Sheldon, Guangzhou,Guangdong, China

sararingham sara.ringham@gmail.com Posted Jan 8, 2009, 8:16 am	Hi! My name is Sheldon and I'm a smart little chick that was left behind with my three brothers at the store after Easter. So my birthday (along with my brothers) is Easter... I'm the smartest of the bunch and sometimes I know it... but I would always like to know more. So where ever I visit I would really like if you could tell me something interesting about that area, or your country. I would like to learn as much as possible throughout my travels... then I'd like to come home and tell all my brothers about my travels. So here are some photos of me, I'm pretty small and light weight and I don't each much. So would you like to host me? Let my mom know! :-) Also if you are hosting me if you could put in the longitude and latitudes of my journeys that'd be great... you can find that information here or as my mom and I'm sure she'll be happy to help! I hope to visit you soon! :-)
Neilius Posted Feb 8, 2009, 11:42 am	Dear Mum You sent me to the right place because the people I'm living with now are crazy about cruising!  Do you think that perhaps they're crazy enough to go on more than one cruise? In a couple of days I'm going on a flight to Auckland New Zealand.  And then I'll be hopping on a huge ship which will bring us back home, hopefully without me getting wet. Here's a picture of me checking out my travel documents.  I know I look calm, but inside I'm wondering what I've got myself in to! Being a voyager can be scarey at times! I'll be taking a lot of pictures of my voyage, but my host-dad, Neil, says that it's hard to do stuff on the internet while we're at sea, so you might not see my pictures till we get back.  I did hear him mutter that he might be able to upload one or two photos per day to his blog while we're sailing, so I might try and sneak into those photos. Wish me luck (and good weather! Please.... let there be good weather!) Fluffy hugs Sheldon
Neilius Posted Feb 27, 2009, 5:47 am	Dear Mum As soon as we got into Auckland, my new friends took me to the local Museum.  And guess what I found????  A funny looking bird that can't fly! Imagine that? And look at the length of his beak!  If I had a beak like that I think I could catch ANY worm. Imagine my surprise when Lilly told me this was a Kiwi!  My first life mission accomplished! But oh dear! Harrison wasn't interested in Kiwi's. I was worried he was actually going to put me INSIDE this canon at the Auckland museum! Neil tells me Harrison is a gentle boy, but I must say I squeaked a few times when I saw this big gun! So like I said, travel is fun, but it's still a bit scarey for a little chick like me. There are lots of wonderful things to see in this new city. I promise I'll send more photos soon. Fluffy hugs Sheldon
Neilius Posted Feb 27, 2009, 5:56 am	Dear Mum We went down to the Harbour this afternoon, and look what we saw! Have you ever seen a ship as big as this? Harrison tells me we're going on a ship like this tomorrow. I told him that before we do this, I'd really like to have a closer look. So we got a hotel room right next to the ship! And since I wanted to have a closer look I went out onto our balcony to look at the ship. It's enormous!  When Lilly and I stuck our heads out to look at the ship, it stretched off into the distance further than we could see - in either direction. What a strange world you've sent me out into, Mum! So tomorrow I'm going to hop on one of these big things and go out on the sea. I must have rocks in my head! Your fearful travelling chick Sheldon
Neilius Posted Feb 27, 2009, 6:04 am	Dear Mum Well I took a deep breath and got on the ship. Her name is "Oriana".  And guess what?  There are kids!  Lilly introduced me to some kids who are sailing not just to Australia, but right around the world! They started in England and will end up back in England, and it will take them 3 months. So it puts my fears into perspective.  I'm only on here for 5 days. So I've decided to learn something new from my friends, and am going to enjoy my trip. Everyone here seems really happy. I think I'm going to have a party for a few days. Your feathered travelling chick Sheldon
Neilius Posted Feb 27, 2009, 6:11 am	Up and down and up and down and up and down. I feel sick!!!!!! Help me mum!  There's nowhere to escape! And the waves are huge. Birds aren't supposed to do this are they!
