Sept 10. To say that today was long would be an understatement! It started out very well. Megan woke up happy and didn’t even want a bottle right away. When we went down to breakfast, she ate like a pig. We found out that she loves banana bread. We broke it up in pieces and she couldn’t shovel it in fast enough. She also had a whole bowl of congee.
At 9:30am we went on a tour of People’s Park. It was a large park with a river, trees, and winding paths. We saw many grandparents there with their grandchildren. There were large paddle boats to rent, the Beijing opera singing at an amphitheater and even a small amusement park with rides. At one end of the amusement park there was a larger area of water. There was a big, clear plastic ball tethered to a dock that people could get inside of and “walk on water”, kind of like a hamster in a plastic ball. The 13 yr. old in our group, Brandon, decided to give it a try. He did pretty good, but didn’t get very far. Our guides told us that the 5 minutes in the ball was equal to 10 times that amount of exercise on the land.
Next we went to a porcelain shop. Jiangxi province is known for its fine porcelain. They had many beautiful pieces, but they were on the expensive side. I’m sure they would be double or triple that in the US. They had many tea sets, dishware sets, plates, and mugs. We decided on a tea mug with a lid for Megan and a couple of smaller things.
After Brian went to KFC to get us lunch, we had a group meeting to get the babies Chinese passports. We also received back the corrected copy of our paperwork that was wrong yesterday. Thankfully everything was correct on the passport.
After we finished packing, we decided to visit the pagoda that was just behind our hotel. A pagoda is an ancient temple. This one was very tall. There were several people in the pagoda park that were getting things ready for the autumn Moon festival that starts Sept. 22. They were making decorations. There was also a large stage in the park and another building that had large figures in it and a large musical instrument that has bells that you hit to make them ring.
We left for the airport at 4:30pm. Everything went pretty smoothly getting through the airport. Megan wasn’t too impressed at first, but she did settle down. We had quite a while to wait before our flight, so we just visited and walked around with Megan to entertain her. After waiting for just a little bit, we heard an overhead announcement saying that our flight had been delayed, but we couldn’t understand what they were saying about why. Then someone said that it was because there was a typhoon that had gone through Hong Kong and Guangzhou and the plane was delayed. Now there’s something I didn’t’ plan for. I guess it makes sense though. If it’s hurricane season in the US, it’s typhoon season here. Later, we found out that the plane was only going to be delayed 30 mins. We never did hear if it was actually because of a typhoon or not. We’ll have to ask our guides what the weather was like in Guangzhou on Friday.
I have to say that China Eastern airlines definitely has the “one-up” on US airlines. When we flew from Hong Kong to Nanchang, it was only a 1 hr. 20 min. flight and they served us lunch. Tonight, from the time we boarded the plane to the time we were in the air was 15 min. We weren’t served supper because we left at 8pm, but they did give us a jar of baby food for all the babies. Megan was asleep for the first part of the flight. When she woke up, she was NOT happy. After I took her out of the baby carrier, she decided to ham it up with all the neighboring passengers.
By the time we got to Guangzhou, everyone was tired and/or cranky. Mind you, none of the adults had eaten supper and we left the airport for the hotel at 10pm. When we got to the White Swan hotel, over 50% of the babies were crying. We finally made it up to our room. Megan got a 2nd wind and Brian went to get some supper. It took over an hour to get our luggage. After an epic struggle, Megan finally gave in to sleep. Brian and I ate supper at midnight. One of the nicest things about being in Guangzhou will be the easy access to food.
What a day you had! I can't wait to see Megan "ham it up" at home. :)
ReplyDeleteI just read all the posts since you left the US. The first pictures of you with Megan made me cry tears of joy! How you describe her personality makes me think of my Emma. Emma is very social and likes to "ham it up." Maybe we could have a playdate when things settle down after you get back. What an experience and blessing!
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