Sanya - Haitang Bay / China's Beaches

Hey Ya'll! 

I wanted to share with you today one of Tractor Man and my favorite China getaways, Sanya - Haitang Bay! 

The pools are amazing! 

We have gone down south twice in our 2 years here and each time we have stayed at the Doubletree.  It was amazing! Blue skies, warm water and great food. The hotel was wonderful too, but I found that I took most of my pictures of the beautiful grounds. The rooms though were really clean and very roomy! We stayed in a suite and it was fabulous. Aiden slept in the living room so we all had our own space. The bathroom is huge! 

The Manager of this resort is Markus Kosch. 

markus.kosch@conradhotels.com

(He gave me his permission to pass along his email address and let you know to email him to make your reservations or to ask questions.)

Doubletree by Hilton

To get down to Sanya, we booked our tickets on www.ctrip.com. It is a 3 hour flight from Shanghai Hongqiao airport and then a 30 minute drive to the hotel. We booked the resort car to come pick us up and then take us back at the end of our trip. 

Pickle enjoying the big boy pool. 

The beach is nice, quiet and very clean. 

This was the view from our hotel room, needless to say, I never wanted to leave. 

All of the hotel's amenities are great as well. We have eaten at every restaurant the Double Tree has and let me say, YUM! My personal favorite is Pacifica. This is a wonderful seafood restaurant. We had Christmas Eve dinner there as well as my birthday dinner. They also have a noodle restaurant and one called Taste that has a little something for everyone. Everything that we have ever had is delicious. 

Caesar Salad

Our surf and turf spread we had on my birthday. Delicious! 

View of the hotel from the pool. 

Pickle's favorite part was the heated toddler pool. 

The staff at the hotel has always gone above and beyond for us. They are friendly, helpful and extremely polite. If you are looking for a wonderful getaway while in China I highly recommend the Doubletree Hotel in Sanya! 

Enjoy the Sun! 

Belle

Monday = Coffee Time!

Hey Ya'll,

Once you get to know me, you will know I am a coffee-aholic! I LOVE coffee and having Starbucks here in Wuxi has been fabulous. A dear friend of mine and I started a year and a half ago walking from our apartment complex to Starbucks every Monday. It makes Monday's the day I look forward to! Now our group has grown!

This is amazing way to meet expats in Wuxi, just come to Starbucks in New District on any given Monday. We normally arrive between 10:00am and 10:30am depending on if we all walk over or not. There are usually between 5 and 15 expats joining together from all over to have coffee together and let the kids play. Come join us! 

Starbucks (Software Park) 星巴克（软件园店）

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0510-81819056
16 Changjiang Rd, 1F, Room 8102
无锡市新区长江路16号1楼8102室

This is our Starbucks...our home away from home.
There are always lots of people to meet from all around the world. We would LOVE to have you come join us. 

Even the kids have a good time! 

Thanks Ya'll, 

Belle

Wuxi International Club - A Gathering of Expats

Hey Ya'll!

One of the most important topics in anything we can write is....how do I meet people? If you are like me, I crave friendship and love being around people. I know this is not everyone, but if you are looking to find a community of friends in Wuxi, this is the place to start.

The Wuxi International Club! Below is an introduction from the club president and a link to the website. We would LOVE to have you come join us!

Wuxi International Club (WIC) is a voluntary organization of expats from various countries based in the Wuxi area of Jiangsu Province, China.  For a family to join our club, one member of your family must hold a foreign passport.  We charge an annual fee of 200 RMB per year per family payable in January.  If you join us after June, the fee is reduced to 100 RMB for the remainder of the year. 

We arrange events to enrich the social and cultural lives of members and to help them become familiar with Wuxi. We also give back to the local community with our members volunteering and donating to various organizations in the area. 

Our activities are planned by our members. They are varied and targeted towards our member's interests. For example, we have a monthly lunch at western style restaurants, toddler play dates, coffee mornings and organize visits to local attractions. Members are sent our newsletter on a monthly basis packed with things to do for the entire family.  All our communications are in English. We are a small community and all have one thing in common, we are expats in China!  You can find out more information about us on our website: Wuxi International Club

Pickle having fun at the play date with his friends. 

Ladies from our playgroup! 

Pickle playing with the baby animals at our WIC Easter brunch. 

Some sweet ladies enjoying coffee at one of our "coffee morning" outings. 

We all love Starbucks! 

Come join in on the fun. We can't wait to meet you!

Thanks Ya'll,

Belle

Wuxi Zoo

We took our first trip to the Wuxi Zoo this past spring. 

We had a wonderful time, although it was quite a bit further from New District than I had anticipated. It took approximately 45 minutes by car, but it was a holiday, so quite possibly traffic was heavier than usual that particular day.

Upon arrival, we purchased our tickets (100 rmb for each adult) and headed through the gates. This is where we learned there are two parts to the zoo. There's a theme park on the right, which looks like tons of fun for older kids, and the zoo is down the path to the left. We actually went in to the theme park first  and realized that we had made a mistake. A little backtracking and we found our way to a map which got us steered in the right direction.

The zoo is quite hilly, so for those who tire easily or have one sort of health concern which makes walking difficult, the zoo rents out mobility scooters for a small fee. We saw many able bodied people riding them, which caught me off guard, but I guess they just didn't feel like walking. For parents taking young kids, take a stroller. They will get tired of walking the hills. An umbrella stroller worked fine for us.

We weren't quite sure what to expect from a Chinese zoo, considering the treatment of humans in some places here strike us as a bit inhumane, but it was not as bad as I had expected. The zoo has a wide array of animals. They've got elephants, camels, bears, giraffes, lions, tigers, panthers (gorgeous!), pandas, monkeys, tons of birds in the aviary, reptiles ( I admit, I skipped the reptiles, they creep me out), hippos and the list goes on.

My beef with the zoo was that the habitats needed some TLC. Many of the animals had areas in their habitats that were meant for a small pond to help keep cool, that were either half filled with water or completely dry. Not a zookeeper in sight. It seemed as though the upkeep of the habitats went ignored, while the park itself was kept quite clean. 

One of our favorite parts (PETA would freak!) was a "live Beast show" which was held inside a tent, with music and announcements at a decibel level that was above and beyond anything we've encountered here so far. It was LOUD. We stood in a breezeway instead of sitting in the crowd so we could get some distance from the speakers, but the show itself was quite entertaining. We saw bears riding bikes, jump roping, dancing to "Gagnam Style" and doing flips between the still rings. Next came monkeys, doing many of the same tricks, and lastly, lions and tigers together. This brought back memories of the circus as a kid, although I don't think I had ever seen a bear on a bike until our zoo experience here.

There are booths full of Chinese food, and kiosks with drinks and ice cream cones. We did not eat at the zoo, so I can't comment on it, but it is available. I think if we go back, we will pack our lunches and take a blanket to sit and picnic halfway through our visit. The park, with its sprawling hills, has many grassy areas which would be perfect for a breather/snack/lunch. 

We look forward to going back when cooler fall weather arrives. It's a wonderful day trip away from the hustle and bustle of town.

See you there,

Elle Lay

Here's the address:

Wuxi Zoo and Taihu fun park  无锡动物园 No.99 Qianrong Rd.

Binhu district, Wuxi 214063