Notes from China trip

Saturday, April 15, 2006, 11:43 a.m.

By Terry R. Cassreino

HATTIESBURG, Miss. - Now that Pam and I are home after our journey to adopt our daughter from China, I offer these comments about the trip.

Holt International Children’s Services
Our social worker from Catholic Charities said she had good responses from Holt and a longtime friend and fraternity brother also had a great experience.
Now, after Pam and I spent the past year and a half working with Holt on our adoption, we also have words of praise. This organization is first-class all the way.
Foreign adoptions can be time consuming, complicated and intimidating. Holt walked me through the process and helped me every part of the way.
If I had a question, all I had to do was pick up the phone and call the office in Eugene, Ore., and I had an answer immediately. Holt representatives also were great in China.
Folks, if you are thinking about a foreign adoption, this is the group to use.

Lotus Travel
Holt uses Lotus to help arrange travel inside China. We used Lotus to arrange our flight tickets and our extra days in Beijing and Hong Kong, as well as extra tours in Beijing.
Here is another organization that is top-notch. From the minute we arrived in Beijing on Tuesday, March 28, until we left Guangzhou on Wednesday, April 12, Lotus was there with us.
Lotus representatives offered great suggestions for sightseeing and dining in Chinese cities. And they offered practical advice for the novice traveler in China.
Beijing was a highlight of the trip when it comes to sightseeing Lotus arranged not-to-be-missed tours of several Buddhist temples, the Great Wall of China and the Forbidden City (see earlier posts for more details).

Hong Kong
This is a busy city.
In many ways, it reminded Pam and me of New York City. We’ve never seem so many people - no, make that hordes of people - everywhere we turned.
And to top it off, we only visited one small part of the city.
Too bad the merchants in this city weren’t in the mood to bargain the way they did in Guangzhou. I picked up a new suitcase in Guangzhou for $10 and in Hong Kong for $20.
The suitcase from Guangzhou wasn’t quite as nice as the one from Hong Kong. But, the Hong Kong folks simply didn’t want to deal at all. I was disappointed.
I wish we had more time in Hong Kong if only to try one or two restaurants in town. We simply didn’t have enough time to eat anywhere other than the hotel restaurant Thursday night.

Odds and ends

• What is it about neon? It’s everywhere in China. Every city becomes a spectacular nighttime display of neon as restaurants and billboards endlessly tout products in neon.
• We finally discovered the secret to Coca-Cola in China. The Coca-Cola Bottling Co. there uses sugar and not high fructose corn syrup to sweeten Coke. You can certainly tell the difference.
• Pam’s mom flew from Jackson to Detroit with her nephew’s wife to meet Pam and me on our way to a connecting flight to Jackson. The visit shocked Pam, who was reduced to tears.
• The Jackson airport also was a memorable scene. Our family and friends, holding balloons and gifts, burst into cheers and tears when they saw Pam, me and Camryn.
• I imagine their excitement must have been similar that of Pam and me on the day we met Camryn. And the poor baby was so confused by all the people who wanted to see and hold her.
• After some disgustingly awful and inedible plane food (see previous post), Pam and I joined other family members at Cock of the Walk before we brought Camryn to see pop-pop.
• We returned home for the first time in more than two weeks and slowly began unpacking. I didn’t realize how much stuff we brought back. Besides that, I need to buy a lawnmower and cut the grass.

Final word
Thanks to all of you who have taken the time to read and visit our blog during our trip to China.
This began as an experiment, as a way to keep our family and friends informed about our adoption trip. But the more I played with it in China, the more fun I had writing.
Consequently, this blog took on a life of its own. And, I’ll have to admit, the responses I got from everyone who read my posts and looked at our pictures, fueled my enthusiasm.
This truly has been an amazing journey for Pam and me - and we were more than happy to share it with you.
I plan to keep updating the blog, hopefully on a daily basis. It obviously won’t be as intensely updated as it was during our trip (I do have a job), but I’ll try my best.
Thanks.
And God bless.

