Best Seats

Ever wonder which seats are best on your flight? We’ve been using http://www.seatguru.com. Just do a search based on your airline and model of the plane. Look at the Seat Map Key for “Good Seats”. 

We used this website on our last trip to China on United. There are 4-5 rows all the way in the back of the plane, which are close to the bathrooms but it’s rows of 2 seats. This was great for us, because airlines typically seat the back of the plane first. So we got to board first. Sometimes if you board later, there won’t be any more overhead compartment space for your carry ons. Since it was just the two of us, we didn’t have to sit with a stranger and ask them to move whenever we needed to stretch our legs or go to the bathroom. The only drawback was that we were the last to get off the plane.

To get these seats, you have to call the airline early to reserve them. If you don’t know the model of your plane, just call the airline and ask for the info. If you already have a seat, they can always change it. Don’t forget to do this for both ways.

Hope this info will help you have a more enjoyable flight to China =)

Olympic Game Tickets

Here are few websites where you can get tickets for the Olympics. We recommend going on the afternoon or evening of 8/14. We didn’t plan much for this day so that everyone can have some time to explore Beijing on your own.

• www.beijingticketing.com
• www.gotickets.com
• www.ticketjones.com
• www.sportstraveler.net
• www.wstickets.com

Here is a list of games we recommend watching on 8/14. To see the entire list, go to www.tickets.beijing2008.cn. We’ll be going to the badminton event with family from 6:30pm-10:00pm. If you like to join us, click on the event below and it’ll take you to a website where you can buy tickets.

TIME	SPORT	VENUE
2:30pm-5:30pm	Table Tennis	Peking University Gymnasium
2:30pm-6:30pm	Basketball	Beijing Olympic Basketball Gymnasium
4:00pm-10:00pm	Tennis	Beijing Olympic Green Tennis Center
6:30pm-8:40pm	Swimming	National Aquatics Center
6:30pm-10:00pm	Badminton	Beijing University of Technology Gymnasium
7:30pm-10:30pm	Table Tennis	Peking University Gymnasium
10:00pm-12:00am	Basketball	Beijing Olympic Basketball Gymnasium

What to Wear

Everyone has been asking us what to wear for the wedding, and what’s appropriate or not appropriate for China.

In a typical Chinese wedding, most guests come dressed business casual as if they just came from work. Take a look at what the guests are wearing in the photos from this website. The only people that get dressed up is the wedding party. Our wedding is going to be casual, not formal, so please feel free to wear whatever is comfortable. But of course we would love to see everyone get dressed up. Below are some links to other people’s comments on what to wear for weddings in China.

• Wedding Guest Etiquette/Dress in Hong Kong
  Do not wear black! It’s a color for funeral and sadness. I would suggest red, (not all red, of course) with red, you may pair with black.
• Marrying East and West
  For the foreign guest, despite the occasional similarities, these extravagant wedding receptions are a very different experience from their Western counterparts. For one thing, they are much less formal – a fact which has resulted in many over-dressed foreigner sitting uncomfortably in a room full of casually attired party-goers.

As for the day to day clothing, people in China dress somewhat conservatively. Clothing that is considered inappropriate in U.S. would be similar in China such as short short skirts or shorts, revealing tops, etc.

• She Has a Cyber Packing Party
  Dress to ‘blend in’ (sort of). You’re already going to be stared at, hassled, and talked about by onlookers because you’re a foreign, to begin with. This is much worse, however, for women who are dressed in typical western summer clothes, such as camisoles, tank tops, shorts well above the knee, low-neck shirts, skirts with high slits, etc. These clothes are just not considered appropriate by most people in China.
• What to wear, What NOT to wear
  By and large, if the clothes are proper to wear in your country will be fine in China. Wear good comfortable sneakers or hiking boots ‘cos there is always a lot a of walking in China and lots of steps. But in summer I wear open shoes, dressy thongs or sandals are OK. so long as they are comfortable.
  

Most likely, there will be a laundry service at each hotel. So you don’t need to pack 2 weeks worth of clothing. I would suggest packing for 1 week, and bring a small amount of laundry detergent to wash small things in the sink if needed.

New Airline Fee

Airlines are going to start charging fees for the first checked bag. American Airlines will be charging its new $15 fee for tickets bought on or after June 15 (and United Airlines for tickets bought on or after June 13).

Read the Contract of Carriage with your airline to make sure you won’t be charged any fees.

30th Birthday

Dan is 30!

Adeline & Dan

Dan

For Dan’s 30th birthday, we thew him a surprise party on the beach. It was cold, but that didn’t stop us from cooking up some delicious crabs and artichokes.

Happy Chinese New Year!

Chinese New Year was on Feb. 07, 2008. It’s the year of the rat. Dan and I celebrated with all the traditional food all in one meal: fish, chicken, dumpling, vegetable, taro, sweets, seeds, oranges, and rice cake. Yummm…

Wedding planning is moving along. I found ”the dress” and photographers. They are coming to China with us to document the trip and wedding. There are 15 people now on the trip. Woohoo!!!

Happy New Year!

Hope you and your family had a wonderful holiday! We stayed in California this year and spent time with family. In between Christmas and New Years, we spent 3 days in Calistoga relaxing.

It’s 2008. OMG! We have only 8 more months to plan the wedding. We were engaged on 12.27.05, so it’s been a year now. And we can’t wait for the wedding on 8.8.08!

We’ve updated the website with more details regarding traveling to China. Click on the “wedding details” page for more information. Please call us as soon as you’ve decided which dates you want to travel, so that we can help you make your travel arrangement. First, you have to purchase the international round trip airfare asap. The longer you wait, the more expensive it will be due to the Olympics. Second, reserve with our travel agent for the 1 week tour if you are planning to travel with us. SuSu will send you more info on this. Third, apply for your visa to China in May.

Thanks!

Save-the-Date

We just mailed out the save-the-date card. Mark your calendar for 8.8.2008.

My dear friend and coworker, Christina, helped us design this save-the-date card. We started working on the design around spring time and I also love cherry blossoms, that was the reason for the cherry blossom design. On the back, there is a map of China showing the major cities everyone knows and highlighting the tiny little city, Quanzhou, no one knows.

Quanzhou is about a 10 hour drive from Hong Kong and 2 hour flight from Shanghai. Its location and weather is about the same as New Orleans in US. Quanzhou city is in Fujian province. Provinces are equivalent to states in U.S. My dad’s family is from here. I lived here for two years during 1st and 2nd grade. My parents move to Quanzhou from California three years ago when my dad accepted a job offer as the Dean of Quanzhou Normal University in Donghai.

Quanzhou has developed a lot since I lived there. Now there is a McDonald’s, PizzaHut, and Walmart. No Starbucks yet, but I’m sure that will change very soon. Baby Gap sweaters are made in a factory in Quanzhou. We got a tour of the factory and saw how those cute little sweaters were made.