We're Back!!

We were anxious to get out of China ahead of their big 60th Anniversary bash on October 1. We left the day before flying from Qingdao to Guangzhou and overnighting in in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia before catching an early flight out to Krabi, Thailand on the first.

South East Asia made the news a lot over the last week... the Earthquakes in American Samoa and the island of Sumatra in Indonesia (KL felt tremors in the following days), which triggered a baby tsunami, and the various typhoons that pounded Philippine archipelago, Taiwan and the coast of Vietnam. This is the story of season in these nations.

We were also anxious about our chances of getting back in to the Middle Kingdom after our Thai and Malay holiday. The United States Citizens Services had sent out a variety of panic inducing notices in September that explained that the Chinese government was using some strong measures to keep H1N1 @ bay.

But... not to worry. We cleared customs in Guangzhou with no trouble... though we had to leave contact numbers and location info, and our seat numbers on the international flight from KL, in case someone turns up with the swine flu. The girls participated in the mandatory three day self quarantine required before returning to school after an out-of-country trip. (We went for Korean BBQ Friday at lunch and then had a group appointment @ the Korean Clinic for our seasonal flu shots!)