Traveling Back in Time: Back to China DAY 10- Part One

Well, its time to continue our story...

It continues at Day 10, our first Sunday with Chengbin.  This was another touring day before Monday's appointments.  We had seen SO many pictures of the Guangzhou Safari Park and we couldn't wait to go ourselves!!  Katelynn & I had been downright giddy about this before we left for China!!!  It was going to be our first chance to see white tigers and Pandas!!

Since Chengbin was starting to do better, we were hopeful that the trip to the Safari would go well...

 We made it through the streets of the city...

 

Past the smoggy parts...  (Keep in mind, Guangzhou has more than twice the population of NYC even though you'd probably never heard of it...)

 

We got to a point where I could look to the side and back behind us and actually SEE the smog... Kinda like when you drive toward LA and you can see it in the distance.

 

 I think this is as we were crossing the Pearl River and there were just expensive high rises everywhere.

 People really do use these rickshaws to get around...

Finally, after a nice long drive we made it to the Safari Park.  It was BUSY!!  Not only is there a safari, but there's also a waterpark and amusement park right there, so its quite the vacation spot when you hit it during the summer like we did.  It was also around 100degrees with 100% humidity.  As we stood in line waiting to go on the actual safari ride, I couldn't even breathe... It was just a level of heat and humidity that we've never, ever experienced.  At that moment both Matt and I wanted nothing more than to go back to the hotel, but we powered through since that wasn't exactly an option.

 

The actual safari on wheels was our first stop.  After waiting in a very long, very crowded line we hopped onboard and started our adventure!

 

 Have I mentioned how much I LOVE the lens I bought before we went to China???  How beautiful is she sleeping???

They had so many white tigers!!

The giraffes and zebras were Chengbin's favorite part!!

After the safari we moved on over to check something off on Katie & I's bucket list.  It was time to actually feed a white tiger cub!!!

 Look at my girl!  SO happy to be that close to such a beautiful little tiger!!

Chengbin was extremely curious, but also extremely cautious.  This is as close as he was willing to get!

This safari park was just incredible and filled with lots of amazing things to see and do.  We baked ourselves for a while as we watched the elephant show!

 

We fed giraffes!!!

As you can see, both Chengbin and Katie were brave enough for this one!! ;)

And finally we saw two animals I just LOVE and haven't seen in person before!!!

 SOOOOOO BEAUTIFUL!!! I could have stood there for hours staring at these beautiful creatures.  They are just so amazing!!!  BUT, Chengbin was back to being an absolute BUTT by this time, so the three of us stood there in amazement and now he tells me everyday that he wants to see a Panda!! 

Ugghhh, you did Buddy, you just weren't YOU yet!! ;)

 They had giant fans to keep the koalas cooled... My other favorite.  They weren't even moving and I just wanted to stand there and stare at them!!

After this there was plenty more animals, but because of the heat everyone in our group was just done.  We passed on the opportunity to feed the elephants some bananas even though Kate & I were still up for it...

We headed home for a shower and some rest, then grabbed some Starbucks to power up for our evening planned with a fellow thalassemia mama who had arrived in Guangzhou to get her daughter!

Thanks for stopping by to reminisce!
Fannie, Matt, Katie, & Chengbin