Hi, Everyone,
I attempted to post the first portion before we left, but it didn’t go, so I added on to it here. We’re home, now, back to the land of unblocked internet sites (like blogspot.com) and potable water. We love to travel, but always love coming home. Here’s how it went….
Our last morning in Guangzhou started like the others – get the kids up and ready, ask Kira to put her shoes on, check on the day’s schedule, remind Kira to put her shoes on, change Max, make sure we have our room keys, remind Kira again to put her shoes on, make sure everything is put away that should be put away in case the maid comes, move out the door and wait for Kira to put her shoes on.
Breakfast at the White Swan is always very good. Service is excellent and there is a tremendous variety for Asian, American and Europeans to be happy – as though pumpkin pie, noodles and coffee could be combined in one thing.
We made one last run for diapers and a couple other things, then began our packing. It didn’t go well with 2 small kids in a small room, so Michelle took them to the playroom and I finished the packing in plenty of time. Molly and the van met us at checkout and we were off to the airport. There were no problems with boarding passes or security. In Guangzhou, for many flights, busses transport passengers to the airplanes. Our bus was pretty crowded and hot. It was close to 100 degrees and the AC on the bus couldn’t keep up. We eventually got to the airplane where the queue to board had the usual chaos of almost any queue in China. The plane was soon in the air, and Guangzhou faded into the mist as it became another good memory.
We got back to Shanghai with minimal breakage and bickering and went right to the Shanghai Airport Hotel. It was extremely convenient and modern. The hotel was connected to the terminal and parking ramps via a large enclosed walkway. It was a relatively small, but beautiful building. They did not have our reservations, but no matter. There was still room. The two beds were an odd size and the room seemed to be designed more as an erotic escape than an overnight room for an early morning flight. There were reflective tiles on the ceiling and the bathroom had a large glass see-through door (seemed to defeat the purpose of a door, but who are we to judge?) with a large, round shower also surrounded in see-through glass. The doorways were particularly narrow such that a loaded luggage cart would not fit through. Still, the room was nice and only about $90 for the four of us. The bellman talked about basketball. There’s a big following of the NBA in China. Several people struck up a conversation about it with us over the last few weeks.
The hotel had a buffet for 38 yuan (about $6.00) which was small, but had plenty of variety for the price – whole prawns and whole yellow fish, regular and spicy noodles, vegetables, soup, rice and several other things. And onion rings. It seemed a bit unusual to see onion rings – definitely a candidate for Sesame Street’s “One of these things is not like the others”. Michelle and I had two large beers while we all munched away. It was a good reward for completing the first leg of the journey home.
We got up about 4am to get ourselves and the kids ready to get to security by 5:45. It seemed only the international travelers needed to be so early. While we waited, we grabbed our last breakfast in China at the Burger King in the Shanghai airport. The breakfast choices were limited, but the setting was very nice, on a veranda overlooking the gates and facing a glass wall that looked out onto the runways and past them to the ocean with a large number of freighters waiting to get into port. It was quite beautiful in its own way. It was better than TV for the kids. Though the fare was not what we’d become accustom to, our breakfast conversation, however, was like most others – plenty of ‘why’ questions. For a sample of the variety of questions, Kira asked, “Why did we ride 3 airplanes to get here, but we only ride 2 to get home?” After being impressed by the intelligence of that question, not 5 minutes later came the contrasting question, “If I squeeze you, will you go potty?”
In any case, boarding was on-schedule and we were off. The flight from Shanghai to Detroit seemed longer than it was. The plane was a middle-aged 747, so quarters were a little cramped and the kids were antsy and loud (not just our kids, but the kids around us as well). As the flight drew on, our kids were less and less interested in being content. There were numerous little tantrums, potty trips and fights, but there were some good experiences as well – showing the kids the view of Canada, watching them interact with other kids and meeting some other pleasant passengers. Still, going on long flights with two small kids is not something one does for fun or relaxation. To say it was “hell” is much too strong, but to say it was “unpleasant” seems insufficient, so it was somewhere inbetween. We had both been secretly dreading the flight back, but fortunately, it is a limited time.
We’d never been through customs or immigration in Detroit. It was a bit of a wait but not nearly as problematic as we had suspected it might be. Our layover was two hours and we still made it in plenty of time, even after a couple potty stops. The immigration agent was a pleasant, young guy who dealt with Kira’s questions very well, questions about all of the items on his gun belt, why the policemen were in cages, why they needed to look at us, etc. A customs assistant helped us get our bags to the re-check-in area and we picked-up some lunch to go on the hike to our gate. The lunch gave the kids something to do for awhile on the flight to Rochester, where my mom was waiting for us with our car. It was great to be able to arrive in Rochester. The airport was easy, the outside landscape was clean and green and the signs on the way home were all in English. We were home in almost no time.
It didn’t take long for Kira and Max to find her toys. In a very short time, Max found sunglasses, a backpack and a toy vacuum cleaner. Mom thoughtfully dropped by some groceries, we got some supper ready. The kids, however, were falling asleep at the table, so we checked them in to bed. It wasn’t an altogether easy night as the kids woke and needed attention a couple times, but those things are much easier to deal with at home.
All our best,
Kim, Michelle, Kira & Max
I attempted to post the first portion before we left, but it didn’t go, so I added on to it here. We’re home, now, back to the land of unblocked internet sites (like blogspot.com) and potable water. We love to travel, but always love coming home. Here’s how it went….
