Day 6-8: Hons take Beijing

Day 6

4am wake up call. We're like a pack of zombies boarding our bus for the 1.5 hr drive to the airport to catch our 3hr flight to Beijing. 

It's seems like the traveling from one place to another should have been miserable. Actually, it's become part of the great experience. We've been using all the down time to play games, tell stories, listen to the kids get on the mic, tell jokes and riddles and catch up on sleep. It's been pretty awesome to be shuffled from place to place with everyone you love being around and surprisingly easy. The kids are traveling super stars and have found ways to keep each other entertained in every circumstance.

Day 5: Guilin Part II

7:45am, took a moment to enjoy this ridiculous view from our balcony and Thank the Lord we're all safe and well. Traveling with this many Hons (and kids) can get pretty crazy. We've already had a few close calls and I swear angels are looking after us. So thank you all for your prayers :)

The scenery here is unbelievable, unlike any other panoramas I've seen. 

There are SO many activities packed into our days that it's hard to even digest what I've just seen/learned/experienced. For today's activities in Guilin we went to the Silver Cave, lunch at the Moonlight Resort, bamboo rafting down the Li Jong River, dinner, then the night market.

Day 4: Guilin Part I

Wake up call was at 7am. On the 47th floor, I parted the curtains to this sprawling city view. 

Guang Zhou is also one of the bigger cities in China. I'm sure there is tons of interesting history about this place too...but I zoned out the entire time our guide talked during our ride here (Her chinglish was so melodic.) I will say, having 2 tour guides taking us through China is the BEST. They have set up everything from our meals to the top hotels. We don't have to worry about checking in, buying tickets/fares, they just guide us like happy little sheep with iPhones glued to our faces. The 3 most asked questions this trip: Are we there yet? When are we eating? and What's the wifi code?

Day 3: To Guang Zhou We Go

The pace of this trip is definitely unlike any other Hon reunion. Instead of leisure mornings nursing late nights and debating the day's activities, we're on a strict, can't-be-late schedule where if we miss one departure, it's a chain effect of missing everything else. 

This day started off with a heavy knock on the door and a panicked Shobab waking up out of his much needed slumber. "Almost ready!" He yells. We throw everything in our bags and wait to wake Yaelle up until the last minute. 

Today is one of the more meaningful days. We're busing to a small, poor village in the eastern part of Guang Zhou to our Hon family ancestral temple. It was destroyed during the cultural revolution in the 1940's and has been in the process of being rebuilt over the last 10 years. 

Boarding our bus for the 1.5 hr drive to the village.

Day 2: Shen Zhen

First of all, China is so much more beautiful than I expected. I'm sure I'll be visiting the overcrowded, smog-filled, stank-ass areas I envisioned in my head, but here in Shen Zhen? Feels like a tropical paradise. I'm most impressed with the beautifully manicured landscaping and how well-maintained it is. Every hedge is even, every tree pruned, I even spotted workers along the freeway pulling dead fronds off plants.

So, this day started with a tour of Dahon's factory. From raw material to finished product. And though I'm sure safety standards exist here in China...let's just say, OSHA would have had a field day. Lol. I didn't spot any children though, good job guys ;)

Walking from breakfast to the factory floor. The Dahon campus houses and feeds about 900 workers, many of which come from far away villages and go home only a few times a year. 

Day 1: Hontourage Takes China

For years my Uncle David had been inviting the family to China visit. His offer was we buy the flight and he'll take care of the rest. Whether it was the distance, or the hassle of flying with kids, it wasn't until last year we finally took it seriously and 24 of us set a date and got our flights. 

The trip is a 10-day tour through China, starting at his factory outside of Shen Zhen and then to a different city every 2 days. I know the traveling will be exhausting, but the experience will be once in a lifetime. So, here we go! 

Day 1 - SFO to Hong Kong to Shen Zhen

After a 14 hr flight, we touched down in Hong Kong. Yaelle did great but didn't sleep as much as I hoped, which meant neither did I. The flight was comfortable, roomy seating, and they even set me up with a bassinet. Singapore air was the way to go. 

After passport issues, (because Hon's can't go anywhere with at least a couple surprises), we finally got through customs and Taxi'd to the Hyatt Regency where we met up some others waiting for us. The drive into Hong Kong was incredible: Through towering green mountain sides, on bridges that make San Francisco's new bridge seem completely average, with a skyline of never-ending high rises, surrounded by thousands of ports. The city was super impressive and clean. No trash on the street, no rank downtown smells, and cost of everything surprisingly similar to what you would expect in an American city.