Thursday morning in Hong Kong

Thursday, April 13, 2006, 9:31 a.m.
One more day until Pam, Camryn and I return home.

By Terry R. Cassreino

HONG KONG - It’s morning here and we are dragging a bit.
Pam is still asleep and Camryn is sitting in the bed babbling on and on about something that I can’t understand (something about “A da” and “Ba ba ba ba ba”).
This, the Harbour Plaza Metropolis, is very ice. But our room is exceptionally small and narrow; it has a toilet, sink and shower but it doesn’t have a bath tub.
Our view, however, is nice. From our room on the 15th floor, we can see the Hong Kong harbor and several elevated highways that criss-cross the city below.
I’m not sure what we have on tap today. We are in no particular hurry, but we do plan to visit some nice shopping areas looking for bargains of any kind we can find.
The jury is still out, so to speak, on whether this is a good bargain. We’ll see. . .
Until then, here are a couple of photos.


PHOTO 1
Camryn sits on the bed this morning irritating the living hell out of Pam. First, Camryn grabbed a phone book and started slamming Pam on the head saying in Mandarin “Get up out of bed and fix me some breakfast.” When that didn’t work, she started banging her massive rattle on the top of Pam's head. Here, Camryn is in the process of humming her rattle at me and the camera. Then she laughed.












PHOTO 2
Here is a view from our 15th floor room at the Harbour Plaza Metropolis across from the train station in Kowloon. I don’t really know where the hell we are and I’m totally confused about directions. But we’ll manage somehow.


Photos and text copyright 2006 by Terry R. Cassreino.

Riding the rails in China

Wednesday, April 12, 2006, 11:27 p.m.
Two more days until Pam, Camryn and I return home.

By Terry R. Cassreino

HONG KONG - It wasn’t Amtrak, but it damn well could have been.
Pam, Camryn and I boarded the passenger train in Guangzhou after we got the baby’s U.S. visa Wednesday afternoon. We expected a fast trip to Hong Kong.
Well, we made the trip in the advertised time of just under two hours. And the car in which we road had wide, spacious seats any air traveler would die to have.
Once we reached the train station in Hong Kong, our adventure began. We arrived a little after 8, went through customs and immigration and headed for our hotel.
Oh my God. Our luggage. We forgot to pick up our four pieces of checked luggage that included four tea sets, six Rolex watches and various souvenirs.
Pam, Camryn and I, itching to check into our room and then head out for dinner, abruptly turned around and went to claim our luggage. But it wasn’t there.
Get this: The elevator on which it traveling up from the ground floor was stuck. So we waited. And waited. And waited. And waited. And, you guessed it, waited.
Then the police arrived and politely told the three remaining passengers waiting for checked luggage that it would be another 15 minutes before anyone could repair the elevator.
So we waited again. And again. And again. In fact, we waited for more than an hour before our luggage mysteriously arrived. By then it was 9:30 p.m. and we were starving.
So here was Pam, a crying and fidgety Camryn and myself trying to haul four huge pieces of luggage and tons of carry-ons across the street to the Harbour Plaza Metropolis Hotel.
I called the hotel from the train station and asked for help with my luggage, but they refused. So an employee from the station helped us and then refused to accept a tip.
Now it’s 10 p.m. and we are famished. So Pam priced the hotel’s buffet, which was still open. And what do you know: A bargain at $57 in U.S. money per person during a weeknight.
“What the hell are they serving for that kind of money?” Pam asked the front desk clerk.
“Oh lots,” the clerk said. “Go take a look.”
“I think we’ll go to McDonald’s” Pam snapped.
And that was half correct. By the time we got to our room - which is nice even though it’s the size of a broom closet - we decided to order an incredible pizza from Pizza Hut.
It wasn’t Chinese food, but it was the best damn pizza we have had in a while. It came piping hot and piled high with vegetables, meats and even pineapple.

Dull ride

Back to the train trip: To put it simple, the ride was boring, That’s right: Boring. We saw little interesting scenery; instead, we talked with another family that adopted a child from China.
We also amused ourselves by watching Camry relax, gab away endlessly in baby Mandarin and play peek-a-boo with the passenger in the seat behind us.
And then there were the train attendants. At least I thought they were train attendants. They dressed similar to flight attendants and they walked up and down the aisle endlessly.
Every now and then, a train attendant would walk down the aisle selling items. One sold cold drinks. One sold snacks. Another sold fresh corn on the cob. Another sold raw meat.
I imagine the raw meat was steaks that were cooked in the dining car. But by the way the train attendant waved the meat in the air, I certainly didn’t want to order one of them.