Neilius Posted Feb 27, 2009, 6:20 am	Dear Mum We made it across that huge stormy ocean and now we're in Sydney! I got over my seasickness, so Harrison and I decided to "chill out" in some deck chairs.  Everytime we sit down, some nice waiter comes up and asks us if we'd like some cocktails.  Thankfully Harrison had enough common sense to say "no". But look at the view!  When I looked out of my cabin window, this is what I saw! What an amazing big world to have such things in it. It looks (in my birdly opinion) like a big egg that's hatched and a giant chick popped out.  Harrison reckons that's not right, that it's a place where people dress up in funny clothes and sing songs. But I'm sure it's a birds egg. What do you think, Mum? Mum, I've seen some beautiful sights.  I think I should tick off my second Life Mission.  Is that ok with you?
Neilius Posted Feb 27, 2009, 6:25 am	Dear Mum Sorry that I didn't write for so long, but I was exhausted after that last cruise. And Neil had thousands of emails. And, we're going on ANOTHER cruise!!! We leave on Monday, and I promise I'll send more pictures. But for now I have to pack my bags. As before, Neil finds it hard to update my TV profile while he's away from home so I'll try to sneak into some pictures that pop up on his blog in the meantime. One thing though.  There's no kids travelling with us this time.  Neil's travelling with a grown up friend.  And I think he feels a bit silly about being photographed with me when there's no kids around. But if a little bird like me can overcome fears of big ships and mountainous seas, I'm sure Neil can overcome a bit of embarrasment! More soon Sheldon.
Neilius Posted Mar 30, 2009, 11:14 am	Dear Mum Today I hopped on a plane and flew to Sydney.  We're hopping on another big ship called Aurora, and will be sailing to New Zealand. I'm not as scared of ships any more, because I had so much fun last time. I promise I'll send you lots of photos! Fuzzy hugs Sheldon.
Neilius Posted Mar 30, 2009, 11:28 am	Hi Mum! I thought I'd sing you a song.... I am sailing! I am sailing! Home again Cross the sea! I am sailing, stormy waters, To be near you, to be free! I'm back at sea again!  And I love it.  This is a lovely ship - even bigger than the one we were on before. BUT!!! Something dramatic has happened already.  One of the propellors has broken, and the ship can only go at half speed.  That means the captain has had to change course for Auckland instead of Wellington. So just to be on the safe side, I checked out one of the life rings, but I think it's a bit big for me.  What do you think? But, to be honest with you, Mum, I don't mind if we go slow.  It's so nice out here they could take a year to get to Auckland and I'd be happy I'll write more tomorrow. Your intrepid sailor Sheldon
Neilius Posted Mar 30, 2009, 11:38 am	You should see all the lovely sculptures and paintings on this ship!  Being an inquisitive chick, I thought rather than look at them, I'd hop on them and get a closer look. At the entrance to one of the nightclubs, there's this beautiful statue of a dancing couple. I hopped on the lady's knee, but she didn't seem to mind.  They look like they're moving, even though they're standing still. And by one of the swimming pools (an INDOOR swimming pool on a ship!  Goodness me!) there's a brass statue of a diver.  So I jumped on one of his hands and had a dive with him.  But I didn't get wet.  Neither did he! And then right up the top at the front, there's a very comfortable bar called "The Crows Nest" where you can watch the sea.  (There's lots of sea here).  And I found an amazing globe of the world.  It's given me lots of ideas, Mum.  There's loads of places in this world I want to see now! And guess what?  The sea is still calm.  It's like a pond. I think I'm definately cut out for sailing. More tomorrow. Sheldon.
Neilius Posted Mar 30, 2009, 11:49 am	I went to the kids club today, Mum, but the kids had gone! There are hardly any kids on this cruise - and the few of them that are here were at the movies when I visited kids club.  So although I saw lots of fun games, an amusement arcade, lots of toys, I didn't see any kids.  So I went to where the big people play - the Casino!!!  Neil put me on the Roulette Table.  I got a bit scared.  I thought he was going to gamble me away!!! But luckily I escaped. Finally, like we've been doing every day so far, we watched the sun go down over the back of the ship, with a glass of wine. This ship sure is going slow.  But with sunsets like this, I don't mind at all! We're getting close to NZ now, so I might see if I can get some pictures of the coastline tomorrow. By for now. Sheldon.
