Hong Kong/Guilin: Day 7, off to China

Our flight to Guilin was at 5:25 PM, but our day was devoted to getting ready. Rather than dragging everything with us on this excursion, mom and I each packed a small bag for this trip and stowed the larger suitcases at the hotel. The hotel has laundry facilities, so we also did two loads of laundry. Instead of breakfast, I picked up the local equivalent of a chocolate chip muffin. We were able to extend our checkout time until 2 PM which worked out perfectly. Mom has a tendency to stress over packing and traveling, and it didn’t help that both Uncle L and Aunt R wanted to come keep us company while we packed. Instead, we all went to lunch at the Macau style restaurant. I really wasn’t feeling up to Chinese style food, so I ordered the “crispy bun” that my cousin recommended. The waitress was surprised that I did not want a pork chop or fried egg on it, but I hoped plain would sit better with me. It turned out to be a “fralla” or French bread like roll, and it was pretty dry plain, but that’s all I ate for lunch.

There were many options for getting to the airport, and I discussed them with the concierge. After lunch, mom had time for a quick nap. Then we checked out from the hotel and walked a few blocks to the bus stop. Without the big suitcases, this was not a problem. I was pleasantly surprised that the bus was one of the faster options, and it was by far the cheapest. I was also pleasantly surprised that the bus trip was quite scenic.

We got to the airport in plenty of time. The Chinese security and immigration guys were more serious and less talkative than their counterparts that I’ve encountered elsewhere in the world, but they got the job done without any hassles. (I recognized one of the passport checking guys when he got off duty, and then he was all smiles, so the seriousness must be part of the job.) We were getting a bit hungry, so we had some noodles (mom) and a burger (me) before the flight. As the plane took off, I was amazed to see so many boats in Hong Kong harbor. It looked like Hong Kong was being invaded by an armada of container ships. Unfortunately, we were soon above the clouds, and it remained cloudy for the rest of the flight. The flight was only an hour long, but they managed to serve drinks and cookies. Guilin airport seems very new and clean and not very big (only 2 baggage claim carousels). We were met by our guide and driver who brought us to the Sheraton.

The hotel looks very luxurious and even has a gym, but we’re only here for one night now, so we’re just taking it easy. Tomorrow the guide takes us to Yangshou.