Gina Wehner – wadventures

Tiananmen Square & Forbidden City with Grandparents

Gina Wehner — Wed, 13 Feb 2019 08:39:49 +0000

Central Beijing, China

Forbidden City is a palace complex in central Beijing, China. It houses the Palace Museum, and was the former Chinese imperial palace from the Ming dynasty to the end of the Qing dynasty (the years 1420 to 1912). The Forbidden City served as the home of emperors and their households and was the ceremonial and political center of Chinese government for almost 500 years. This famous landmark, along with Tiananmen Square are must-sees for any visitor to Beijing. We arranged for a private van and tour guide for Kathy and Tony to have the best possible experience. It was a cold day, but we learned a lot and enjoyed our time together.

Xi’an with Grandma and Grandpa

Gina Wehner — Wed, 06 Feb 2019 02:19:47 +0000

Xi’an, Shaanxi Province, China

We took an early morning flight from Beijing to Xi’an and went directly to see the famous Terracotta Soldiers. Here’s a link to the wikipedia page for the full history of this amazing historical site.

Our hotel was very close to the Drum Tower so we were able to explore the area. It was a beautiful site during the day and at night when it was lit up.

Our tour guide took us to see the Giant Pagoda, this pagoda is well over 1,000 years old and has survived great earthquakes. We were there during the Chinese New Year celebration, so there was huge crowds of Chinese people that came here to celebrate.

The Muslim quarters is a tourist area known for shopping and eating, so of course we had to go. We were too late to visit The Great Mosque of Xi’an, the largest mosque in China, but we learned some of the history and were able see some of the wall that surrounds it. Grandma and Grandpa enjoyed a few of the local treats.

Frozen Summer Palace

Gina Wehner — Mon, 04 Feb 2019 19:57:51 +0000

Haidian District, Beijing, China

My parents, Kathy and Tony Durand were set to arrive in Beijing on Friday February 1st. They left their home in southern MN on Jan. 31st and 18 hours later, arrived right back home. Extremely cold weather and snow forced some delays and airport closures. They made the same journey a few days later and arrived here late at night on Sunday Feb. 3rd. We were all VERY excited to see each other.

Not even 9 hours after they arrived, we were taking them on a tour of the Summer Palace. The Summer Palace is a vast ensemble of lakes, gardens and palaces in Beijing. It was first built in 1750, largely destroyed in the war of 1860 and restored on its original foundations in 1886 and became a designated UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1998. It was a very cold day for a tour of these vast grounds, even for us Minnesotans. Here’s a small gallery of the best photos from the day. Click any photo for a larger view.

Photo Archive

New Year’s Eve in Phuket

Gina Wehner — Tue, 01 Jan 2019 21:36:35 +0000

Karon Beach, Phuket, Thailand

New Years Eve 2018. Matt and I celebrated our 15-year anniversary with a fabulous Thai dinner with the girls. Then we drove to Karon Beach where many festivities happen for New Years. It was early, but we saw concerts and parties starting to happen at hotels close to the beach. We wanted to experience New Year’s Eve on the island, but the family friendly version. The girls lit a lantern on the beach and released it over the ocean and then we saw fireworks all during our drive back home. We were back at our apartment before midnight where we did a watched a Thai countdown together. Matt and I have been fortunate enough to celebrate our New Years Eve anniversary at some interesting places, and this is one we will definitely remember!

A Lesser Known Beach

Gina Wehner — Sun, 30 Dec 2018 23:06:32 +0000

Ao Yon Beach, Phuket, Thailand

We found this small local beach near our apartment and spent a lovely afternoon exploring. The tides were very low when we first arrived allowing us to walk up the inlet and find crabs, fish, and shells. The water was very shallow and warm which is why we saw many locals setting up picnics.

All good beach days include shovels and buckets, these were purchased during our first week on the island. The girls used them many times, but knew this beach would be our last chance with them. Since we couldn’t bring all of it back to Beijing in our luggage, Nola and Ivy gave some shovels and toys to some other kids on the beach.

When we saw some street food vendors setting up by the road, we knew we had to try it. The chocolate crepes were a hit!

1 Day, 4 Family Members, 4 Chosen Adventures

Gina Wehner — Sat, 29 Dec 2018 15:13:36 +0000

Various locations, Phuket, Thailand

We had a free day and too many ideas of how to spend it. Matt came up with a great idea for each family member to pick one thing to do. It was only possible because we rented a car which allowed us the freedom to explore. It was a busy day, but a lot of fun for each family member to pick an activity they really wanted to experience.

The day started with my choice, Wat Chalong, or Chalong Temple. I wanted to experience this temple because it is different than what we’ve seen in China. The girls are ‘done with’ temples, so I had to make this a quick trip. They grudgingly admitted that this one was pretty cool.

Chalong (Chalong Temple) was built at the beginning on 19th century, is the largest and most visited of Phuket’s temples. Locals and many Thai tourists come to pray and pay respects to several revered monks who were the founders of Wat Chalong. Walls and ceilings are decorated with beautiful painting illustrating the life of Buddha, as well as many donated golden statues.

The 2nd activity was chosen by Ivy, Phuket Bird Park. This park is located on 12 acres of land and is the only privately owned bird park on the Island. The park has over thousand birds of more than 100 amazing bird species from Asia, Africa and South America. We saw birds, bunnies, and even our first squirrel since leaving MN in August.