Neilius Posted Mar 30, 2009, 12:03 pm	Land Ho!!!! I can see New Zealand! We've been sailing past the Bay of Islands all day today, and will arrive in Auckland tomorrow. Incidentally, if you look above me, you can see the windows of the Bridge, where the Captain drives the ship. And below me is ... a long way down.... so I'm hoping Neil doesn't drop me! I'm looking forward to seeing Auckland again, but I'm sad, because it means we'll leave our ship behind. More photos tomorrow. Sheldon.
Neilius Posted Mar 30, 2009, 12:07 pm	Well here we are in Auckland again! As soon as I saw the huge sky needle thingy towering over the city, it brought back all the memories of the fun I've had here recently. I'm looking forward to seeing more of New Zealand this time!
Neilius Posted Mar 30, 2009, 2:00 pm	Wow, this place has lots of boiling mud and steamy pools! We drove to a place called Waiotapu, south of Rotorua.  Neil reckons it's better than Rotorua because you don't have to pay to see boiling mud. And the smell!!!  It smells like cooking cabbage. But it looks spectacular! I just had to make very sure I didn't fall in the mud. Bye for now Sheldon.
Neilius Posted Mar 30, 2009, 2:07 pm	Hi Mum Today we visited Lake Taupo. It's a huge freshwater lake in the middle of the North Island of New Zealand.  I've never seen so much fresh water in one place. I know it's fresh because I tasted it! Travelling with Neil is a bit tiring.  He tries to pack so much adventure into a few short days.  I just want to relax but he doesn't stop!
Neilius Posted Mar 30, 2009, 11:56 pm	At last!  A kid.  Having been around adults for so long over the last few days, I've really started to miss kids. This is Ciaran, and I don't think he knows what to make of me!
Neilius Posted Mar 31, 2009, 12:02 am	Hi Mum I'm feeling a bit sad because today is my last day in New Zealand. We travelled on the Wellington Cable Car.  It's a strange little tram that takes you to the top of the mountain in the city. And we went to another museum.  You can tell from the photo which Exhibit I liked.  They had a model of a sailing ship in stormy waters.  I thought I had so much experience at sea now that I should sail the model boat. What do you think? Do I look convincing? Fluffy Hugs Sheldon
Neilius Posted Mar 31, 2009, 12:05 am	Well we've just flown from Wellington to Sydney, on our way to Brisbane.  And I spent the whole trip in Neil's pocket.  And he didn't take a picture of me. I MUCH prefer sailing to flying!
Neilius Posted Mar 31, 2009, 12:17 am	Hi Mum I'm back in Brisbane again! Here's me at the desk updating my travel log! What a busy life I lead! Neil says if you'll let me stay a little longer, he'll take me to Coolum on the Sunshine Coast next month with lots of kids,  and then on another Cruise in June.  (Another cruise??? This guy is nuts!!!!) Right now, I'm so tired I think I need to sleep for a few weeks! Plus I need to do lots of exercise to work off all the food I had while I was away! By for now Sheldon
Neilius Posted May 3, 2009, 10:58 am	Dear Mum I went to Australia zoo today! Crickey!!!!  Here's a picture of me with the Crocodile Hunter and his family. Lilly and her friends took me crocodile wrestling.  Lilly ended up in the crocs mouth, but as you can see from the photo, I fought the crocodile off bravely! And as Steve would say, check out this strange looking little feller.  Harrison took me to see a tortoise that was over a hundred and fifty years old.  And he's been carrying his house around on his back all that time! And what about this snake?  When he saw me, I think he wanted to have some lunch, but I was too quick for him.  Then I had a boxing match with a kangaroo.  I think I might have been a bit rough with him, coz as you can see from the photo, he fell asleep right after we finished playing.  Perhaps I'm a tougher little chcik that I realize???? And you should have seen the size of these elephants.  They were massive! And then I met my long-lost cousin.  I couldn't quite hear what he said when I asked him, but I think he comes from the bush in Turkey?  That doesn't sound right, does it?  Are we really related to him, Mum? Well who would have thought I'd be wrestling crocodiles, punching kangaroos in the nose, and dodging snakes.  I don't feel like the timid little chick I was.  Travelling to all these different places is certainly turning me into one tough old bird! More news in a couple of days Sheldon
