Asia  

In episode twelve, Sofie and Ava seek out the goddess A-Ma, or Matsu, believed to be the namesake of Macau. The girls visit the A-Ma Temple, one of the oldest and most famous Taoist temples in existence, built in 1488 to honor this important goddess of fishermen and seafarers. Ava compares and contrasts her experiences in theater classes back home as the girls take in a bit of traditional Chinese opera in an outdoor theater. Later, they try out a real rickshaw, then learn more about the goddess A-Ma at the nearby Macau Maritime Museum, filled with models of vessels, examples of local traditional costumes and fishing techniques, a small theater telling the story of the goddess A-Ma with moving dioramas, and even an aquarium.

In the ninth episode, the girls climb into another Chinese taxi and travel with a guide to the Chime Long Xiangjiang Safari Park, the largest animal park in Asia and home to over 20,000 animals, including giant pandas and over half the world’s population of white tigers. A visit to the tiger cub nursery with litters of gamboling striped babies is an experience that will never be forgotten. Sofie and Ava view creatures from around the world from the Safari Train, winding ever-closer to the piece de resistance, the bamboo-munching giant panda, animal ambassador from China to the United States since pandas Ling-Ling and Hsing-Hsing were given to the U.S. by the Chinese government in 1972 following President Nixon’s historic visit to China, a bit of history as ancient to the girls as China’s gift of pandas to Japan in the Tang Dynasty.

In the seventh episode, Sofie and Ava board a train for the 75-mile journey to Guangzhou, Southern China’s largest city. Entering Mainland China for the first time, they notice how it differs from Hong Kong and how things compare to their familiar surroundings back home in the United States. Here, drivers sit on the left side of the car and cars drive on the left side of the road, just like back home. How confusing — after several days in Hong Kong, they had just become used to the right side! After settling into their new home base, complete with a view of the Canton Tower, the girls enjoy a Chinese meal with new friends.

In the fifth episode, the girls journey by bus to Tai O, a fishing village on the western side of Lantau Island. Here Sofie and Ava let off some steam playing alongside fishing boats, practice some moves at a Shaolin Temple, hunt through the village market and learn about the city’s long relationship with the sea as they explore the Hong Kong Maritime Museum.