Day 9 Guangzhou

Well we have Grace's passport now and we are off to Guangzhou for the second leg of our tour.  While Nanchang will forever hold a special place in our heart, I think I speak for all of us that we are ready for the next adventure; not sure how many more of the breakfast buffets we could take.

Grace did well on her first flight, only 70 mins, small primer for the big one that awaits.  We were greeted by our guide Jason.  We are staying at the China Hotel.  Our first impressions of the city are great.  It almost feels like we are back to civilization.  The traffic, while busy is more "normal".  They have banned scooters since 2007, and if any indication that was a great move.  The hotel is spectacular; probably one of the nicest we've been in.

Don't judge...needed to inspect for quality control

Day 8 Nanchang

Today we went for a walk around August 1st park.  The weather had cooled some, aprox 85 with a nice breeze.  The park was full of people, mostly grandparents with grandchildren, but a fair amount in-between.  There were several spots where people were dancing (ballroom, and traditional Chinese). There were people playing poker and several using the monkey bars to workout; we were told it was a common way to avoid paying a gym membership.  We had several come up to us, mainly to look at Grace's hair and well wishing.  Everyone was very pleasant and it was nice to walk around the area.

From the park we walked over to a Buddhist temple.  We walked around as Evelyn gave us some history.

Grace does really well in her carrier, she stays calm and relaxed; much better than if we tried to carry her.  I was a little hesitant of getting/using one, but it is a must have.  

We walked to a restaurant that evening for our last dinner in Nanchang.

Day 7

Some side notes to the trip thus far; our ride to the registration office was in a Buick minivan and the driver was listening to 90s pop music, reminded me when we came back from Vegas our foreign driver was signing country music.  Grace loves steamed egg and will let you know if you are not feeding her fast enough.  I have not done the traffic justice, as there are literally hundreds of bikes, scooters, busses, cars trying to get one vehicle ahead without regard for anyone else.

Today we did a little shopping, the area is known for porcelain and we got a tea set and other items.  

Lunch was down town at a local restaurant, the local food here is excellent and puts any US Chinese food to shame, however Malia says the hotel Chinese food makes here miss US Chinese food.  We then made a trip to Walmart as you can't go more than a week without it regardless of the country you are in.

Day 6 Nanchang

Today we took a special trip, will post more about it at a later date.  We were on our own for lunch and managed to order some shrimp fried rice, pork dish and egg soup.  Grace settled in for a long nap and we are thinking of getting some Papa Johns for dinner.  We had a difficult time getting a good Internet connection the first few days in Nanchang, but seems to be working now.   We had some heavy rain last night that caused some flooding.

Day 5

The traffic here is horrible, the volume is as heavy as Hong Kong, there just seemed to be more order in Hong Kong.   The scooters here just drive and is a big game of dodging and weaving.  They don't obey traffic signals, and often drive the wrong way.  We went to the Tengwang Pavilion and walked its many levels with small shops and different historical actifacts.  We then ate lunch at a near by restaurant.  We shared a beef, pork, noodle soup and a thin fried pastry with bananas.  I think we all agreed our best meal yet.  The hotel food however is nothing to write home about. The local Nanchang beer is good (similar to a light US beer)

Grace is doing well.  She seems to like to eat a lot of solid foods like steamed eggs, congee and noodles.  She seems to prefer those to the bottle and has been stubborn taking a bottle.  Her personality is coming out each day.

Day 4

The day started with breakfast at the Crowne Plaza.  The hotel is similar to that in Hong Kong, similar mix of food and accommodating staff.  Today we finalized the adoption, agreeing to love and care for her forever.  We made our way to the Registration office, then drove to the notary office and then the public security office.  Now we just wait for her Chinese passport.

We then returned for a much needed nap.  We ate dinner at the hotel, but I think we were all a little disappointed by the food.  The doctor came in the evening and no health concerns for Grace.  She has a big smile, she will open her mouth some showing her two bottom teeth and closing her eyes.

Day 3 Gotcha Day

We made our way from Hong Kong to Nanchang.  Matthew and Andy drove us over the border to the airport.  The Hyatt Sha Tin had wonderful accomadations for anyone traveling and spectacular views of the harbour.  The breakfast buffet had a mix of Chinese and western, from noodles with dim sum or pancakes with bacon and eggs.

The domestic flight was only about an hour, but i believe over half the plane went to the restroom; most as we were getting ready to take off or land.  We were served hamburgers during the flight; they were wrapped in a foil wrapper that said beef but were truely 'ham'burgers.

We arrived in at our hotel in Nanchang around 530pm and Grace arrived about 6pm.  She is the sweetest, happiest little girl.  The first night went about as well as could be expected.  She ate and went to sleep around 830pm, sleeping thru the night.