Neilius Posted May 3, 2009, 11:14 am	G'day Mum! I went on another boat today.  But it was a little one.  We went on a "cruise" too - but this time it was a short cruise up the Maroochy River. Somehow I can't seem to get away from boats and ships, can I? Now this is funny.  These two young ladies are from New Zealand.  And you remember how you saud that I had to "see a kiwi bird".  Well they said that they were "kiwi birds" coz they're ladies from New Zealand. Here's me showing Neil where to go as he steers our boat up the river.  I told him that I had so much experience with ships that I should drive the boat.  Neil just looked at me strangely and said if I didn't behave he'd put me back in his pocket.  But he relented and let me ride up the front That's all from me for now, Mum. I'll write more soon. Fluffy hugs Sheldon
Neilius Posted Jun 20, 2009, 2:36 am	Dear Mum Guess what!!!! I'm getting ready for another cruise today. We're going on a ship called "Dawn Princess" this afternoon, and sailing to Sydney. I think the people on the ship like Neil, coz they've given him a cabin with a Balcony so we can all sit outside and watch the ocean go by. You'd think I'd be getting bored with ships now, but I'm not.  I love it!! And we're going back to Sydney which is one place I really like. I'll try to send you some nice pictures. Fluffy hugs Sheldon the Sailor
Neilius Posted Jun 26, 2009, 11:04 am	G'day Mum! I'm on a boat!!!! Well, a "ship" really.  Again!!! Neil and Jonathan have taken me on a quick cruise to Sydney aboard a ship called "Dawn Princess".  I'm an old hand at cruising now, and it shows - the cruise people love me so much they upgraded me to a cabin with a balcony!!! I'll bet I'm the best travelled chick in the world This ship is the biggest one I've been on so far.  She's almost as long as three football fields, and weighs as much as 1,000 Boeing 737 Jet Planes.  Can you imagine how huge that is??? I'm having lots of fun, but I have to pack it in quickly because this is a realy quick cruise. It will be over in under two days. More later. Fluffy hugs Sheldon.
Neilius Posted Jun 26, 2009, 11:17 am	Gee that was quick!!!! Hi Mum. Here I am in Sydney. Rather than send you more pictures the same as last time, I thought I'd send you some more interesting pictures of the ship. I found this friendly unicorn sitting on the floor (whoops, when you're on a ship there's no "floor", it's called a "deck").  Anyway he was sitting on the deck and let me sit on his knee.  What do you think? Ther other cool thing was I got to drive the ship!! Well Neil says I'm dreaming because it wasn't really a ship control because it was in the "Wheelhouse Bar", but anyway I had a go on the ship control as you an see.  And I think I was driving the ship, and that's all that counts, isn't it??? I had a lovely time on Dawn Princess, and was sad to leave. Fluffy hugs Sheldon
Neilius Posted Jun 26, 2009, 11:23 am	Hi Mum I'm "home" again!!!  (Well home will always be with you and my brothers and sisters, but you know what I mean!!) Just wanted to let you know I was alright, but I'm exhausted, and am going to have a sleep for a few days.  Travelling around in Neil's pocket is very uncomfortable, but that's the price I have to pay for seeing the world. Thanks for sending me to live with Neil and Liz for a few months.  I've had a wonderful time.  The world is much bigger than I thought! Fluffy hugs Sheldon.
Neilius Posted Aug 16, 2009, 9:00 am	G'day Mum! I'm being predictable, I know, but I went on another boat today!  This has to be the biggest boat I've ever been on!  Look! Well, ok.  It was a tinny.  And it wasn't big.  It was TINY compared to some of the ships I've been on in the last six monhs, but it was fun! And guess what we caught??? Absolutely nothing!! But that doesn't matter because Harrison and Neil taught me that the best thing about fishing is being out on the water away from all your worries.
