Last Days in China

Wednesday and Thursday were pretty busy days. Wednesday started early so we could get everything in that Hannah wanted to do. We didn't end up accomplishing as much as we would have liked. 

We spent some time on Beijing Road. It is a shopping area that also historical value. In the middle of the road are large rectangles in the ground covered with glass. You can see different layers of the road that date back as far as 900 BC. It is very interesting to see the types of road used and to recognize how old and continuous this civilization is. We didn't get any pictures at Beijing road. We were a little preoccupied at the time.

Later that evening we went on a riverboat cruise down the Pearl River. We haven't heard great things about the cruises especially the food served so we have never done it. Doug really wanted to go on our other trips but because of finances, a stingy wife and a sick child we hadn't done it yet. Our guide isn't a fan of the cruises either so he chose the best boat without food.

This was our boat. We sat on the top and were able to see everything clearly.

It was a cloudy night but there was no fog like earlier that week. It was also warm.

The bridges were lit up and some of the buildings. There were a lot of other boats on the river

that were also lit up. We definitely had the coolest boat.

The lighting wasn't great for pictures but I had to put at least one of us in the post.

This is the Canton Tower. If you remember we went there earlier in our trip but the clouds covered it so we didn't get to see the lights. Every few seconds the tower changes color. This was my favorite color scheme.

Thursday morning we traveled from Guangzhou back to Chengdu as the beginning our trip home.

Simon spent way too much time sitting in airports and on planes. He did really well though. He loved the color changing markers and paper as well as stickers.

Back in Chengdu we were a little nervous about getting to the hotel from the airport on our own. Many people speak English but you have to be in the right place. We called the hotel to request the shuttle but the people, yes a few different people, didn't understand what Doug was trying to say. Eventually he hung up hoping we got the point across good enough. We had a security guard take it on himself to make sure the hotel staff knew we were there. Right about then the shuttle pulled up. There are so many good people in this world.

The hotel we stayed at was the nicest hotel we have been to. Definitely a 5 star. The first thing Simon did was jump from bed to bed like every other child we have. It was fun to watch him play like that.

Well, we found the "Great and Spacious Building". This is the biggest building in China, located in Chengdu.

It is six stories of pure marble! There are two hotels, many high end stores, restaurants galore, many activity centers for children, and much more. We couldn't help but think of all the great things that could be done for other people with this vast waste of money.

The building is called the Global Center. With so many other things they have the larges screen in China and possibly the world. What the screen shows outside of the people standing there gawking we don't know. If you look close you can see we are in the shot. Below the screen is a wave pool. It's pretty cool. They even have sand volleyball next to it. Twice a day they say they make it smell like the ocean. I would love to know how they do that. We need some of that smell in my house.

There is also a little fair area with rides. Simon rode a ride and got bored with it before it was even half over. We need to work on attention span.

On the sixth floor is a glass bridge. I didn't thin I would have a problem but it was pretty spooky to walk across. I had to hold on to the rail and half way across look up. Hannah and Simon however, had no issue.

This is the biggest slot car track we have ever seen. We had to hurry away so Simon didn't throw another fit. When Simon saw something he wanted to buy or do that we didn't allow he got angry.

One tantrum he ended up in the corner until he could smile. We knew once he smiled the hitting, kicking and screaming would stop. We have had to do the corner a few times.

Simon loved the bath! It's clear he hadn't taken many baths by how quickly his hands and feet shriveled up. He really didn't want to get out but was compliant and happy in the end.