Guilin, China - The Beginning

This begins one of the most 

AMAZING trips of my LIFE.

I will NEVER forget the things 

I experienced in Guilin, China.

Thursday, November 10 

at 10:30 PM

we boarded a plane going from Hong Kong

to Guilin, China.  Our family would be traveling

with our friends, Olivia and Frederik Geertsema

from Holland, but we know them from

our Branch in Discovery Bay, and

Josh Anderson, Caleb's friend, 

who is visiting from 

HOME - Cumming, Georgia.

On the plane we were served a snack in a box.
It was said to be ...

warmth - refreshing - harmonious - nourishing

It was a roll, a piece of sponge cake and 

4 TINY crab apples.

After the hour flight a driver picked us up

at the airport

and took us to the Guilin Bravo Hotel.

The Hotel Lobby

The accessories and furnishings of the lobby

were very Chinese.

Haleigh and Olivia felt like royalty

sitting on these, what they called,

Chinese thrones.

In the morning we could see the mountains

in the distance trying to poke through

the pollution of the city.

Even with the pollution it was beautiful.

We checked out of the hotel,

took a few shots of the beautiful

 little park across the street

then jumped in a van that would take us

to the boat we would ride up the river

to Yangshuo.

It was a BEAUTIFUL ride!

This was just the beginning -

little did we know the BEAUTY that awaited us.