Neilius Posted Aug 16, 2009, 9:07 am	G'day Mum I went geocaching today, and I met another toy! Lilly and Liz introduced me to Mangopumpkin.  He's not a toy voyager, he's a Travel Bug!  He visits lots of different geocaches.  He might hide in there for months until someone collects him and takes him to another geocache.  The upside is that he gets to travel all over the world.  The downside is he spends most of his time in tupperware containers hidden in tree stumps or under rocks.  I felt sorry for him! I much prefer being in a family with people like Lilly and Bella.  Sometimes I think Bella wants to bite me, but I think she's just letting me know that she likes me as much as I like her.
Neilius Posted Sep 27, 2009, 2:31 am	G'day Mum! I went for a bike ride with Harrison, Lilly and Neil this morning.  We rode down to the North Pine river to explore one of our favourite parks, then we rode to a few other places before breakfast. All up we rode almost 10km, which isn't far on Neil'ls big mountain bike, but it's a long way for Lilly to ride on her little bike. I feel excited and sad.  Neil tells me that my time with his family is over, and it's time for me to continue my journey and fly across the Pacific Ocean to a new country and a new host. So far I've seen lots of kids, blue skies, kangaroos, huge ships, boiling mud, and many happy people.  What a wonderful world this is! Thanks for sending me here Mum.  I'm having a great time. Fluffy hugs Sheldon
Daisydz Posted Nov 1, 2009, 5:22 am	haha, i arrived at UCR finally!!! I like the weather here!! California sunshine!!! i hope it can be fun!!
Daisydz Posted Nov 1, 2009, 5:43 am	how exciting!!! we went to the Disneyland today. we depart around 7:30 am, and come back around 11:30. It is a small world and it is a happy world. everything is awesome! i like the people's smile and the entertainment show too!!!! so glad that i can go there. it is a long day and we had fun together!!!! i love disneyland!!!!!!
Daisydz Posted Feb 8, 2010, 7:20 am	hmm, it was thanksgiving and daisydz and her friends decided to spend that weekends in Las Vegas. It was not a good weather for california, since it was cloudy. Daisydz felt sleepy since she stayed up late in the previous night. Her friends were late and we started off late. The view of the way to LV was quite different since it was all desert. After a short break and lunch around 2 pm, we went on driving. All in a sudden, our car was out of control and rolled over to a hill beside the lane. WE HAD AN AUTO ACCIDENT! After a complete circle, the car stop. Luckily, all of us were fine except some injury, and the car was damaged as you can see. Then we went to hospital instead of having fun in LV! What a experience!!! Finally, we went back safe and sound! Hope i will never experience this again!!! I hope all of the drivers can drive safely!
Daisydz Posted Feb 8, 2010, 7:25 am	Finally, Daisydz finished her finals and submitted her papers. The quarter ended and our trip in USA started!!! Both of us were sooo looking forward to the adventures!! Our frist trip was the outdoor excursion. It was a big group, 8 girls and three trip leaders. We lived in the hostel in yosemite national park. I like the house and the service here. Sadly, daisydz cant get any cell phone signal here. It was alll snow around the national park. The view was awesome!!! the snow was sooo heavy !! Great fun and exhausting~!! haha, anyway, i like it very much!
Daisydz Posted Feb 8, 2010, 7:36 am	Daisydz booked the wrong ticket and we had to go to Boston first and rest of her friends would come to Boston and meet us the next day. In the airport of Dallas, we missed the plane and stayed there for another one hour to wait for the next plane.
Daisydz Posted Feb 8, 2010, 7:38 am	We took a tour in NYC. It would be a 5-day trip in the east coast. First day in NYC! we went to the wall street and took a tour there. Just one day before, it started to snow, and it was pretty cold when we walked around and took the ship to see the status of liberty. here is the pics with bowling green bull
Daisydz Posted Feb 8, 2010, 7:50 am	Second day, we went to Washington D.C. Snow everywhere again and most of the museums were closed. We have to take pics outside.... we took pics with the White House~! in the front and behind it~!
