Saturday, July 23, 2005
Today was a travel day. Fortunately, we packed last night. OH . . . MY . . . GOSH!! It took 3 hours after dinner, but we got it all organized. We had purchased an extra suitcase at Wal Mart a few days earlier and it sure came in handy. While we had 6 pieces when we left St. Louis and 8 pieces when we left Beijing, we were able to get back down to 7 pieces leaving Chongqing. However, they had become noticeably heavier.
Justin was the first to rise at 5:30 AM. I enjoyed what turned out to be the most peaceful part of the day until Dilla got up, followed by Lily. Having everything ready to go still allowed us a relatively leisurely morning. We all got washed up, packed up the last of our personal items and headed downstairs for our final breakfast at the Marriott. Man, are we going to miss these breakfasts! The Obnamia’s joined us shortly thereafter.
One last shot of the Marriott lobby (it's a very nice lobby, Mom)
We checked out, piled into the van and left for the airport at 8:45 AM. Now here’s something that I have a hard time understanding. On international flights, you’re allowed to check 2 bags per person that can weigh up to 70 pounds each. You can also carry on an additional bag plus one personal item like a computer bag or diaper bag. This is very handy, since we planned to be gone for over 2 weeks and would be traveling with a baby.
Dilla and Lily in the van on the way to the airprot.
BUT!! Once in China, having to move from city to city, we are considered domestic passengers. Now we’re only allowed to check a total of 20 kilograms per person – about 44 lbs, regardless of the number of pieces. We can carry on 2 or 3 pieces each, but the big, heavy suitcases present a problem. And they are really strict about this rule. Our guides in both Beijing and Chongqing tried to sweet talk the agents for us, but no dice. We ended up having to pay for the overweight luggage both times. You’d think they would make some allowance for the type of traveling we’re doing, but NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO! Well, we knew it was coming, and planned plenty of time to deal with it. We finally got to the gate at 10:15 AM with 30 minutes to spare before boarding.
Chongqing Airport
Wow! Did they really have to pack so much for li'l ole me? Notice Justin holding 3 passports - Lily's Chinese passport is red.
With our Chongqing guide, Eva, just before going through security. Eva was very helpful not only as our tour guide, but doing all the legwork to ensure our paperwork was completed properly and on time. THANK YOU, EVA!!
Boarding passes for the flight from Chongqing to Guangzhou
The one and a half hour flight from Chongqing to Guangzhou took off a little late and Lily Beth spent the entire first flight of her life asleep. Meanwhile, Justin and Dilla enjoyed the hospitality of a domestic Chinese airline. Actually, aside from the tight seats, it was pretty nice. The usual pre-flight instructions were delivered in Chinese first, then in English, as were all the announcements. And even though the flight was relatively short, they offered beverage service and provided a hot lunch (macaroni in meat sauce with a little salad and a roll).
One thing was strange. Right after we took off, a passenger got up to use the rest room. First of all, it seemed strange to me that a grown man wouldn’t have used the facilities 15 minutes earlier when we were on the ground. Okay, I travel a little for business and I think of this stuff. Maybe not everyone else does. But if this guy had tried that at that moment on a US domestic flight, 3 flight attendants would have tackled him. On this plane, it didn’t even arouse an announcement over the loudspeaker!
There was a thunderstorm in Guangzhou when we got there, so we had to circle for a little while. We finally got to land about 45 minutes late. We all made our way off the plane (the Obnamia’s and us) and continued our pilgrimage to the baggage claim where, thankfully, our entire load of heavy luggage arrived. Our new guide, Helen, was waiting just outside the baggage claim area and had a nice large mini-bus to take us to the White Swan Hotel.
Lily slept on Mom through her entire first airplane ride!
The ride to the hotel was uneventful – almost. Lily had been such a good girl all day. She must certainly have been confused by all the commotion that had been going on for hours. As I said, she slept through the entire flight, while in Dilla’s lap (didn’t even wake up when the cabin pressure changed at take off or landing) and was an angel on the ride back to the hotel. However, just as we pulled into the driveway, Dilla – still holding Lily – shouted for me. I was quickly awakened from a reverie, looking at the sights of another new city. Lily, it seems, had initiated Dilla right then and there, pooping all over her pants (sorry to anyone reading this over lunch, or whoever doesn’t have kids). Well, Lily was relieved, but left quite a mess to clean up. Dilla, as usual, kept a good attitude about the whole thing, took care of the baby first, wiped off her pants and had a good laugh. I checked us into our room and Dilla got up there as fast as she could.
It’s a very nice hotel, but much more resort-like than the Marriott. There are many Americans and non-Asians here with Asian babies, like us. Actually, there is even a very nice playroom sponsored by Mattel, because this hotel caters to people adopting Chinese babies. The rooms are small, but nice, and we have one overlooking a river - it's really a nice view. The hotel is on a tiny island called Shamian Island, with lots of other shops and restaurants. Where Chongqing was very urban and local, this place seems to be more touristy. This city has the 5th highest populated in China – about 9 million people.
The White Swan Hotel
Yup, that stain is what you think it is! You can't blame Lily for not wanting to look at the camera for this one.
We got into our room and took some time to unpack. By the time we were settled in, it was 5 PM. It had been a long day and we were hungry and tired. We ventured out with Lily and found a place called Lucy’s Bar and Grill. We had hamburgers and fries, but the burgers were so small, we ended up ordering another plate each! Even with 2 beers, a couple of sodas and 2 orders of mashed potatoes for Lily, the bill was less than $25 US.
We walked around the block after dinner, then went back to our room and called it a night.
Taken by Lucy's Bar & Cafe where we ate dinner tonight. Now there's an idea! We could have Gismo (our Chinese Pug) forever!!
A row of shops and restaurants adjacent to the hotel.
The view from our room overlooking the river after dark. River cruises pass by every so often in the early evening. On the far bank, shops, restaurants and other businesses glitter off the water.