Sunday, January 17 - Transit to Nanning

We received an update about Drew. Said he cries a lot. It's funny how this detail wasn't communicated til now. Was told to meet guide tomorrow at 9am with travel authorization and passports. We get him tomorrow!

We met our very nice transit contact. About 50 min ride. Arrived at the beautiful marriott. We are very happy with our accommodations for the week

We made to Nanning. Would have met our transport much sooner if we understood that our gate-check stroller would be at baggage claim. Wouldn't have been a big deal except for the nearly mile walk from the gate to baggage claim - carrying the still sleeping child the entire way. 

We thought we were lucky when she fell asleep on the plane.  She refused to wake up, even for a pre-dinner snack. Just shows she's still struggling w the time zone acclimation.

Without incident, we boarded the China Southern plane. Little again tried to commandeer both arm rests. 

As if we didn't stand out enough (we saw only 4 other Caucasians at the airport), we realized that we were dressed drastically different than everyone. As I people watched while waiting to board the flight, I realized Derek and I were in shorts while everyone else wore pants, coats, etc. Now I knew I was doing a very American thing (wearing tennis shoes with my shorts) but it was solely to help ensure our bags weren't overweight. We wore shorts because the forecast showed the temp to reach 72 - shorts weather, right?  

The airport was so large and pretty. Lots of room to run. Elise even successfully experienced her first squatty potty - something I hope to avoid for the balance of the trip. 

We even had enough time to grab lunch. I'm embarrassed to share that we ate at the only 'western' restaurant we could find, Subway.  As expected, they had familiar options but the chips were a little different. Luckily Elise loved the 'Texas grilled barbecue flavor' chips. We had to exchange the other bag for the cucumber flavored chips. Definitely not the bbq chip flavor we are accustom to.

The security line was quite an experience. It reminds you of why China is the most populous country. 

Elise begged to take a picture in front of this giant can so 'I could send it to tiffy.  No, it's not a beer can - an herbal tea actually. 

It was a very good thing that we allowed so much time. The Guangzhou airport is enormous. Checking in for the flight was a breeze once we were directed to a special line because of 'baby'. While Elise might not have been amused to be called a baby, we very much enjoyed the special treatment.

Was literally across the street from the airport.

Our hotel...
We departed our lovely hotel a couple of hours prior to the flight - very out of character for our family who prefer to arrive when boarding behind.