Today was our final day here at the Garden Hotel in Guangzhou.
Tomorrow, the final piece will fall into place, when we are given the “Brown Envelope” – I don’t even know if it’s actually a brown Envelope any more? We’ll get Zachary’s Chinese Passport along with his US Visa, along with some other critical papers, allowing him to be processed as a US Citizen the moment we arrive in San Francisco this weekend.
Our day started off on the wrong foot at breakfast, when we were “banished” to the dreaded Corridor since they’re were no tables available in the main dining rooms. Not optimal for kids as it made for a long walk with full plates of hot food. But, as we usually do, we rolled with it. We got through Breakfast, and headed out on our own this last day.
We checked with the front desk to get hotel cards that told our taxi drivers, in Mandarin, that we wanted to go to Baiyun Mountain (a.k.a White Cloud Mountain), which is one of the most popular scenic attractions in Guangzhou.
To get there, we grabbed two taxis outside the Hotel. There was a huge German contingency staying at the Hotel to accompany the president of Germany who was visiting. Security checkpoints were set up at the entrances with metal detectors and bag checks. The traffic around the loops into the Hotel Taxi stand had come to a standstill, so we had to hoof it out to the street to get Taxis. No problem, and after two 18 Yuan fares we were at the base of the mountain.
We’d visited this scenic attraction before on previous journeys with other guides, so we were comfortable attacking this on our own. We made our way to the ticket window, and got tickets for all, but Zachary, who was a freebie. We boarded and rode the cable cars to the top of the mountain. After that, it was all downhill – literally.
The park has a smooth, wide, well-shaded road that winds down from top to bottom. Along the way, there were a variety of scenic outlooks, shortcut staircases, and beautiful gardens and lawns. Weather was warm again at 80+ degrees with some humidity, so we got a great workout! Kyle even wandered off path to join a table tennis game with some friendly local women. Ashley and Ryan joined the fun as well.
There were various watering spots and bathroom breaks along the way so we could pace ourselves as we needed to. We brought our new stroller along, but Z has been resistant to riding so we have resorted to bribing him with Lollipops we got at the local Walmart (** see below).
He rode for some of the way, but insisted on walking most of the day. He sees the other kids walking and he wants to walk! Up Steps, ramps, paths – whatever… He’s not that sure-footed, but he does NOT let that slow him down at all. He’ll fit right in.
About 1/3 of the way down, we stopped for cold drinks at KFC (yes, THAT KFC, right in the park). It was a welcome rest, and we sugared everyone up on soft drinks, to provide more energy to carry on.
About halfway down, we turned off-trail to visit the Nengren Temple. An active Buddhist Monastery, and tourist area. As we walked into the Temple Complex, there was a small turtle pond (it appeared too have been drained a bit, perhaps for maintenance).
Squeamish Content Warning! Please page down if you think you may be affected. (Don’t say we didn’t warn you…)
As we walked by the Pond, AM spotted a rather large Rat, dining on the delicious remains of an unfortunate fish, who’d either passed away from natural causes, or was somehow caught by said Rat. Of course, we have the pictures to substantiate this!
We’re Back… and we’re all glad that’s over
As the stairs led higher, we visited several temples, each dedicated to a number of different Buddhas. All of the temples, had altars with Incense urns, so we made our donations, imagined our wishes, said our prayers and offered our burning incense sticks. We saw a wide variety of offerings on the altars left by locals: Fruit, flowers, money…
On the way down, we chatted briefly with some workmen (and women) hauling construction materials up the stairs for a renovation project. They worked like a bucket brigade, with each person working their own dedicated 2 or 3 flights of stairs. Leaning forward, they’d take their heavy loads onto their backs, stride confidently up their section of the stairs and lay the load down for the next hauler. It was hot and the loads were heavy, but even still, some of them looked well on the north side of 60! After the Temple, we made our way back to the main road and down we went.
About 2/3 of the way down down, Dad, AM, Kyle and Ryan split off from the main group to follow a staircase trail that led down along a running creek. It was really peaceful and serene, with only natural sounds and lots of shade. It looked almost new with some sections still under construction. AM and Ryan bailed out after a short while, as it was tough negotiating some of the uneven terrain and steps. Kyle and Dad followed the creek trail, all the while staying within faint earshot of the main trail, but working much deeper into the valley. At the end, K & D rejoined the gang at the next potty stop, only a short distance after meeting up with the main road.
As we approached the lower end of the road, there was a noticeable difference in the ambient sounds. Slowly, the sounds of chirping birds gave way to the sounds of the city, car horns, buses, and just the noise of commercial activity. Soon we were at the base again, and needed one more ice cream stop for taxiing home. We stopped for a breather at a local food/fruit/vegetable market, and walked around to see what could be had. That would be pretty much anything.
Some shots of the Market,,,
Fresh and dried fruits, traditional Chinese herbs and medicines, nuts, fish, roots, dried and cured meats, turtles, scorpions (yes, of course they were alive – how else would you like your scorpions!), rice, potatoes, etc., etc., etc.
** Speaking of Walmart, we’ve made a handful of trips there during the week. It’s not at all like any Walmart you’ve likely ever seen. The entrance is literally a small storefront. Actually, two small storefronts: one puts you on the second floor, while the other, located about 100 yards down the block and around the bend in the road, leads to the first floor. The First Floor is mainly the Grocery floor, while the second floor has everything else. Once you enter the store through the storefronts, you navigate deeper into the store and realize that it expands for DOZENS of rows and aisles; some straight, most not. The aisles are tight and the ceilings are low, and the shelves are ALWAYS stocked, with very few gaps or sold out items. Oh, and yes, the A/C doesn’t work very well. It’s as warm as you imagined. While temperatures outside were near 80, inside felt nearer to 90.
Tonight we went off the board to have dinner at a place we found the other night: it was a “grill your own” joint. The theme was, you guessed it: “Jurassic Park”. Huge murals and decorations! The tables all had chain driven rotisserie gizmos that could hold special skewers that rotated the meats and potatos over HOT COALS! Corny, but kind of fun for the kids. The centerpiece decoration was a huge T Rex head, with open mouth and baring nasty teeth, as if he’s peering over the side of a bus! Tyler was a bit uneasy with the whole thing!! Fun for almost all on our last night in Guangzhou.
Not the best choice for everyone, but it was fun to say we’ve done that!
We depart for Hong Kong (again) tomorrow, in advance of our return on Sunday. Looking forward to a couple of fun days touring and HK Disney.
Thank you for taking us along this journey with you. We could not be any more excited and happy for you.
Pat & Mike B