We are all still doing great and loved Guangzhou! Sorry we haven’t been able to post in almost a week. We arrived in Hong Kong today and finally got reliable internet service. Our last hotel’s wifi would cut out mid-post and I finally decided I was wasting my time trying.
So I have a bit of catching up to do…..
Sunday we had time to shop with the group. It was what I would call express shopping. As a group of 10 families which consist of about 40 or so people went to four different places – The Jade Market, Pearl Market, Embroidery Shop and Chen Clan Academy. We arrived at the Chen Clan Academy first. These pictures will not do the building justice. It was amazing! The carvings in the concrete block and inside the building were awesome.
We were on tour for about 30 minutes and then we had 45 minutes to do some shopping there with local merchants. The place was amazing. Lucy and Madison really enjoyed seeing it.
We then went to the Jade and Pearl market, which was fun. It was fast shopping as we only got about an hour there as well.
On Monday we were supposed to go to the Guangzhou Zoo. It was raining (just like the day we went to the zoo in Chongqing) so we decided to pass on the zoo trip. By 5pm, the rain had stopped so we met our group in the lobby for a dinner cruise. That was fun and interesting. The entire cruise tour was in Chinese, so I hope Lucy picked up on a few things. The rest of us in our group that couldn’t speak any Chinese just enjoyed the food and the views. China’s big cities love the lights and they light up buildings, bridges and overpasses like I have never seen before. It makes the entire city glow. The more active the lights the better here.
Our guide told us to save electricity on 1/3 of the lights turn on each night but on holidays they run 100%. I can’t imagine what a beautiful sight that will be. I am hoping Hong Kong will do the same since one of the Chinese National Holidays start tomorrow.
On Tuesday, the entire group loaded back on the bus at 11am to head to Shamian Island. It is a unique place in Guangzhou. I don’t have any pictures from there – not sure why I didn’t take any. The small island in Gunagzhou has a historic British influence. All the buildings look like traditional colonial or British architecture. Nothing you would expect in China. Yet all the shops are selling traditional Chinese items. We spent the day there shopping for gifts.
Just a note – each morning our guide was taking 2-3 families to the consulate for their visa appointments. Our appointment was for Wednesday. We were nervous and asking each family as they came back how it went and what to expect.
So Wednesday was here and we had to meet our guide in the lobby to head to the consulate. While I knew we had all our paperwork in order, I was still nervous for some reason. What if something showed up in her medical we didn’t expect? (this did happen to one of the other families and they will be her for 6-8 more weeks) What if I didn’t complete a form correctly? What if… I had tons of these what ifs.
We arrived at the consulate and our guide had prepared us well. We received our medical documents from the International Medical Clinic and thank the Lord – Lucy’s was clear! We headed across the street to the consulate and there were hundreds of people in front of the consulate. Our guide had instructed us to just stay close to him and keep pushing through the people. It seemed odd forcing or way through the crowd of Chinese people – almost like we were cutting in line, but in reality we weren’t. We just had to get past all of them to get in the American Citizen line which only had about a dozen people in it ahead of us.
When we got in the consulate, we had to pull a ticket with a number. Pure American style! We waited until our number was called and watched as the State Department employee reviewed our paperwork. She only ask a few questions like to see our passports and if our address was correct. Then after what seemed like an hour but was only a few minutes, she said have a seat and we will call you back up here. What the heck did that mean??? You know me – I wanted to ask that exact question but I thought I better not get the State Department employee upset with us. Our group had five families at the consulate that morning. Each family went up to the window and was told the same thing over and over. Then finally, each of us were called back up and we were told that all our paperwork was in order, we had to get fingerprinted (again – this is now the fourth time) and we were told our guide could pick up Lucy’s passport on Thursday with her visa in it. YEA!!
We spent the rest of the day at the Guangzhou Safari place. It was really cool. Not Animal Kingdom, but who can compete with Disney! The kids had a great time seeing the animals and we got to see pandas up close.
Thursday was a free day so mom, dad and I went out shopping without Heith, Madison and Lucy. I wanted to get Lucy and Madison some gifts from China for future birthdays and Christmas. Heith said he and the kids had a great time at the pool! (what is it about kids and hotel pools??) That night we got Lucy’s passport with her US Visa so she could travel home with us along with the packet of paperwork we turn in when we enter the US which will automatically make her a US Citizen. YEA! We can’t wait for that moment at DFW!
Today has been a relaxing day as we traveled from Guangzhou to Hong Kong. I know it is odd to call a travel day relaxing, but it 
has been. We took a shuttle from out hotel to the train station and then boarded a train to Hong Kong. It was great riding the train. I highly recommend it to anyone going from Guangzhou to Hong Kong if you are overnighting in Hong Kong before flying back to the states. We rode in the First Class Premium car (which only cost $30 more than a regular ticket) and had tons of space and a table between us. We enjoyed the ride, the view and the experience of traveling on a train.
When we arrived in Hong Kong we took a cab to our hotel, the JW Marriott Hong Kong. IT IS AMAZING!!!! The views are spectacular and the hotel is super nice. And of course, Madison and Lucy love the pool already!
I have so many pictures, I can’t wait to upload them all to share. Here are a couple from the past few days. I promise it won’t be a week before I post again. Thank you all for sharing in our journey to bring Lucy home!!!! We will be home on Sunday!
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