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It's really gonna happen!!!!!
April 22, 2005
It would appear the ducks are in their rows, and official confirmation has been received.
SARA AND I ARE GOING TO CHINA!!!!!!
NEXT WEEK!!
ALL EXPENSES PAID!!
It all began when we received this email:
Inviting Twins for a Free Trip to China
04/12/05 |
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Mojiang, a beautiful county in Yunnan Province of China, is going to celebrate its first International Twins Festival from May 1 to May 7 2005.
Our company helps the local government to hold the activity. We invite 2 couples of twins from every advanced country to join in the activity and provide them one week's free everything trip to Yunnan Province. But up to now, no one in USA has given us response.
It's an emergency because not so much time left. Are there any twins or multiples willing to come? please send me an email to twinsdaychina@yahoo.com for details and thanks.
Toby
We were naturally sceptical, and deleted the entry with no reply. "Too good to be true" was the thought.
THEN, we found out that a set of twins we've known for years, thru the Twins Days Festival, in Twinsburg, OH, received the same email, and were interested enough to investigate further. They were able to confirm, thru the American Consulate in China, that this was indeed a legitimate invitation.
That was good enough for us! So off we went to begin the process.
We contacted Toby to be sure the invite was still open to us, and indeed, it was. We received this fax, containing the "official invitation" needed to begin the whole process of obtaining a Chinese visa.
Dear Ms. Sara Andrews and Nancy Andrews:
We are pleased to inform you that both of you have been accepted as our special guests to join "the First International Twins Festival on the north Tropic Line" in Mojiang, Yunnan Province, China. Your trip expenses including double-way international flight tickets, local, fare, living and eating will becovered by us during the festival period.
We are going to send both of you a double-way flight ticket respectively to Kunming/Wujiaba Airport by April 28th, 2005, after your traveling documents are ready. Please fax us photocopies of your valid passports and Chinese vises (sic) as soon as possible and the flight tickets will be on the way via express.
Sincerely, C.L. Wang
President
Kunming Yijia Tourism Planning and Designing LTD.
*meep!!!!*
One problem, neither Sara or I had a valid passport! And time was pretty darn short!!
Online, we found a passport and visa expediting company, who will personally hand carry your applications thru the appropriate offices in Washington DC. Only problem, it costs a couple hundred dollars.
"That's it," we thought. We can't come up with the money in time.
THANKFULLY, we have some wonderful friends and family who said "This is too good to miss; here, take this money."
So off went the applications to American Passport Express. Today, at 4:30pm, received official confirmation that all documents had been approved, and are being shipped to us via Fed-Ex, to be received Monday.
Meanwhile this additional information was sent to us by Toby. It contains the details of how our days will be spent, and info about the area of China to which we are going.
Dear Ms Nancy Andrews,
May 1, 2005 - To visit EXPO 99 Kunming Garden in Kunming. Per pair of twins of multiples get a special privilege to plant a memorial "Twins Tree" in the garden. Trip to Mojiang.
May 2, 2005 - To join a celebration parade and many other celebration activities with prizes in Mojiang.
May 3, 2005 - To receive native ethnic Hani people's traditional blessing for twins and multiples on the tropic line with their names carved on a permanant memorial in the biggest North Tropic Theme Park in Mojiang.
May 4-6, 2005 - To visit the Soil Forest in Yuanmou, a wonderful scenic place well known for natural shaped soil landscape, dinosaur and the earliest ancient human fossil relics.
May 7, 2005 - To stay in Kunming for free activities.
Areas close to North Tropic are full of special cultures about respecting the Sun and miracles like pyramid in Egypt. As the only county in China that the Tropic line right crosses thru its center, Mojiang has an amazingly high tendency to produce twins or multiples in pregnant ladies. This fact, plus unique native customns related to respecting the sun and colorful aboriginal culture created by local minority of Hani, makes the place very attractive.
We represent the Local government to plan this activity and provide an opportunity for all twins and multiples throughout the world to meet and communicate face to face. Up to now, we have successfully invited about 500 pairs of twins from all over China with various ages. Plus additional 800 local pairs inMojiang. We have thousands of Chinese twins and multiples to celebrate the activity.
Best regards, etc, etc....
The only hurdle left was getting time off from work. It's our annual inventory on May 1st, and it's a huge ordeal that we've been preparing for since March. *gulp* THANK GOD we both work for understanding managers who simply said, "It's the chance of a lifetime. You have to go. We'll figure something out here."
So it looks like we're really going.
