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At 6pm we were all dressed and ready for our Christmas dinner/show that we had reservations for. This was a typical Dai meal complete with a Dai song and dance show. We were seated at a large table on a platform house made of bamboo and up on stilts. The show was great and we left back to the hotel to have our own private party (That afternoon, on my recommendation, the folks went shopping to purchase snacks for my "Xmas Party" that evening). So mummy and myself set up the party in our, by now, very Christmassy looking hotel room. We set out the cheese and crackers, peanuts, tiny boiled pigeon eggs, grapes, Oreo cookies and made some mint tea. We were all set!... We invited our 2 "guests" and greeted them at the door with Chinese garlands. We had a great time eating snacks and drinking... tea! Not being able to read Chinese labels, my parents picked up some Chinese wine according to the shape, design and beauty of the bottles. They ended up with an extremely sweet plum juice and what they thought was a bottle of sherry turned out to be FISH wine!!!! most likely used for cooking!! Needless to say, for the next 2 days our bathroom sink stunk like fish! That night I got myself ready - hung mine and a few other stockings, and made sure the hotel window was opened before climbing into bed. I must have been sound asleep because I didn't even hear the jingle of bells! (The only bells I heard upon waking were the various telephone calls coming in from family in T.O) |
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But in the morning all the signs were there - HE DID SHOW UP! The stockings were full of candy and under our little tree I found a paint set and a soft panda hand puppet with my name on it. Papa read the note Santa left - apparently I am now the proud owner of one of the baby panda cubs at the Giant Panda Reserve in Chengdu. More correctly, Santa adopted of one of the pandas for me (or at least I am part owner) - just hope it's the head part! Unlike my polar bear, this one I've really seen. I shall name her "China" and I've already decided on visiting her again sometime in the future. That morning we attended the second Christian service. We still didn't understand a word being said but we sang along anyway to the familiar carols. - Somehow "Joy to the world"...and "Hark the herald angels sing"... all sound the same in English, Chinese, Dutch or French. After the service we had a nice breakfast brunch at Mei-Mei's Cafe. Then it was off to a nice park for the day: a beautiful park around a small lake, it had a tiny zoo, a beautiful Thai looking temple, a peacock village where dozens of peacocks reside and an outdoor stage which had a Dai minority song and dance show. This show ended with a mock "Water Splashing Festival" (held every year in April), with dancers and audience getting each other soaking wet (fun!). |
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Besides wandering around the park I got a chance to ride on a camel for the obligatory picture and along with my parents I was strapped into a harness and placed on a heavy wire ready to speed across the lake - "gliding" they called it - at first it looked like it would be fun but when I noticed Oma wasn't going (she's older and wiser..), I became a bit weary of the whole thing and asked to be unstrapped. Somehow dangling with a harness on a steel cable and speeding across the lake back and forth was a bit unnerving for me and didn't seem like that much fun - I decided instead to sit back with Oma and watch my parents make a fool of themselves.....! Which, I might add, they did quite well! |
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The next day we all spent lazing around town, visiting, shopping, and me painting. I just enjoyed the day being 4 ... as the next day I turned the big 05! I was once again awakened by various telephone calls from Toronto to wish me. For my birthday I received a beautiful watch from Oma and a real camera and rolls of film from my parents! - what more could a 5-year old need! We left early that same morning by taxi for the Banna Wild Elephant Reserve Park. It was a 1 hour ride through lush mountains and at the park we secured two of the best-located tree houses - ours with a lookout over the elephant waterhole. I was ready for the early morning viewing of the wild elephants that come to the river to drink. At the park we had a buffet lunch, watched tame elephants bathing in the river, a peacock garden, a butterfly conservatory, an elephant show (I even got to ride one) and visited a boa snake house - papa was brave and had one coiled around his neck - not something mom or myself wanted to try especially after finding out that that's the way they get their prey!!!... That evening we had a very nice dinner near the tree houses with an Australian family we met. I even had a birthday cake of sorts... at least I got to blow out the candle and make a wish. My wish.......that I could have just as exciting a birthday every year... but the next times please make it with CHOCOLATE CAKE!!!!! As for the wild elephants?....did we see any?... stay tuned!............... |
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