Train restroom

Pam had to use the restroom on the train and was quick to file a report as soon as she returned to her seat.
“T.,” she whispered as she sat down. “They have Eastern toilets on the train. But you have to pour your own water down the drain to flush it.”
Pam said a red bucket was off to the side. If you used the toilet, she said, you had to fill the bucket with water from the nearby sink and then “flush” the toilet.
It sounds simple, but I’m sure the rocking motion of the train made it difficult.

Camryn's visa

Camryn has her U.S. visa.
Pam, Camryn and I joined several other families adopting Chinese babies at the U.S. Consulate in downtown Guangzhou for a brief ceremony marking the occasion.
That, though, was the only thing brief about it.
We waited for what seemed like an eternity in a non-air conditioned building to get Camryn’s visa so she can return with us on Friday. All’s well and we’ll be on our way.
First, though, is our day of shopping Thursday in Hong Kong. I hope it’s an inexpensive outing because with the rates this hotel charges that might not hold true.

Photos and text copyright 2006 by Terry R. Cassreino.

Last day in Guangzhou

Wednesday, April 12, 2006, 10 a.m.
Two more days until Pam, Camryn and I return home.

By Terry R. Cassreino

GUANGZHOU, China - Packing.
It’s such a joy, especially after more than two weeks on the road in a country on the other side of the world.
But that’s what we are doing this morning as we prepare to leave Guangzhou this afternoon and head for our last stop on the Cassreino Tour of China: Hong Kong.
Camryn, our daughter, will receive her U.S. visa this afternoon at the U.S. Consulate here in town. After that, our Lotus Travel escort will whisk us to the train station.
We are taking a train to Hong Kong and our hotel across from the station. We plan to send Thursday touring the city and shopping for last-minute gifts.
And then it’s off to the airport on Friday for our return trip home.
Because this is a travel day, I likely won’t post another entry until we reach our Hong Kong hotel at about 9 p.m. tonight (or about 8 a.m. Wednesday morning in Hattiesburg).
Just in case something happens and I’m unable to post until later, I thought I’d share our travel information for Friday.
We are scheduled to arrive at the Jackson-Evers International Airport on Friday, April 14, at 4:37 p.m. on Northwest Airlink/Pinnacle Airlines Flight NW2878L.
You can check with Northwest to make sure our flight is on time.
So, until later today or, at the latest, early Wednesday, I’ll leave you with this photo we took on Tuesday night at a shop near the White Swan Hotel.

Photo and text copyright 2006 by Terry R. Cassreino.

Tuesday in Guangzhou: A photo gallery

Tuesday, April 11, 2006, 6:03 p.m.
Three days until Pam, Camryn and I return home.

GUANGZHOU, China - It was hot. It was sticky. It was muggy. It was humid beyond belief. It was April in Guangzhou and on our last full day in this city we visited a Buddhist temple, where a Buddhist monk had a special ceremony to bless the children being adopted by U.S. families. And we had a small get-together in the hotel with other families from Holt International Children’s Services. On Wednesday, we will receive Camryn’s U.S. visa and then take the train for a one-day stay in Hong Kong on Thursday. Until then, here is a look back in pictures at Tuesday in Guangzhou. - Terry R. Cassreino



PHOTO 1
We took a tour bus from the White Swan Hotel through the crowded streets of Guangzhou to visit the Six Banyans Buddhist Temple. Outside the temple were several vendors like this one selling incense for people visiting the temple for prayer.









PHOTO 2
This vendor sold a musical instrument. I don’t know its name, but it sounds great when played properly. If I played it, I would ruin its magic.

















PHOTO 3
Inside the Six Banyans Buddhist Temple are several pagodas. This one featured the Buddha for the past, present and future. This particular one, if I’m correct, is the future Buddha because he sits with his hands folded. The temple grounds were crowded with more than 100 visitors and worshippers.














PHOTO 4
Here is a shot of the temple grounds.














PHOTO 5
Pam pushes Camryn in a stroller on the temple grounds while other Holt families walk past in the background.


















PHOTO 6
Here is a another photo of the temple grounds, this one showing burning incense.


