Daisydz Posted Feb 8, 2010, 7:54 am	After a long trip, we got to Niagara falls. We could see Canada from this side. Canada is so beautiful that I hope one day I could go there and take a trip!
Daisydz Posted Feb 8, 2010, 8:01 am	Here we are~ just one week before, we were here, and now we came back! Early in the morning, we went to Harvard and MIT. I like the building in these two famous universities. Daisydz hoped she could get ad in either of the universities. lolll, I think everyone hopes so. Then we followed the trail of freedom again like we did one week ago. We stop in front of civil hall.
Daisydz Posted Feb 8, 2010, 8:07 am	Merry Christmas!!!! It was Christmas and almost all of the stores were closed. We went to see the movie of <Sherlock Holmes>. It was a very good movie and the theater was so crowded. Before the movie, we walked around the Central Park. It was beautiful in winter, and we had to imagine the view in summer since it was covered by snow!
Daisydz Posted Feb 8, 2010, 8:22 am	We came back to NYC and spent 7 more days here. Enjoy the big modern city! Today we went to Metropolitan museum of art. After that we went to the grand station, where the gossip girl's first episode was taken!
Daisydz Posted Feb 8, 2010, 8:35 am	Daisydz was interested in 'ou bon pain'. one of our explain of this name is : au is ouch, a little pain; bon is mediate pain; and pain is the serious pain.... Actually, its French and means 'At The Good Bread'
Daisydz Posted Feb 8, 2010, 8:37 am	It was the last day of 2009 and also our last day in New York City. We had been here for 7 days, experienced a lot and saw a lot. It was a charming city, even though some places of it were not as good as Shanghai. But what we had seen was the most actual part. We went to 'Rice to Riches' a restaurant offering rich pudding. It was awesome!!! I liked the style of the restaurant. The words on the wall were so interesting and the decoration was artistic. It was in Soho. Highly recommend!! after that we went to see Avatar... and around 4 pm, we went to Time Square for the Ball Drop. We were standing in the square for more than 8 hours, and almost frozen. Finally, we made it!! So exciting!!! Good bye 2009, and Hello 2010!!! Hope everyone happy new year and good luck!!!!
Daisydz Posted Feb 8, 2010, 8:46 am	We visited the Empire State Building. We spent 6 hours buying the tickets and getting up to the top. The view was awesome!!!! We could recognize the 5th Ave~!!
Daisydz Posted Feb 8, 2010, 8:58 am	Daisydz and her friends planed to travel in Guangdong Province. We stayed in her friend's house the day before we took the plane.
Daisydz Posted Feb 8, 2010, 11:23 am	We visited a park in Shunde which is near daisydz's friend's house in Shunde.
Daisydz Posted Feb 8, 2010, 11:38 am	We went to a traditional garden in Shunde. Its a traditional Chinese park and there are many halls presenting the works of famous local people. A big rose garden is in the middle of the big garden. Although it is winter now, the roses here are quite beautiful.
Daisydz Posted Feb 8, 2010, 11:41 am	Bonishka was leaving the next day. We had last dinner together. We stayed together for almost one year. Very nice meeting you! My dear friend, I will miss u very much in the future! Hope you can have more fun!
Daisydz Posted Feb 8, 2010, 12:13 pm	It is our first day in Shenzhen. It's a very very big city in China and developed very early. It locates near to Hongkong, so some friends of daisydz came from Shenzhen and we spend time together!
Daisydz Posted Feb 8, 2010, 12:20 pm	We went to Guangzhou and visited the most crowded place in Guangzhou. We had Hongkong style lunch in a restaurant. It was so delicious! Sadly, I got lost when we were in the famous pedestrian street, "Beijing Road". Daisydz and her friends spent hours to find me back. But they failed to find me back. Daisydz felt really sorry and sad. Now, I dont know where I am now, hope i can meet some kind person can send me back......

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