british friends Sadie (left) and Nicole (right)

The home stay was just that. We lived in a tibetan family's home. They were so hospitable and nice. Ama, the mother of the home, cooked delicious meals. She showed us her garden, and her 'bee hives', which inevitably were scraps of wood hammered together in a sort-of-box-shaped-way, and we ate her home made honey.  One of the days, we wanted to go horse back riding.  In the morning, Ama called someone... don't know who, but about 15 minutes later, two men showed up with some horses, and guided us for 2 hours, up the mountain, and around through the village, and back to Ama's house.  It was beautiful.  

The Tibetan Home Stay

Me and Ama (the mother/amazing cook) 

Ama and Tibetan prayer flags

Brian, Nicole and Sadie having some tea after at the home stay

Brian feeding a wild horse, or at least a horse that just belonged to the village. 

Us horseback riding through the mountain and village.

When we were in Chengdu, we met a couple of British girls who were going to do the Panda holding too.  They mentioned they were heading up to Jiuzhaigou as well the next day.  I took some pictures for them, holding the panda, exchanged e-mails so they could get the pictures, and we were on our way.  While we were walking down through the park two days later, they were walking up (crazies). But we ran into them and started chatting. They hated the hostel they were staying in, and found the park to be expensive, so were thinking of going home the next day. We told them about where we were staying, and how wonderful the people were, and the food was, and that we were going horseback riding the next day. They were sold.  We were going to call them later, but ended up meeting up with them, and walking the second leg of the park with them.  They are amazing girls, Nicole and Sadie, and quickly became friends of ours. 

They came and stayed at the home stay with us. They went horseback riding with us and we ended up being able to rent a car/driver to drive us back to Chengdu the next day for about $5 CAD more than the bus ticket but it took about 6.5 hours rather than 10.  

The hostel in Chengdu that was just amazing!

Back in Chengdu, we took them to, of course, hooters for dinner. They recommended we stay in a hostel they heard about, with them, so we did.  This hostel was PERFECT.  If we had stayed there before, I would've liked Chengdu so much more.  It was a great place, laid back atmosphere, welcoming and a true travellers hostel.  The main room was a bar, with a few tables, a pool table, ping pong tables outside, and a sort of raised platform with cushions and a Japanese style table.  We all took off our shoes, and sat around the table chatting, and soon it went from 4 to about 10 of us.  We met Patrick from ireland, and a guy from the states, another from Britain.  It was so neat.  We traded stories, we recommended the tibetan home stay to Patrick who was going to head up to Juizhaigou a couple days later.  We had a few drinks, and then headed to bed so that we could get up in the morning and catch our plane home.

*I, of course, have a billion more pictures, but didn't want you all to have to scroll through a million pics just to read the blog, so I'll post more if I have requests for them.

The Post-Panda Post

Our trip did not simply end at the panda sanctuary, although, I'm sure if it did, Brian wouldn't have cared. If he had died while walking gout of the panda sanctuary, he would've died a happy man..... however, luckily for us, that wasn't the case.

That evening, we went back to our hotel, and had a massage in the hotel spa.  That was an interesting experience.  However, after said massage, we hopped in a taxi to go to the bus station to buy our tickets for the next morning.  After struggling a little bit (a lot),  and a little bit of prayer that they were sending us to the right place, we purchased our tickets.  We then headed to dinner. You see, while Brian was finding out where the bus station was, he noticed a 'landmark' on google maps.  It appears that Chengdu is one of the few places in china that has the fine-dining establishment, we have come to know and love, as Hooters.  We, of course, HAD to go.

After, what appeared to be a short walk on the map that turned out to be quite a ways away, we finally manage to find the restaurant.  We walked in to have about a dozen girls scream at us "welcome to Hooters'.  This was done with a severe Chinese accent, and not even CLOSE to being in unison.  I actually laughed out loud a little.  We were seated with Elaine.  Now, Hooters is NOT known for great tasting food, so our expectations were low.  However, it seems that, because of the lack of actual 'hooters' in these chinese franchises, they make it up with excellent food.  And I mean EXCELLENT.  It was, by far, one of the best meals we have eaten since coming to Hong Kong.  I only had a burger, but the meat was tasty, and seasoned, and cooked properly.  It was amazing.  So good in fact, we ended up going back there on our way home, just for a second helping.

While we were sitting in Hooters, Brian and I were having a nice conversation, and all of a sudden... silence. I had lost him.... but to what???? There were no video games around, we're in the middle of China, where almost no one speaks English.  I turn to see the Toronto Blue Jays on one of the tv's, and Brian out of his seat, looming over a table of some sketchy looking 'businessmen'.  He was staring at the tv, with his mouth open, probably with a little salvation coming down from the corner of his lips.  He watched the opening day highlights.

He came back with a giant smile on his face.  I turned to him and said.... so, you got to hold a panda, get rubbed down by an asian girl in a short, tight dress, have the best food we've eaten in a long time.... not a bad day. And his reply was, and I just got to see baseball.

We had a picture of the hooters girls and some other pics of Chengdu, but I'm not sure where they went, how they were erased.... I'm sure it was a slip on my part, but they were there with the panda pictures, and now they're not..so I don't know.

Panda Time!

So after arriving in Chengdu around 9:00pm, our plan was simple. Food, sleep, pandas!  After going to bed a little later than we had hoped, the next morning was one of the few mornings I didn't have to drag a tired, sleep-deprived Brian out of bed.  He was more than willing to get up, there was, of course, pandas in the near future.

