Thursday 26th - Hair today, gone tomorrow

Another night without problems. Alice sleeps through and wakes happy. In fact we all wake happy at 9.00am after a thirteen hour nap. Off to breakfast where we explore cereal, yoghurt and strawberry juice. Definitely getting the hang of this eating now and happy to try anything.

After breakfast go native in a taxi and head for the coach station. JA goes all local with her range of Mandarin and we successfully by four tickets for the 15:50 tomorrow to Yangchun. ( 4 hour trip)

Taxi back to the hotel and all done in an hour. Easy.

Back to Shamian where spurred on by the earlier success of making ourselves understood, I decide I have a haircut. Nice job including wash £3.50, same as the coffee in Starbucks and the twenty-minute taxi ride to the coach station.

Sometimes the value of things is bizarre.

Alice is now much happier every day. Happy with Mummy today who is now gets a lot more cuddles. She is also beginning to verbalize, mimicking our sounds. and smiling more and more.

Bought the girls, seems weird to eventually be able to use that phrase after so long, lovely matching silk dresses for next years CACH Reunion. Also bought Daddy a 爸爸 cap as I have no hair left!

Wednesday 25th When a mans word is not enough

Have a free morning and back to Shamian. We go to the kiddie park and Alice seems happy to be around small people again. 

Lots of grannies there with toddlers - no comments please. Not sure about the slide but becoming more relaxed and eating a bit better.

Still ever so snuggly in bed!

Passport office today and CTP mentions that the CCWA are holding him personally responsible for our ITT and that he will personally hold on to the adoption certificate which he will then send back to us after receiving the ITT.

This will involve him having to fly into GZ and will cost us another 2000RMB

Should have seen that one coming!!!

Free day tomorrow so off to find the coach station to try and buy tickets to Yangchun!

Tuesday 24th We have squeaky shoes!

Back to Shamian today for some famous squeaky shoes and then off later to complete the formal adoption work. All going smoothly until Chris asks for the original Invitation to Travel. I tell him that his list said bring three copies, which I did but nothing about the original.  He says he is worried that things may not be able to proceed but after some conversations and signing a notice to say that we will Fed Ex it on our return we are 'good to go'

Alice continues to relax although has taken to me at the moment and less keen on 妈妈

More shopping in Shamian and the man at the convenience store is 'well impressed' with our fluent Mandarin and the women in Good Rock almost fall off her chair when we run through our repertoire of songs!

DR is brilliant as we do all the boring stuff every day and have to have early nights. Nothing much to do in GZ, but she is getting good with the buggy

Monday 23rd Gotha Day

Off to the CCWA to meet Alice Qiu Mei.

Different building than last time but same bizarre experience. Jane and Graham are there with Mei Lin but Alice is a bit late.

Then she arrives, well we hear her first! 

Feisty little thing who hasn't taken to the six-hour trip very well.  She is very small and doesn't want to leave her nanny.

 

Eventually all sorted and back to the hotel. Goodness knows what they'll think when we walk in with an infant.

Monday evening is fine. Alice is still very shut down and not eating much but is taking a bottle. 

We have no crib so are expecting the night from hell but with the exception of a bit of self soothing, as soon as the lights go out she sleeps right through, but what a wriggler!

Me and SHMBO still jet lagged so spend much of the night looking at the vague outlines of our two beautiful daughters lying in-between us both

Sunday 22nd Guangzhou or bust!

Jet lagged again, so up in plenty of time to take advantage of that 'all you can eat until you feel you have got your money' breakfast and then fill up a taxi with all our bags, squeeze in and off to Hong Hum Station.  

No problem with tickets and train left on time and, no surprise arrived on time. Let's see Mr Johnson and Mr Crow do the same this summer in London.

Met Jane and Graham at the station and look forward to sharing the week with them.

Sadly no hotel car at other end so it's hop in a taxi time again

Arrive at hotel. Check in to find there is a bath in the room, not en-suite, but actually in the room.

Seems our hotel is a 'Recreation Hotel' with a spa that I am suddenly not allowed to visit. After all the travelling you would think JA would be more considerate of me getting a message.

Anyway it's only a five-minute walk over the Pearl River to Shamian.

Found a nice restaurant opposite the tennis club. The girl at door is impressed with JA as she asks about a table, but bursts out laughing when her reply is totally above our head.

Even better we are the only westerners in a very large busy restaurant and four different people come over to try to understand that we want a bottle of water for DR, they even chat to her in fluent Cantonese expecting her to dig us out of the hole.

Classic.

We end up being brought a pot of hot water. 

Saturday 21st Touchdown

Recommend the Skymarriott Hotel if you need to overnight in HK.

Upgraded to business room for free breakfasts and access to executive lounge for free evening cocktails and snacks. Cost the same as the breakfast would have cost, got a better room and pigged out on cocktails and snacks, which was actually a very nice buffet.

Went for a swim in the pool later. Only me and the eight-year-old Rebecca Adlett in the pool, and one of the nicest hotels pools in a long while.

So well done Marriott! 

The Jigsaw Is Nearly Complete

So the Invitation to Travel arrives and it’s like a well-oiled, well slightly rusty, machine bursting into life as we plan our schedule. The Scrooge in me wants to fly at the beginning of May when things are cheaper but SHMBO, rightly says that we have to get Alice as soon as possible.

Next call to Simon, Virgin pilot friend, http://www.gordonbennett2010.com/, who gets us booked on the evening flight leaving London on 20^th April – Thanks next night out is on us!

Next biggy is to arrange the visa appointment at the UK Consulate for 30^th April so that they can issue before we return on 4^th May. Did I mention that this now costs £826, although they are very helpful in their emails, and as long they issue the thing who cares.

Visa for china applied for - still haven’t got the passports back yet but I’m not worried ;-)

Tried to book the Victory Hotel, but discover that our week coincides with Canton Trade fair and they can only offer us a suite at £256 per night. Thank them in the politest way possible and find the Ossoto Hotel, which is opposite Shamian Island for £100 a night. Only problem is that they don’t offer a crib, so we will all be in a couple of big beds like The Waltons. Either this will result in accelerated bonding or seven nights of sleep deprivation.

Train from Hong Kong to Guangzhou booked online – premium class – yippee Isn’t it amazing what you can do from your desk!

Arranged to go back to Yangchun for the second week to see our friends Les, Lisa and Laura from our visit last year http://patrickrmulcahy.blogspot.co.uk/ which will allow us to chill out and relax at the East Lake Hotel.

Shopping to Date

• New baby clothes
• Two weeks worth of organic baby food
• Baby bottle
• More baby clothes
• Nappies
• Baby spoons, cups and feeders
• More baby clothes

Julie-Anne had a great send off from work for six months rest and relaxation, although I am still cutting the grass.

Bumped into Jane and Graham on line, who will be meeting their daughter Yuan Le at the same time as we meet Alice and who are also booked back on the same flight. Should we ask Virgin Atlantic to issue a passenger warning that the flight home may be a night flight but people should not be expecting to get any sleep!

Next call to Rob, friendly doctor, for sedation. Not for Alice, for me!