The next adventure was Matt’s pick, Monkey Hill. Toh Sae Hill (known as Monkey Hill) is one of the biggest hills found in Phuket Town. There are an estimated 400 macaques that live freely in several troops on the hill. It was a bit of a walk up a hill that lead to a beautiful view of Phuket. The monkeys were everywhere and jumping around the trees and even some scooters. We were careful to give them their distance as some monkeys approached people.

Our last excursion for the day was Nola’s pick, the Phuket Aquarium. Nola loves fish, sea turtles, and underwater creatures. It was a nice size facility that was great for families and Nola was able to get up close with some of her favorite fish. We also experienced the interesting and slightly creepy mermaid robot that talked about Thailand.

New Home-base in Phuket

Gina Wehner — Wed, 26 Dec 2018 03:03:38 +0000

Soi Sakdidejana, Phuket, Thailand

For our 2nd week in Phuket, we moved to a different apartment on another part of the island. I planned our accommodations through Air BnB, so I did not know the exact address until after the reservations were made. Normally this is not a problem, but sometimes it creates issues. I thought this apartment was closer to the city of Phuket Town, but it turned out to be much farther down the island near Cape Panwa. It was not close enough to walk to shops or restaurants, but luckily we were able to easily rent a car for 5 days while we were here. On the positive side, the apartment was great, we had a large deck, and the girls loved the pool.

Driving in Phuket was interesting. They drive on the other side of the road than the US, scooters and motorcycles speed by everywhere, and I couldn’t read most street signs. I was a bit hesitant to drive in these circumstances for the first time in 5 months, but it turned out to be a pretty fun adventure.

Baan Teelanka, or The Upside Down House is a tourist spot that I first saw on an episode of The Amazing Race. It was definitely silly and a bit ridiculous, but the girls enjoyed it.

X-Mas Eve in Phuket

Gina Wehner — Mon, 24 Dec 2018 22:01:08 +0000

Kamala Beach, Phuket, Thailand

Christmas Eve 2018 started with an early morning walk on the beach to watch the sunrise. Nola and Ivy wanted to search for shells on the beach and decided early morning would be the best time to find undisturbed shells. We were on the wrong side of the island to see the real sunrise, but we still enjoyed a quiet beach before all the swimmers came. The girls had fun playing in the sand and finding shells, but we needed a nap after the early morning!

Mexican food is a favorite for us, but we haven’t found a good restaurant yet in Beijing. Some locals recommended a Mexican restaurant with a view of the bay, so that is where we spent our Christmas Eve dinner. It also provided our first tuk tuk ride along the winding coast. The food and drinks were great and we loved watching the sunset over the bay, even with some clouds.

After we got back to our apartment, we played some card games and everyone enjoyed a pomegranate sparkling drink. We also got to see some amazing fireworks before Santa left some presents in the girls stockings!

Groceries in Phuket

Gina Wehner — Sun, 23 Dec 2018 07:31:11 +0000

Kamala Beach, Phuket, Thailand

Staying in one place for a week allows us to explore all of the different market options. The girls really liked the small fruit markets we would walk by. We had no idea what this was when we bought it, but wanted to be adventurous. Nola had some trouble cutting it, but she finally got to the sweet center to discover it was a lychee fruit. We also tried honey pineapple, sweet oranges, different varieties of bananas and lots of other fresh fruit.

The size of this grocery store was a bit overwhelming after the last 5 months in Beijing. It took a few times in the store and some careful searching, but we found some items we had not seen for awhile and the girls liked finding products in English.

This 24 hour Super Cheap was a food market very close to our resort. Its a store more focused for the local Thai people than the one we went to on the tourist street. It meant there were some interesting/different products and smells! These are experiences we want to provide for our girls, showing them the local food and products to broaden their understanding and perspectives. Sometimes the small, every day moments are the most memorable.

This night time market popped up a few evenings during our week-long stay. During the day this is a large open field, but in the evening different vendors set up their stalls to sell food, clothing, and other products for locals and tourists alike. We never did buy anything, but we were there more to look around at all the action.

Waterfalls and Lesser Apes

Gina Wehner — Sat, 22 Dec 2018 10:36:31 +0000

Bang Pae Waterfall, Phuket, Thailand

After too much sun the day before, we decided to do some exploring off the beach. The Khao Phra Theaw National Park area including the Bang Pae waterfall and Gibbon rehabilitation project were perfect.

The Gibbon Project is an amazing non profit organization focusing on the rehabilitation and release of gibbons to the wild in Thailand. Even though it is not a zoo, they have some gibbons that can not be released and the girls liked seeing and hearing them. We also learned that hundreds of gibbons were rescued from illegal photo-prop business, many were kept cruelly as pets, and some were left alone in abandoned zoos. Gibbons are Thailand’s most intelligent wildlife species and they were almost extinct in the wild, so we felt good about donating to help support this rehabilitation.

After the gibbons, we walked through the amazing fauna of the jungle to see the waterfall. It was an adventure to see the different trees, fronds, flowers, bugs, and ferns. The sounds and smells were all very new for the girls and they loved running in the water and rocks.

We stopped for some fruit smoothies to get out of the sun and were joined by some unusual birds. They were pretty loud, but left us alone!