The other twins going, John and Charles Robinson, from MN, have already gotten their flight info from Toby, and were told that Sara and I meet them at O'Hare to complete the international portion of the trip together.
Of course, little snafus could still occur. The documents could get lost. The weather could prevent take off of the airplane. We could miss our connections. I won't really believe I'm going until I'm there, LOL>
Thank you EVERYONE for your pozzie vibes and good wishes over the last week. You made our dreams come true!!
((hugs to everyone))
April 24, 2005
Was contacted by the travel agent yesterday! Flights are booked, and will be confirmed, and paid for, as soon as they receive the faxed copies of our travel documents. That happens tomorrow.
There are two possible flights for the first leg home, one departing quite early, and the second, better choice, which is fully booked right now. The agent is trying to get us on that second one, but booked the first one, too, as back-up.
*meep!*
(I removed flight numbers, etc, from this list. Those that need them will find them later in an email)
FLIGHTS
OUTBOUND:
Fri, Apr 29: UNITED AIRLINES, UA
Operated by /UNITED EXPRESS/AWAC From: LANSING, MI (LAN) Departs: 10:31am
To: CHICAGO OHARE, IL (ORD) Arrives: 10:30am
Arrival Terminal: TERMINAL 2
Class: Standard Seat:
Status: Confirmed
Meal: Smoking:
Aircraft: CRJ-CANADAIR REGIONAL JET Mileage: 174
Flight Time: 59 minutes
Fri, Apr 29-Sat, Apr 30: UNITED AIRLINES, UA
From: CHICAGO OHARE, IL (ORD) map Departs: 12:00pm
Departure Terminal: TERMINAL 1 Gate:
To: BEIJING, CHINA (PEK) Arrives: 2:40pm
Class: Standard Seat:
Status: Confirmed
Meal: Lunch , Lunch Smoking: No
Aircraft: BOEING 777 JET Mileage: 6572
Flight Time: 13 hours and 40 minutes
Sat, Apr 30: HAINAN AIRLINES, HU
From: BEIJING, CHINA (PEK) Departs: 5:00pm
To: KUNMING, CHINA (KMG) Arrives: 7:50pm
Class: Economy Seat:
Status: Confirmed
Meal: Meals Smoking: No
Aircraft: BOEING 767 JET Mileage: 1316
Flight Time: 2 hours and 50 minutes
RETURN:
Sat, May 7: AIR CHINA LIMITED, CA
From: KUNMING, CHINA (KMG) Departs: 8:45am
To: BEIJING, CHINA (PEK) Arrives: 11:35am
Class: Economy Seat:
Status: Unconfirmed Confirmation: B7M08
Meal: Breakfast Smoking: No
Aircraft: BOEING 757 JET Mileage: 1316
Flight Time: 2 hours and 50 minutes
Sat, May 7: CHINA EASTERN AIRLINES, MU
From: KUNMING, CHINA (KMG) Departs: 10:10am
To: BEIJING, CHINA (PEK) Arrives: 1:10pm
Class: Economy Seat:
Status: Waitlisted
Meal: Smoking: No
Aircraft: BOEING 737-300 JET Mileage: 1316
Flight Time: 3 hours and 0 minutes
Sat, May 7: UNITED AIRLINES, UA
From: BEIJING, CHINA (PEK) Departs: 4:35pm
To: CHICAGO OHARE, IL (ORD) Arrives: 4:25pm
Arrival Terminal: TERMINAL 5
Class: Economy Seat:
Status: Confirmed
Meal: Dinner , Lunch Smoking: No
Aircraft: BOEING 777 JET Mileage: 6572
Flight Time: 12 hours and 50 minutes
Sat, May 7: UNITED AIRLINES, UA
Operated by /UNITED EXPRESS/AWAC
From: CHICAGO OHARE, IL (ORD) Departs: 5:45pm
Departure Terminal: TERMINAL 2 Gate:
To: LANSING, MI (LAN) Arrives: 7:48pm
Class: Economy Seat:
Status: Confirmed
Meal: Smoking:
Aircraft: CRJ-CANADAIR REGIONAL JET Mileage: 174
Flight Time: 1 hours and 3 minutes
*please let everything go smoothly from here on out*
April 28, 2005
Well, I'm off to bed. Tomorrow begins our around the world adventure. :+P
Logic, and H.S. geography, leads most Americans to believe that one must fly west from Chicago, across the western U.S., Hawaii, and Japan to reach China the most expediently. NOT SO! One must fly NORTH! Get a globe, and check it out.
Anyhoo, thanks everyone for the good wishes. Be ready for lots of photos when we get back!!
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