In China
All Days  |  Previous Day  |  Next Day

Thursday, November 4, 2010 Last day in Guangzhou. Red couch pictures, 10am, followed by the group picture in front of the White Swan waterfall. A Chinese adoption tradition. The red couch tradition is quite comical, as multiple parents try to get their babies to sit still and smile for the group photo. An exercise in futility. Holt used to do one official photo in each of these locations but they stopped after some parents complained that their kids weren't looking at the camera. Wow, can't hardly blame the photographer for that - it's mayhem. Now they just collect everyone's cameras and take multiple pictures. Immediately after the photos it was time to head up to the fourth floor for the exit meeting with the Holt staff. Catherine was careful to explain everything we should expect when departing China, whether by train or plane. She also explained the entry procedures back into the States. It was quite detailed and gave us good information. I will do a "trip tips" post after we get back with a few things I've learned and re-learned and include a few things from this meeting. One bummer was that we didn't receive any of our petty cash back from Holt. They'll ask for 600 Yuan per person at the beginning of the Guangzhou visit in order to fund expenses and tours. It covers quite a bit actually. We added an extra 1,200 Yuan for our hired driver on the orphanage visit. If you're keeping score at home that's 2,400 Yuan and our total expenses came to something like 3,500 Yuan. 1,100 short, which is about $170 USD. Instead of a refund, I got yet another bill from Holt. Ugh. I have to say it was worth every penny though; the team of Holt and Lotus REALLY takes care of you in China. The meeting lasted about an hour and we headed out to indulge in one last cheap massage. Given the fact that I just got a bill, I elected to forego the massage and dropped off April and Gavin only. April was a little tense with our imminent departure occurring and I figured she could really use it. I bought Gemma some beef noodles on the way back up to the room much to her delight and then got our bags placed outside the door for the bellman. That's one of the things that's taken care of as part of the petty cash - your bags are handled all the way around. April and Gavin, now the jello twins, showed up totally relaxed and it was time to grab the carry-ons and head down to tour reception. We were to head out for the U.S. Consulate once more and then to the train station around the corner. We've added our own last day tradition too, which is to get a photo with our daughter at the bronze statue of the violin lady and the children in the greenway. Gemma and I quickly hoofed it to the statue for a couple shots and got back in time to meet up with the group. The trip to the consulate was once again only about 40-45 minutes thanks to the Asian Games. On Monday, Wednesdays, and Fridays, they're only letting the odd numbered license plates on the road. So if you have a 1, 3, 5, 7, or 9 as the last digit on your plate, you can drive. That has freed up quite a bit of traffic. They did this during the Olympics in Beijing for a different reason which was to clear up the air pollution for the games. The sky has been relatively clear here for days although it has started to get a little hazy in the last couple. We didn't need to go back into the consulate - Joyce took care of collecting our visa packets. It took a bit and the driver had to circle the block a few times. As I was talking with some other parents, Faith tugged my shirt sleeve and said "Bai Jie Ya". She pointed at Gemma while making a motion to describe tears falling. Sure enough, Gemma was sitting there silently with tears flowing down her face. YES! I hate to take delight in my daughter's sorrow but it is a very healthy thing for her to feel sorrow at leaving her homeland and everything she knows. Up until now, she had been incredibly stoic. If she was grieving at all, we certainly didn't notice. Now though we knew that she was capable of that kind of feeling and it was an extremely important moment. I immediately went over to embrace her and she snuggled right up into my chest, still just silently crying with no sobs or anything. She wrapped her arms around me and seemed to be very comfortable just accepting my consolation. A few moments later she was right as rain and when I asked if she was okay, she replied "yes". April had actually gone into the consulate lobby with Leda to get off the bus and get some fresh air. I was disappointed that she'd missed it, but I'm sure there will be other moments after our return home. We're just thrilled that it finally happened and equally thrilled that Gemma seems to be at peace with leaving now. It's as if she fully comprehends that she just closed a chapter on her life. I cannot thank Chris and Abbie and the whole Holt staff enough for the preparation work they've done with these kids in the Journey of Hope program.

Sisters Pretty much how these shots go. Totally candid. The Holt International October 25th gotcha day families Getting out of Dodge Car #6 on the Kowloon train