Photos and text copyright 2006 by Terry R. Cassreino.

Return flight from hell

Saturday, April 15, 2006, 10:47 a.m.

By Terry R. Cassreino

HATTIESBURG, Miss. - Call it the plane ride from hell in which our new daughter suddenly and shockingly turned into the living manifestation of Regan McNeil.
While her head didn’t spin like “The Exorcist” character, Camryn screamed and cried almost non-stop Friday on our four-hour flight from Hong Kong to Tokyo and 11-hour flight from Tokyo to Detroit.
Camryn was miserable, and, damn it, she was going to let us know. Can you blame her?
She’s a year and a week old, she’s been jolted from her life in a Chinese orphanage and thrown together with two strange people who speak and weird language.
That’s not all: Camryn also lived a few days in one hotel in Nanchang, in another one for several days in Guangzhou, and in a third one for two nights in Hong Kong.
And she’s still surrounded by two strange people who don’t look like the Chinese adults she’s been with all year and who speak that strange-sounding English language.
With all that combined, why wouldn’t she be miserable during 24 hours of traveling half-way around the world to her new home, new family and equally strange new surroundings?
Despite all that, the plane ride from hell was just that - HELL.
And even though Camryn’s inability to calm down and sleep for more than three hours was part of the problem, our three separate flights also sucked for other reasons.
How and why were they bad? Well, let’s look at the myriad of reasons.

Airline food
Pam and I flew Northwest from Hong Kong to Tokyo, Tokyo to Detroit and Detroit to Jackson. The last leg was on a 50-seat jet operated by Pinnacle Airlines.
The Hong Kong to Tokyo leg served breakfast: Bland, scrambled eggs topped with nasty salsa, one link of sausage that tasted like paper and coffee that had no flavor.
The Tokyo to Detroit leg served dinner that included a disgusting Thai-like chicken dish on top of rice. When Pam accidentally toppled her tray of food on to me, a bad dish grew worse.
Also on the Tokyo to Detroit leg, flight attendants served a foul tasting spice cake as a snack and another breakfast meal (at noon, go figure that one out) that also wasn’t worth eating.

Flight attendants
Pam and I can’t figure out why the flight attendants were such jerks when we flew on March 27 from Detroit to Tokyo and then when we flew on Friday from Tokyo to Detroit.
On both flights, the men and women attendants were snippy, mean, grouchy, and all-around miserable to deal with. They seemed to detest their job, and it showed.
And heaven forbid if you asked them a question or requested a favor.
Pam asked the male attendant on the return flight for hot water so she could warm food for Camryn. You’d have thought she asked him if she could fly the plane.
The flight attendant got the water for her, but he was a jerk about it.

Unsympathetic passenger
Pam and I had seats in the middle of the center aisle of our return flight. Single seats flanked both sides of us, so Pam planned to ask one of those passengers to switch places.
The reason: We had a 1-year-old baby and were traveling 10-11 hours overseas and overnight. Pam wanted easy access to the aisle so she could walk with Camryn.
When we boarded the plane 30 minutes before take-off, Pam took the aisle seat. The man whose seat that was arrived just before takeoff; when Pam asked him to switch, he refused.
“Fine then,” an angry Pam told him. “I’ve got a baby and I’ll just let you know that I’ll be crossing over your feet repeatedly throughout the flight to walk with her. So be prepared.”
The man stared at her and sat down.
Luckily a second man who had the single seat on the opposite aisle offered to switch places with Pam, which she did. It turned out the man was a pastor of a church in the Midwest.

Rough flight
The flight from Tokyo had a rough landing In fact, it was so rough I thought the plane was going to tip over on its side when it hit the runway.
The flight from Detroit to Jackson also had a rough ascent and descent. The rocking was so intense, it left Pam and me nauseous.

Bottom line
That said - and taking into consideration our child’s miserable ride - Pam and I have decided we’ll never ride Northwest again. I’ve heard too many other families who were adopting praise other airlines, so I’m sure we could find something more enjoyable next time.