PHOTO 7
The main pagoda has 17 stories, all of which you can climb. The climb, though, is strenuous because the passageways are steep and narrow. You basically have to walk hunched over to reach the top and go back down. I didn’t make it to the top, but I got close. Here is the view of Guangzhou from high atop the pagoda.








PHOTO 8
When we returned to the hotel, Pam wanted to take some photos of Camryn in her Chinese outfits we bought for her. Here is one we took in the lobby of the hotel.











PHOTO 9
Here is another photo of Camryn in her two-piece Chinese outfit we bought.















Photos and text copyright 2006 by Terry R. Cassreino.

Visiting a Buddhist temple

Tuesday, April 11, 2006, 1:56 p.m.
Three more days until Pam, Camryn and I return home.

By Terry R. Cassreino

GUANGZHOU, China - The humidity.
The first thing Pam, Camryn and I felt when we stepped outside the White Swan Hotel this morning was the hot, thick, steamy humid air. For a minute I thought it was New Orleans in August.
No. Instead, it was April in Guangzhou.
And we, along with other families adopting Chinese babies through Holt International Children’s Services, were headed to the Six Banyans Buddhist Temple.
Today is our last full day in Guangzhou. Our Holt guides took us to the 1,500-year-old temple in the heart of this city while we wait for our child’s U.S. visa, which comes Wednesday.
The temple was beautiful, dominated by a 17-story pagoda. A trip to the top afforded a breathtaking view of the city, but meant climbing steep steps through narrow corridors.
I tried. But the combination of thick, humid air, a soaked T-shirt and short-sleeve shirt and sweat pouring down my neck meant I made it up 14 stories.
Nevertheless, I still had a great view of surrounding apartments and the Guangzhou business district. Pam and Camryn passed up the climb; they looked like specks on the ground from my vantage point high above the ground.
Inside the temple grounds were several places of worship. The highlight was a pagoda that featured towering statutes of the past, present and future Buddha.
There, a Buddhist monk performed a brief ceremony offering a blessing for all of the Chinese babies who were being adopted by people from countries around the world.
The buildings themselves were another beautiful example of classic Chinese architecture: detailed, intricate woodwork accented by the gently sloping roofs of the buildings.
But the damp, thick humid air nearly wiped out me, Pam and Camryn. We had a chance to go shopping in town after the temple visit, but we headed back to the hotel.

Beggars abound

As soon as we arrived at the temple, beggars swarmed the streets.
Officials with Holt and Lotus Tours, along with families who have been to China before, cautioned us about the beggars and suggested we refrain from giving them anything.
The chief reason: Some beggars who pose as invalids may not necessarily be invalids.
One Holt family told us that a beggar on their last adoption trip four years ago tried to pass himself off as handless. But, they said, they could tell the man covered his hand with thick bandages, fooling many.
The point is simple: Some people have mastered the art of conning tourists or, in some cases, picking pockets without tourists knowing they are being robbed.
Our Holt guide cited the story of an American family that walked to a McDonald’s near the White Swan Hotel. Before they knew it, the family’s plane tickets and cash were stolen.

Coke products

Add at least two more drinks to the ever-growing list of products marketed here by the Coca-Cola Bottling Co.
Fanta has a lime-flavored soda that rivals Crystal Limon, a favorite of Pam’s that she and I became addicted to five years ago during a week-long vacation to Cancun, Mexico.
Besides that, Sprite has what it calls Sprite Fire. I haven’t tried that drink, but the Sprite can advertises that the drink includes a touch of ginger.
Then, or course, there’s the original Coca-Cola, Vanilla Coke, Coke Light and Coke Light with Lemon. Just like in Mexico, Coke markets Diet Coke here as Coke Light.
An interesting tidbit: Coke Light is at least the equivalent of 50 cents more than Coke, both at restaurants and at grocery stores.

Camryn adjusts

Camryn continues to adjust well.
Just three days ago when we arrived in Guangzhou, Camryn had yet to laugh and still whined constantly for Pam. Camryn would have little, if anything to do with me.
Now, however, she laughs a lot, seems to tolerate me a little more and appears to be vocalizing simple sounds. She sleeps well, almost all through the night.
And when she wakes in the morning, she will stay in the bed, start verbalizing gibberish (is it baby talk in Mandarin?) and stay relatively calm.

Photos and text copyright 2006 by Terry R. Cassreino.