After having our last afternoon tea at the Pen, we left with our numerous bags in tow with the help of a wonderful man from the Pen who took us to the train station and got our bags checked in. We got there so early that we were able to take an earlier train. We had purchased our train tickets online which were waiting for us at the ticket station--originally for the 5:15 pm Hong Hom to Guangzhou arriving at 6:52 pm. We changed to the 4:38 pm arriving at 6:25 pm. I was somehow imagining chickens and livestock on the train (obviously from old descriptions of earlier pioneer's adventures on Chinese trains with farmers brining their animals aboard to barter in the city)--was pleasingly surprised to see how modern it was (and no chickens anywhere!) And yes, they do serve marinated chicken drumsticks from a cart on the train. Now starting to hear a lot more Mandarin speakers as we're heading into Guangzhou (was mostly Cantonese up to this point). Coming down the escalator we were so happy to see the big USAA sign held by Sarah. Sarah is wonderful--she is tri-lingual (speaks Cantonese, Mandarin, and very good English). She has a 6 year old daughter named Kitty (Chinese name Ci Ci--no meaning--just liked the way it sounded). She let her daughter pick her English name and I guessed right--her daughter loved "Hello Kitty" hence her name! (I digress here--it's true that no card carrying Asian girl can resist the lure of Hello Kitty!)
Sarah helped us check in at the China Hotel, gave us a tour of the facilities, and most importantly, showed us where we could do laundry. There's a very convenient laundry service (has "Valet Service" sign on a little kiosk that's located down a long row of boutiques and stores on the main floor. If you drop off your laundry before 10 am you can get it back by 6 pm same day. Sarah told us to feel free to try foot and body massages in the basement (will probably take her up on that later!) There's also another laundry service available outside the hotel and next door called Susie's Laundry. We found the hotel laundry service very convenient and reasonably priced. There's a 7-11 just outside the front door of the China Hotel open 24-7 (all right!) and a Starbuck's to the left. There's free internet access from Starbuck's (which according to Cindy works great!) We paid about $10-15 U.S. dollars to have it in our room.
We ate in the American type restaurant called the Veranda. On our way there we got to peek in at a large wedding banquet being held in their ballroom. A large picture of the bride and groom covered the entire wall next to the entrance. The young lady was very beautiful and the wedding was quite a sight to see. They were all obviously having a grand time. Lots and lots of pink and blinking lights everywhere!! (the Hello Kitty influence again)
The question was a la carte or buffet. We cruised along the buffet to see what they offered. We got just a little queazy seeing the "snakehead soup" and "pig knuckle salad" and "beef and pork kidney appetizer" amongst many other similar tantalizing dishes. We just kept thinking "indian Jones and the Temple of Doom" dinner with Indie and Kate Capshaw with the monkey heads. Aaaahhhh, we're really in China now! We decided to go a la carte. My husband and I are not into anything with organs. I am probably the least Chinese Chinese person ever because I won't try any of the so-called delicacies that most other Chinese rave about. In fact, I don't even drink tea (Chinese tea that is--I have found over time that I actually really enjoy English tea).
A nice surprise was the Chinese mariachi trio that came to each table serenading. I call them Chinese but they were more likely Filippino. Interesting because the musical act at the 5-star French restaurant called Gaddi's at the Pen also employed a Filippino singer with band (who were absolutely superb--wish we could book them back home!) We were told by the staff at Gaddi's that many of the musical talent in Hong Kong come from the Philippines. And I do have to mention the Filippino guy on the cello who did an amazing Barry White impersonation. Imagine hearing Barry White in Guangzhou!
Should mention that the height of the ceilings feels like Alice in Wonderland. My husband is 5-11 and he keeps hitting the ceiling of the bathroom with his hand with combing his hair. Someone over 6-5 would definitely have to stoop over while walking. The bedroom slippers are also made for small people (perfect for me but my husband's size 12 feet would never fit in even 2 them strung together!) I'm actually surprised because as we get more into the interior of China, it's more common to see taller people whereas in Hong Kong the size is definitely diminuitive overall.
The best thing we could ever have done for ourselves was to do the pre-trip to Hong Kong. And we spent the perfect amount of time there--really nice relaxed pace and totally into the groove. We are totally rested and adjusted to the time change. We wake up automatically at 6:30 am and are raring to go! Should be no problem to keep up with the China Team!
A few of the other couples were arriving tonight as well. Can't wait to see the entire group at dim sum tomorrow! We're meeting in the lobby at 11 am with our bells on!
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2 comments:
Sarah was our guide last summer when we were there. We traveled alone so we had her all to ourselves! She's awesome! Tell her Donna says hi.
Can't wait to see babies on the blogs tomorrow! This is such an exciting time!
Donna
Our blog: Double Happiness!
Sterling & I say "hi". We're glued to your blog. Can't wait to hear about Emileen's arrival!
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