Friday, May 25th
PAcking, PAcking. Seems we have too much stuff.
Shirley came to take us to Porcelene Street today. She had a very specific shop she wanted to take us to. I think it was her friend's shop or she's getting a kickback.
We then got back to the hotel for a couple of hours and then left for the airport. All went smooth until we got to the airport. Baggage check was a long process. They wouldn't let mom go through security with us, so we met up with her a the gate. There must have been 20 babies waiting to fly to Guangzhou on this flight. They all seemed to be crying while we waited at the gate. One poor family had their young son with them and a very unhappy baby. The little boy got sick and through up all over the airport floor and all over himself. We felt so sorry for them, but they said there wasn't anything we could do to help. There was a gate attendant assigned to help mom on the plane. Apparently they didn't let him know when he was to get mom on board because he was very upset when everyone starting boarding before he got mom on the plane. When we got on the plane with all the crying babies, there was a technical difficulty so the attendants served drinks and hot food. The airplane took off with trays down and food on the trays. Very interesting experience! This was Cami's first plane ride. She was a champ! Didn't fuss at all. Talked and flirted with the man sitting next to us. Drank a bottle and fell asleep.
No wheelchair when we landed. John was not happy because we were supposed to go to the baggage claim but it was a very long walk. We waited outside the gate until John tracked down an attendant. Ended up it was a stewardess that was not happy having to do this menial work. I realized that after I tried to tip her and she acted insulted.
Peter, our Guangzhou guide, met us at the airport. He was nice but very down to business and experienced. I appreciated that very much! In the shuttle, he gave us a rundown on the next few days and what papers we needed to have at what time. Guangzhou is very big and very different. Much more modern. We are staying in an area called Shamian Island. Definitely a tourist location for locals and adopting people. The island about 900 meters by 400 meters. It has 2 main hotels, restuarants and lots, lots, lots of tourist shops. Intermixed there are apartment complexes and the Polish Consulate. We stayed in the Victory hotel. The hotel is wonderful, has osmosis water in each room that is drinkable, and has free computer access and internet in each business suite. Yea, I can now type this blog.
Since we were served dinner on our flight, we just walked around outside a little bit and went to bed.
We stayed at the Victory
