Day 8: Guangzhou

This was a big day. Mak's first plane ride. Yuck - we got ill just thinking about taking an airplane trip with a one-year old. It was another early morning, but we got our bags ready for pick up on time, managed a bit of breakfast, and caught the bus! We were both feeling a bit under the weather also, so that probably didn't make our fear of flying with her any better. Veronica got all of our tickets and we made it through security. It is very different than in the US. the conveyor belt of stuff is the same, but after you go through the metal detector, they wand you - even the baby! They also take the baby and passports away as they wand you. It was rather disconcerting, but we made it through! Our plane was delayed, so we got to spend even more time in the regional Chinese airport and then ride a stand-up only bus to the completely sold-out airplane. Good times...we were so desperate to entertain her at times that we tried out the sunglasses!

 

We made it in one piece and hopped on the bus to the White Swan Hotel; aka, the Baby Hotel (lots of foreigners travel through there because Guangzhou is where most of the major foreign consulates are located and there are lots of foreigners who adopt Chinese babies...not just Americans FYI). Our room might not be any better than the hotel in Nanchang, but the hotel is in a different class. Very nice and very busy! Veronica took us on a walking tour of the White Swan area of Shamian Island in Guangzhou - there is a Starbucks, 7-11, and a Subway within five minutes of the hotel! Please keep in mind that these are the Chinese versions, but it is still nice to see something familiar! We even went to the "American" restaurant on the island for dinner.

 

At the hotel, Mattel HK sponsors a Swan Room, which is a big playroom with lots of toys. Fantastic! You have to take off your shoes to play, and the carpet makes you glad that you did! It is wonderfully soft and not so hard when the newly walking babies take a tumble. Makena was a little overwhelmed, but seemed to have a great time. We did a lot of walking and crawling practice as well, and plan to go back every day! The other cool thing was the Barbie doll that we received. It is made specifically for people adopting from China and is very sweet...