Copyright 2006 by Terry R. Cassreino.

China trip approaches final day

Thursday, April 13, 2006, 11:20 p.m.
One day until Pam, Camryn and I return home.

By Terry R. Cassreino

HONG KONG - We walked and walked and walked and walked.
And by the time we finished dinner Thursday night, Camryn was just about to fall asleep in her chair at the table in the restaurant at the Harbour Plaza Metropolis.
Pam and I originally planned to eat dinner at a local restaurant.
But by the time we were ready to eat, we were so tired from walking and Camryn was so irritable because she didn’t nap, we thought it was best to stay close to the room.
Plus, we have to catch a 5:20 a.m. shuttle Friday to the airport. So we stayed at the hotel and ate (at a rather pricey $50 each), or, rather, grazed at the trough of an impressive buffet.
How impressive, you ask? Well, it featured raw oysters on the half shell, snow crabs, Peking duck, braised duck, roast beef, fried rice, shrimp tempura and many more dishes.
This was without a doubt the most expensive meal we’ve eaten on our trip. Was it the best? Not really. That honor goes to the East Restaurant in Nanchang.
But our Hong Kong meal was good.
Now on to the photos. I’ve prepared a short photo essay to wrap up our stay here. The next post I will make will come after we return home on Friday.
Remember, our flight arrives from Detroit at 4:37 p.m. on Friday at the Jackson-Evers International Airport. We are on Northwest Airlink/Pinnacle Airlines Flight NW2878L.
Check with Northwest on the flight status.
Maybe we’ll see some of you there. If not, thanks for following our journey and enjoy our last photo gallery from China.



PHOTO 1
Here is the Hung Horn Station, the train station across from the Harbour Plaza Metropolis where we stayed in Hong Kong. While not as impressive as airports, the train station was nice. It had a McDonald’s and a Starbucks.









PHOTO 2
Camryn takes a much-needed break Thursday morning after munching on a huge bowl of noodles for lunch. We bought that and an interesting dish with eggs, tomatoes and a sweet red sauce. She loved both of them. I’m not sure the name of the restaurant, but it was on the second floor of the train station.













PHOTO 3
After Camryn dined, we took a taxi to the Ladies Market. This is a section of Hong Kong our good friend Raymond Joe recommended. It looked like the New Orleans flea market times 20 with people selling clothing and videos and jewelry. In the midst of this were a few beggars like this poor man. Most people and shoppers ignored the beggars.






PHOTO 4
Here is a shot of the street we spent all afternoon walking up and down. Hong Kong felt much different from other cities we visited in China. It seemed more crowded, crammed and fast-paced. I’m sure a lot of that is because of its former status as a British colony.















PHOTO 5
Food is everywhere in Hong Kong. Every place you turn you see a street-side vendor or a restaurant. Some restaurants are right next to each other, competing for business side-by-side. Here, worker prepare snacks they sell to people shopping in the market.







PHOTO 6
Even for a late-week day, the market was jammed. Look at the people.













PHOTO 7
Look at the purses. Pam said her sister would have gone nuts with the purses on sale in the market.













PHOTO 8
And if you didn’t like purses, then you could shop for watches.












PHOTO 9
Camryn went shopping for hats. She told Pam she really liked this one, complete with a braided ponytail in the back. Pam thought it was cute, but told Camryn she had to pay for it herself because “mommy just bought lunch for Camryn and was tired of buying things for my sweet little angel.”















PHOTO 10
Camryn even tried that tired act with me, grabbing a pair of goofy sunglasses and demanding I buy them for her. If I didn’t, she said, she was going to tell me what happened the last two weeks on “The Sopranos” before I have a chance to watch the episodes on tape. I caled her bluff and said she didn’t know what happened. “Oh yeah,” Camryn said, “try me. Go ahead and try me.” So I cracked and bought the glasses.


Photos and text copyrighht 2006 by Terry R. Cassreino.

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.