We hopped in a cab, and mario-karted (see previous post) our way to the Chengdu Panda Research Centre.  As Brian practically did a tuck-and-roll out of the moving cab, throwing money at the driver at the same time, I waited to get change.  In China, there really is no tipping culture. Sometimes on the bill, they will add a 10% service fee, but other than that, tipping just isn't customary.  So unsure of Bri's intentions, I yelled after him to see if he wanted change.  Bri quickly turned his head, as if just remembering I existed, and told me not to bother.

We had done a lot of research online about the Panda park.  A few things we noted, that were absolutely crucial to the extensive enjoyment we got out of the park, were; go early! At about 10:30 or 11am a number of tours and tour busses filled with people make their way into the park.  These are loud individuals grouped together in even louder groups.  They tend to yell, scream, and block the way for anyone and everyone else.  We were also told to go early because at 8:00-8:30am (right when the park opens) the keepers feed the pandas and the bears are the most active.  This proved to be very true.

One of the full grown Panda Bears

The main reason for us going was so that we could hold a panda.  We got there early, found out where we got to do that, and went to talk to the people about it.  The panda holding didn't start until 9:30, so we wandered around the park first for a while.  We got to see the pandas tearing apart bamboo, and drinking water, and just walking around.  This park was extremely good to the bears. They lay out the food close to the edge where people can see the pandas, but the bears have to go find the food themselves.  Their enclosure also isn't like a typical zoo, it's a habitat.  If the bears don't feel like people seeing them, they can wander a whole 5 yards into the bush and lie there without the hassle of people.  There also isn't chain link fence all around, there is simply a habitat of bush, bamboo, water, etc, and then, imagine, a cement moat without water in it, and a wall.  So both the pandas and their habitat are essentially raised to the wall level, but they can't climb out because there is a 'moat' around them.

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Teenage Panda mowing down with some buddies!

Pssshhh Teenagers... always eating!

It was amazing.  Just seeing the bears, watching them eat. For the first while we were 2 of the 20 people in the park.  It was super nice.  People just took pictures, got excited, but no yelling or pushing.  After about 45 minutes, we went to the nursery (where we were supposed to go to hold the baby bear). We made it known we wanted to go, and I made sure we were first in line.  We signed up, got a complimentary sweatshirt (which came in super handy later) and a certificate thanking us for our 'donation'. We walked 'behind the scenes' of the nursery, where they garbed us in hospital gowns, gloves and booties.  Although dawning such apparel isn't the greatest for pictures, we were more than happy to do so, as it was just another demonstration of the sanctuary trying to protect the panda.

Brian and I got set up, first in line.  As the lighting was surprisingly low, and there was no flash allowed, Bri turned to me and said that he'd go first to make sure that I got the camera all set up for good pictures.  The man came over and told him to sit on this beautiful wooden bench.  Bri sat, and waited..... it was not hard to tell that it was extremely difficult for him to sit and wait without literally jumping up and down.  The amount of excitement I saw in him is equivalent to that of a 5 year old on Christmas morning being told to wait to open his presents, or that of a 6 year old boy getting a new puppy..... He was so cute.... waiting!!!!!!

One of the keepers came around the corner, and of course, with every noise, sound, rustle of paper, Brian jumped, so when the keeper came around the corner, he was alert!  They explained they were just trying to get Zhen Zhen (pronounced Jun Jun) out of a tree.

Finally, just as Brian was about to explode into a billion tiny excited little bits, the keeper (who probably didn't weigh much more than the actual panda cub) comes around the corner carrying this wonderful, adorable, 15kg ball of black and white fur.  Bri just LIT right up.

My favourite picture of Brian ever! This was taken JUST as Zhen Zhen turned the corner.

Brian with Zhen Zhen. (He's playing with Brian's hand, like puppies do)

"oh hey over there! It's just me and my best friend Brian"

We were warned that we may only get about 30 seconds with the Panda.  They basically try to cram as many people in as they can, but the basis being, once the panda doesn't want to sit and cooperate any more, he doesn't.  Brian, going first and all, definitely got the most time. He sat there with Zhen Zhen for well over a minute, playing and making noises as if they were best friends.  Then it was my turn.  I got a hug and a kiss from Zhen Zhen.  I got about a minute, not quite as long as Bri, but definitely longer than anyone else behind us.  It truly was amazing.

A Panda Kiss from my new boyfriend!

Just hugging a panda... no big deal!

Playing around!

There are only about 2000 pandas left in the world.  They are highly endangered. It was an experience I may never have again, and feel so lucky to be able to have held a panda.  There are a lot of facts about Panda's, and my wonderful fiancé has written quite a lot of them out on his blog: http://virtuallylife.blogspot.com/ - facts like female pandas only ovulate once a year for 36 hours.  When they do get pregnant (by miracle) when the panda comes out, it is so unrecognizable, the mother doesn't know what it is or what to do with it.  A baby panda looks, for lack of a better description, like a baby pig.  It doesn't have any fur.   She often bats it with her paw, unsure if it is a threat, and can end up killing the baby bear.

Zhen Zhen 

The experience of holding Zhen Zhen will not be one that is forgotten.  I'm so happy we were able to capture the moment with some wonderful pictures.  My favourite actually being the one just of Brian.