Our last morning in Guangzhou started like the others – get the kids up and ready, ask Kira to put her shoes on, check on the day’s schedule, remind Kira to put her shoes on, change Max, make sure we have our room keys, remind Kira again to put her shoes on, make sure everything is put away that should be put away in case the maid comes, move out the door and wait for Kira to put her shoes on.
Breakfast at the White Swan is always very good. Service is excellent and there is a tremendous variety for Asian, American and Europeans to be happy – as though pumpkin pie, noodles and coffee could be combined in one thing.
We made one last run for diapers and a couple other things, then began our packing. It didn’t go well with 2 small kids in a small room, so Michelle took them to the playroom and I finished the packing in plenty of time. Molly and the van met us at checkout and we were off to the airport. There were no problems with boarding passes or security. In Guangzhou, for many flights, busses transport passengers to the airplanes. Our bus was pretty crowded and hot. It was close to 100 degrees and the AC on the bus couldn’t keep up. We eventually got to the airplane where the queue to board had the usual chaos of almost any queue in China. The plane was soon in the air, and Guangzhou faded into the mist as it became another good memory.
We got back to Shanghai with minimal breakage and bickering and went right to the Shanghai Airport Hotel. It was extremely convenient and modern. The hotel was connected to the terminal and parking ramps via a large enclosed walkway. It was a relatively small, but beautiful building. They did not have our reservations, but no matter. There was still room. The two beds were an odd size and the room seemed to be designed more as an erotic escape than an overnight room for an early morning flight. There were reflective tiles on the ceiling and the bathroom had a large glass see-through door (seemed to defeat the purpose of a door, but who are we to judge?) with a large, round shower also surrounded in see-through glass. The doorways were particularly narrow such that a loaded luggage cart would not fit through. Still, the room was nice and only about $90 for the four of us. The bellman talked about basketball. There’s a big following of the NBA in China. Several people struck up a conversation about it with us over the last few weeks.
The hotel had a buffet for 38 yuan (about $6.00) which was small, but had plenty of variety for the price – whole prawns and whole yellow fish, regular and spicy noodles, vegetables, soup, rice and several other things. And onion rings. It seemed a bit unusual to see onion rings – definitely a candidate for Sesame Street’s “One of these things is not like the others”. Michelle and I had two large beers while we all munched away. It was a good reward for completing the first leg of the journey home.
We got up about 4am to get ourselves and the kids ready to get to security by 5:45. It seemed only the international travelers needed to be so early. While we waited, we grabbed our last breakfast in China at the Burger King in the Shanghai airport. The breakfast choices were limited, but the setting was very nice, on a veranda overlooking the gates and facing a glass wall that looked out onto the runways and past them to the ocean with a large number of freighters waiting to get into port. It was quite beautiful in its own way. It was better than TV for the kids. Though the fare was not what we’d become accustom to, our breakfast conversation, however, was like most others – plenty of ‘why’ questions. For a sample of the variety of questions, Kira asked, “Why did we ride 3 airplanes to get here, but we only ride 2 to get home?” After being impressed by the intelligence of that question, not 5 minutes later came the contrasting question, “If I squeeze you, will you go potty?”
In any case, boarding was on-schedule and we were off. The flight from Shanghai to Detroit seemed longer than it was. The plane was a middle-aged 747, so quarters were a little cramped and the kids were antsy and loud (not just our kids, but the kids around us as well). As the flight drew on, our kids were less and less interested in being content. There were numerous little tantrums, potty trips and fights, but there were some good experiences as well – showing the kids the view of Canada, watching them interact with other kids and meeting some other pleasant passengers. Still, going on long flights with two small kids is not something one does for fun or relaxation. To say it was “hell” is much too strong, but to say it was “unpleasant” seems insufficient, so it was somewhere inbetween. We had both been secretly dreading the flight back, but fortunately, it is a limited time.
We’d never been through customs or immigration in Detroit. It was a bit of a wait but not nearly as problematic as we had suspected it might be. Our layover was two hours and we still made it in plenty of time, even after a couple potty stops. The immigration agent was a pleasant, young guy who dealt with Kira’s questions very well, questions about all of the items on his gun belt, why the policemen were in cages, why they needed to look at us, etc. A customs assistant helped us get our bags to the re-check-in area and we picked-up some lunch to go on the hike to our gate. The lunch gave the kids something to do for awhile on the flight to Rochester, where my mom was waiting for us with our car. It was great to be able to arrive in Rochester. The airport was easy, the outside landscape was clean and green and the signs on the way home were all in English. We were home in almost no time.
It didn’t take long for Kira and Max to find her toys. In a very short time, Max found sunglasses, a backpack and a toy vacuum cleaner. Mom thoughtfully dropped by some groceries, we got some supper ready. The kids, however, were falling asleep at the table, so we checked them in to bed. It wasn’t an altogether easy night as the kids woke and needed attention a couple times, but those things are much easier to deal with at home.
All our best,
Kim, Michelle, Kira & Max
I've been really enjoying reading your blog on your family trip to China. It often makes me laugh out. Thanks for taking time to write them. I am so happy to see Max is smiling and playing cool at the end. He looks so happy at the new home.
ReplyDeleteKim, 很开心你们回家了。
ReplyDelete