Nanning

This would have been a memorable vacation if we just went home after Hong Kong. But the best was yet to come!

After 1 day and 2 nights in Hong Kong, we left for Nanning. For the first time, the whole group went to the airport together in our big bus and waited for the flight to Nanning. There was a little restaurant right near our gate that also served as an internet cafe. With anything you bought, you got free internet access on one of several computers set up outside the restaurant. While we waited for our plane, a bunch of us took time to email friends and family back home. We also found a soft drink machine that sold Diet Coke - a few of us were in withdrawal after several days of NO DIET COKE - well, OK, I was! What a disappointment to find out that Chinese Diet Coke really sucks - they must use a different formulation.

Excitement was really mounting as we all realized that the next day we were all going to get our daughters. Most of us were going to be parents for the first time, several already had bio children. One couple brought their two kids (a teenage girl and a younger boy) - both very well-behaved and a pleasure to travel with. Another couple brought their adult son with them. Others had left their other children at home. It really felt like we were in dream, kind of a "pinch me" feeling.

On the plane we all looked out the window as we got close to Nanning. Miles of green farmland and little towns. I was trying to imagine if Hannah was from any of those places. We also saw some of the rocky karst formations the area is famous for.

We arrived in Nanning in the afternoon and were met by Michael with a big smile and a big sign: "Welcome CCAI Families!" Some of the women decided we needed to use the restroom. The only toilets were the infamous "hole in the ground" variety, and some of the women decided to wait. Becky and I laughed as we went ahead and used the "holes"; we felt like old hands since we had used them in Beijing already. Most restrooms have Western-style toilets, or both kinds. But sometimes there's only the hole in the ground. You gotta do what you gotta do!

We got in another big bus and drove through Nanning. Another big Chinese city I would never want to drive in. I thought Boston was bad! I'm amazed that there weren't accidents every mile or so, but we didn't see a single one.

We drove to the Wharton International Hotel. It's a new hotel that has a huge "ball" on top - looks sort of space age. It's a newer developed part of Nanning, next to a beautiful park and a lake that we thought was a wide river. Of course, it didn't measure up to the Grand Stanton for luxury, but it was very nice. We were all in a row on the same floor, and when we opened our doors, in each room there was an empty crib. That really brought home to me what we were really there for!