Joyce emerged from the consulate and we finally had the visa packets that marked our last official business with China. Hurray! A block later we rolled up to the Guangzhou East Train Station. For 10 Yuan per bag Joyce had arranged for a porter to take our big bags up to the HK/Kowloon departure area on the 4th floor. For an additional 85 Yuan per bag you can also check them on the train. This is one option, but you can also carry your bags right on your train car if you're up to it. We elected to save the $50 USD and carry them on. There's actually a fair amount of room. Again, I'll write about this in a trip tips post. Once on the 4th floor we had all kinds of time before our train departed so we shared a cheap and under-delicious meal (I just made up a word) at the only place to eat in the waiting area, E-Meal. We had to wait a couple hours and then it was time to head through China Customs. It's a passport check and you have to give them your departure card. From there you go into the boarding area and wait for a few minutes before you're allowed to board the train. We hauled our bags down the long escalator to the train platform and quickly found our car, number 6. Lotus arranged for all the Holt families to be in the same car. We stowed our luggage and sat down for the two hour ride to Kowloon. The train is reasonably comfortable and you can move around as much as you want. Gemma and Faith were jabbering away again about who knows what, and they were playing with the babies. They both had to check out the bathrooms multiple times, which by the way are just squatties that open to the tracks below. Everybody relaxed and it was actually relatively quiet. There was a stop in Shenzhen and then on to Kowloon again. When you finally reach the outskirts of Hong Kong, the train seems to slow and stay at a slow pace for the rest of the trip. Finally though, you arrive in Hung Hom station, just north and east of Tsim Sha Shui. It was now time to let Gemma and Faith know they would have to say their goodbyes. The Perrys were staying out by the airport for their flight tomorrow and we were staying in Kowloon (or so we thought, more on that later). Through the translator I let the girls know, and rather than the tearful blow up we all expected, they were laughing and howling and doing chest bumps of all things. I guess they're secure in the knowledge that they're both going to the land of the free and this is not a forever goodbye. We were all pretty relieved. We wheeled our luggage off the platform and up the escalator to Immigration. There is no visa required to get into Hong Kong, just an entry card which we had filled out on the train. The line was long but moved very quickly so we were only in line for about 15 minutes. Once through, it was time to figure out how to get to our hotel. All the other families had arranged for Lotus to pick them up and ferry them to their destinations, but we've done this before without Lotus and it's not that hard. Since we were also staying in Tsim Sha Shui on Kowloon, we knew it should only be a five minute drive or so. We ran into the Perrys again as they were meeting their Lotus guide and he exchanged our RMB into HKD for cheaper than the exchange window would have done. Bonus! The exchange rate in HK is about 13 cents on the US Dollar right now, and it was about 17 cents for RMB on the US Dollar. The Yuan is actually stronger than the HK Dollar so our money will go a little farther here. I pulled some cash out of the ATM (which I've done freely in both China and HK) and then we jumped in line for one of Hong Kong's millions of little red Toyota Crown Comfort cabs. Believe it or not, four large suitcases, two rollerboard carry-ons, four backpacks, and four people will fit into one of these things with a creative use of bungee cords. We just strapped Gavin to the roof. Okay, not really. I told the cabbie "Renaissance Harbour View in Tsim Sha Shui on Salisbury" and thoroughly confused him. He was talking in "Guangdong Hua" (Cantonese) to Gemma, explaining that I was cracked and was talking about a hotel that didn't exist. She did her best to pantomime to us what he was saying but I couldn't figure it out. I then referred to my Blackberry for the reservation. The address said 1 Harbour View, Wanchai. Uh-oh, the realization was instant. Wanchai is the district surrounding the convention center on the Hong Kong side. We thought we booked the Renaissance on Salisbury that we had stayed at last time but instead we had booked one on the other side. To boot, I had cashed in points for the room nights and if the new place was a dive, we'd have to live with it. By the way, Hong Kong is a fantastic place to cash in Marriott points - the Renaissance costs only 25,000 points, which is how much you'll pay for most Courtyards in the States. As we traversed the cross-harbour tunnel, we decided to let it ride and see what we'd end up with. Gemma and the cabbie were getting along famously, just chatting away in Cantonese. He seemed like a great guy, probably a family man himself and a really good father. She seems to pick up conversations like that with everyone she meets, which will be a great asset to her. We arrived only 10 minutes later than we would have if we were in the original location. This Renaissance however was new and looked *very* nice so we decided we'd stay. The cab ride was 98 HK, which included 48 for the actual fare and 50 for the tunnel toll and bag fees (5 HK per bag). There is no tipping the taxi drivers. We said our thank yous to the nice cabbie and walked inside a pretty amazing lobby. At the front desk, the clerk explained that the Renaissance on Salisbury actually closed. I guess the booking agent I worked with just booked us at the only Renaissance in the area and I never looked at the confirmation that closely. We no longer cared because this place looked even better than the other. We also had a harbor view room so things were definitely looking up. It was now about 9:30 or so and we were getting settled into the new room, which definitely does have a great view. The room is very nice with a post-modern European flair and all the electronic amenities, but it's tight - way tight. In Hong Kong, it's all about density. Apparently citizens of Hong Kong are only allowed 100 square feet per person in their apartments. Seems that the hotels follow suit. One thing that definitely bugs us out about China travel is the fact that, while the hotels allow up to four people per room, they only provide sleeping accommodations for two. At the White Swan we'd had a king suite and the couch in the other room was not a foldout. You either paid $45 USD a night for a rollaway bed or you bought air mattresses for $35 one time. Thankfully, we'd thought to bring those air mattresses along. They add extra weight, but we figured they'd be great back home when the kids have friends over. In this hotel, we actually have two twins for April and I, and the kids are squeezed into the remaining nooks and crannies on their air mattresses. It's tight, but it's merely a place to stage for sleep and showers while we enjoy activities in the area. And so sleep we shall….

Website by myadoptionwebsite.com