** Adoption countdown: 4 days until Pam, Terry and Matthew return home **
GUANGZHOU, China (Sunday, Dec. 14, 2008, 6:45 p.m.) – A severe shortage of diapers – we ran out – set off a mad dash through the streets of this city of 7 million on one of the busiest shopping days of the week.
After three hours of attempting to hail taxis to haul Pam, Matthew and me; dodging bumper-to-bumper traffic; and squeezing our way through wall-to-wall people downtown, we had more than enough.
We started the afternoon buying a Chinese scroll and chop for Matthew and a $10 suitcase for me. A few doors down, at a nearby restaurant, we had an inexpensive lunch of sandwiches that took forever to prepare.
Then the fun began.
About 2 p.m.: We took a $2 taxi ride to Beijing Street in Guangzhou and quite possibly the largest crowd of people we’ve seen since we arrived in China.
This apparently is one of the most popular shopping areas in town with large department stores lining both sides of a wide street that was converted into a pedestrian mall.
Beijing Street was home to at least three separate McDonald’s locations as well as a multiplex theatre that had patrons lined up to buy tickets to latest movies.
The crowds along Beijing Street were literally wall-to-wall in a scene that reminded me of the crowds on Bourbon Street and Canal Street in New Orleans for Mardi Gras.
Pam and I were the only Americans around. While the whole area was safe and teeming with police, it was one of the few times since we’ve been in China when I felt out of my element.
That’s when we decided to head for Carrefour, the French-based discount stores we’ve visited in China. Since we couldn’t find a grocery store on Beijing Street, we knew new could find what we needed at Carrefour.
About 3 p.m.: We hailed a taxi, asked him to take us to Carrefour and proceeded to break down the stroller. Then he sped off without us – the only time we have been jilted by a taxi driver in China. I was a little annoyed.
About 3:05 p.m.: We hailed a second taxi, whose driver helped us pile into his car and took us to Carrefour.
About 3:30 p.m.: Another $2 taxi ride found us outside Carrefour’s two-level store. For some strange reason, the heat inside was turned up to at least 85 degrees during our entire visit.
Pam and I felt like we were in a sauna as we searched frantically for diapers.
About 3:45 p.m.: We found the diapers – a large pack of Pampers. We grabbed the Pampers, tossed them in the basket and headed to the grocery section, where we picked up a few boxes of noodles for Matthew.
Speaking of noodles, I’ve never seen so many in my life. Chicken-flavored noodles. Beef-flavored noodles. Spicy-flavored noodles. And tons of soy sauce. Carrefour had an entire aisle with any kind and brand of soy sauce you could imagine.
And then, of course, we visited the meat and produce section were we saw fresh seafood for sale including octopus, squid, whole fish and fish heads.
About 4:30 p.m.: I was dripping in sweat from the heat in the store. Pam, Matthew and I checked out and then maneuvered through hordes of people who pushed their way onto the escalator to street-level.
About 4:45 p.m.: We walked to the street and tried to hail a taxi, but had little luck. We tried again. Nothing. Finally, after the third try, we got a taxi and wound our way back to the White Swan in another $2 cab ride.
About 5 p.m.: We arrived back at the hotel, exhausted.
Copyright 2008 by Terry R. Cassreino. All rights reserved.
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