CHINA 2014: 5 Back to Beijing and home

Saturday, July 5, 2014

We were driven to Guillin Airport on the new express highway in pouring rain to catch the 2 ½ hour flight back to Beijing. The road is new since we were last there, and cuts the drive to 1 hr and 10 minutes.

Lifeng met us at the airport and drove us to her home for another fabulous home cooked meal. After drinks with the family she drove us to the Park Plaza Hotel to check in. Once again the room had only 2 single beds, but we were promptly moved to a large, beautifully appointed room that served our needs perfectly

Sunday, July 6, 2014

Marilynn and I were awake at 4 AM to watch Costa Rica fight Holland through two periods and two overtimes to finally lose in penalty kicks. The poor Costa Rica goal keeper had been injured in the last game, and was bashed badly various times by Dutch players in this game, so didn't seem to be in top form. The headline in the main Costa Rican newspaper was, 'The fantasy is gone, but the performance of this record breaking national team will be remembered forever". They will be greeted on arrival in Costa Rica as heroes!

After a good breakfast we took a rickshaw to a nearby glasses place, as we had noticed Sela was unable to see well at distance. No one spoke English in the first shop, but one girl spoke a little in the second one, so they did an eye test and said prescription glasses would be ready tomorrow. I lost a pair of glasses on the trip, for my prescription it would take a week and prices are higher than in Costa Rica so I'll wait.

Marilynn and Sela headed off shopping for the afternoon while I got caught up on some business.

In the late afternoon we were picked up by Lifeng for dinner at a restaurant near the hotel, then to a show featuring the second best guitarist in the world playing with the symphony orchestra. It was excellent, and the national theatre of arts, known locally as the egg, was an amazing venue, capable of holding three major events at the same time.

Monday, July 7, 2014

After a lazy morning we caught a taxi to Nan Luogu Xiang Hutong, then an electric rickshaw for a tour of the area. That ended at the main shopping street, where we moved along at a tortuous pace as the two females popped in and out of stores. This hutong dates back to the 1700s, when the area was the administrative centre of the Quing Dynasty and a lot of the powerful mandarins lived here. We stopped in a small restaurant for lunch before walking to a main road for a taxi back to the hotel.

I had a nap while Marilynn and Sela walked 5 blocks each way to pick up her new glasses, which she is delighted with. Lifeng came to the hotel in the evening to take us to a restaurant for our last dinner in China.

Tuesday, July 8, 2014

The day started with a bit of difficulty when Marilynn plugged in her hair drying and blew out all the lights in our room. The hotel responded quickly, but it turned out to be more than a fuse and took awhile to fix. Checkout was efficient, and they had packed lunches for us to eat on the way to the airport as the restaurant was not yet open.

Lifeng sent a driver to pick take us to the airport at 5:20 AM. In the airport we were approached by two young women who looked at our tickets and took us to the right check in and got us boarding passes We didn't know if this was an airport service until they asked for money. I'd paid the hotel bill with all but 60 yuan, gave 40 to the driver so had only 20 left - about $3.50. They were not pleased, but that was all there was.

Security was very unlike most we have experienced in China. It was a bit of a pain for me, but nothing compared to Marilynn whose suitcase was taken apart and put in a series of bins to go through the machine. Sela's case was also examined in detail by the decidedly unfriendly staff. Marilynn was furious, as after all that they found nothing, so repacked with deliberate slowness on top of the screen that shows the content of suitcases!

The Air China A330-300 left for Shanghai on time, but was desperately uncomfortable. I can't remember when I last saw a flight with seats crammed so close together - we certainly didn't have that on any of the other Chinese Airlines we flew on. Sela and I were literally sharing the same seat to leave room for my legs.

In Shanghai we had to take a bus to another terminal, where we had no problem with check in. Immigration and security were prompt and courteous. The Eastern Airlines lounge internet was down and it was very crowded, but the flight was on time and comfortable. Customs & immigration in Vancouver were easy, and we had lots of time to connect for our flight to Victoria, where son Scott and family met us.

The only downside was that Marilynn was not well when we got back. The BC Medical system is not user friendly to those who are not members - the first walk-in clinic doctor Marilynn went to couldn't wait to get her back out the door, telling her to go to the hospital emergency if she didn't feel better in 2 days. When she went to emergency after the prescribed time they wanted $1,000 just to walk in the door, so she left. Some days later she went to another doctor and absolutely insisted upon tests, which finally were prescribed. It took the better part of a week to get the results back, as opposed to the 2 hours we are used to in Costa Rica, and the lab was not permitted to give them to Marilynn - she had to go back to the doctor. After all this it was discovered that she had a parasite and antibiotics were finally prescribed.

We'll now be in Victoria until mid August, when we'll fly for Iceland.