Friday 27th - The coach to Yangchun

Check out of the Ossotto, never did get to visit the spa :-( and arrive at the coach station in good time to get the 15:50 coach (remember that time). As we head off out of Guangzhou the afternoon turns to night and about three hours into the trip it starts to rain and rain and rain. 

Huge sheet lightening fills the sky for the next couple of hours and the roads turn to rivers. 

Tarmac is none existent and by this time we realise that the 15:50 coach is not the motorway express express but the more scenic route, seems our Mandarin lessons need a bit more work!  

At times we are down to 10mph and it is like something out of Romancing The Stone!  

Thankfully Alice decides that coach trips are boring and drops off to sleep in the first 10 minutes. Finally arrive 21:30 'quite tired'

Hotel Jin Da Lai is just across the street so we wade over the road which is now like a river with Les, Lisa and Laura who have met us.

We were promised a good deal on the room and find out that we have a honeymoon suite (tell the wife not to get her hopes up), consisting of private lobby, large bedroom with en-suite bath wet room, lounge with TV free computer and wifi, second games room and another en-suite wet room.   Published rate is 1650RMB a night and it is costing us 2550RMB for SEVEN nights including breakfast. 

 

Fall into bed tired and sleep very well. 

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!