Feb 15: Kunming to Guangzhou

Today we left Kunming, but before leaving we had one final detail--to visit another government agency to get Tess' Chinese Passport.

The four families boarded the van and took a short drive to a smaller Kunming Security and Administrative Office. Arriving the the office Miwah told us to wait while she got the passports. The sun was shining and the bus got hot so Tess and I got out and began to loiter in the parking lot and soon the other families got out to enjoy the nice weather while we waited.

As you all know, I get very impatient, so I pulled a "John O'Brien" and decided to find out what was holding up the process. Standing near the entrance I saw Miwah and our other guide, Helen, having a serious discussion with a government official. As it turns out, the passports needed to be stamped with a special colored ink that they had to mix-- a procedure the office wasn't prepared to begin until this afternoon. Needless to say Miwah had other plans and returned with our passports soon after. We quickly loaded the bus and headed to Kunming airport for our flight to Guangzhou.

Tess' first flight was challenging, but not unbearable. Let's just say that she does not like to be cooped up without being able to move around, so she decided to squirm for most of the 2 hour flight! Of course she slept during the descent.

The differences between Kunming and Guanzhou are vast. GZ has a significant Western influence, in fact our hotel, the White Swan, sits on Shamian Island-- a British influenced district along the Pearl River. On the way from the airport to the hotel you could notice that everything was new, from the highways to the high rise apartments that lined the drive. Seeing as though we are in a "Western" district we decided to look for a "Western" restaurant. Unfortunately, we made a bad call-- we should have taken the advice of the guy from Colorado--he and his family were leaving GZ whereas we have just arrived.

The streets around the hotel are teeming with American families and their adopted daughters and the shops that line the hotel cater to the American bargain hunter--lots of jade and buddas and lions and Chinese calligraphy.

Tomorrow morning Tess will visit the GZ medical clinic to receive the ok to travel to the US.