Then, we came back to do some skyping. We were able to skype the whole family this morning since we didn't have any planned activities this morning. This will be probably be the last time we get to do that since we are leaving this afternoon- yay! The family is so excited to see Sophie soon. David Ryan was talkative again during our skype time. I am so ready to give him a big hug and kiss. He told us to bring "his Sophie" to him. He played the piano for us and told us about his day.
After skyping everyone, it was time for me to pack. But, there was going to be a little problem named Sophie. She likes to help but she makes more trouble than actually helping. So, we decided since she likes taking baths and playing in the water, we will let her have a little playtime in the tub. Don't worry, there is a big glass window where you can see the bathtub from our room. We could see everything she was doing. We got everything packed, it some creativity though. We didn't have to buy a new suitcase. I just hope we pass the weight requirements or the airport will charge us extra. Sophie had a nice play time in the tub and we were successful in the packing. Sophie knows something is up, but she doesn't really understand what is going on. We will see how she does when we check into a different hotel room tonight.
After packing, it was lunch time. We decided to eat something safe. Dustin was feeling better, but we still didn't want to chance it. We ate at the Coffee Club which is across the street from our hotel and they have awesome hamburgers and french fries. We came back to the hotel room to take a nap. Dustin and Sophie are sleeping as I am writing this now. We will meet our guides in the lobby at 4:30 pm to pick up Sophie's Visa and then they will take us to the train station. Our train leaves around 6:40 and it should take us about 2 hours to get to Hong Kong. Then, a travel guide will meet us at the train station and take us to the Hong Kong airport where our hotel is located. After we get checked into our hotel tonight, we are left on our own. However, our hotel is adjacent to the airport, so we should be fine in the morning. Our flight leaves at 11:40 am. We should get to Chicago around 1:40 pm central time and our flight to Memphis should leave around 4:16 pm and we will arrive in Memphis around 6pm. We only have two and a half hours to get through customs and immigration, so I hoping and praying that we make our connection to Memphis. We are ready to be home and we ready to see our family.
(I don't know if I will be able to update more today, because I don't know about the internet at our Hong Kong hotel. If I don't update later tonight, I will update as soon as I can.)
Updated after we got home. Didn't have internet in Hong Kong:
After the naps, it was time to head out (Yay). We met our guide along with other families picking up their child's Visas. However, we were the only family leaving out tonight. The rest of the families were leaving Saturday. William ( he was the one who picked us up from the airport) was there to take us to the train station. We said our goodbyes and told everyone we would keep in touch. We all hugged our guide Catherine, she was really awesome. Then, we loaded up in the van with William. It was bad weather. William said we were lucky we were traveling by train because the airlines would be delayed. We got to the train station in like 30 minutes. William showed us where to go. Then, we just had to wait for our train departure. We waited 30 minutes. The security check was not as bad as in the airports. We just had to follow the locals when it was time to board because no one spoke in English, we could't understand the announcements. The train station was bigger than the Memphis airport. The train ride to Hong Kong was about 2 hours long. Sophie did well on the train, she just got antsy around the end and cried once. It was a nice scenic view of the countryside until it got dark. We arrived in Hong Kong at 8:30 pm. We had to go through customs and immigration when we arrived. It was no big deal again. However, while we were waiting in the immigration line I noticed the bag containing my tennis shoes was no longer attached to my suitcase. So, my tennis shoes are on some train in China now. I needed a new pair anyway. We just carried our own luggage on the train because it cost $100 RMB per bag to check them in. They had a baggage area by the door and an overhead compartment (where my shoes are probably still at).
Our guide from Lotus Travels (holding up a sign with our name) was waiting for us in the lobby. She had a van and driver for us. It was raining here also. It took another 30 minutes to get to our hotel at the airport. We got to see the city of Hong Kong. It was huge and looked really nice in the dark. Sophie fell asleep on the way there. Our guide helped us check in. The hotel in the airport was really nice. Our room was huge, I wish our hotel room in Guangzhou was this big, maybe we could have dealt with being quarantined better. However, their king size bed is the size of our full size bed here in the states- lol.
By the time, we got in our hotel room, it was bed time. Tomorrow we have to be in the airport 2 and a half hours before our flight takes off. I wish we had internet here in the hotel, I would love to see David Ryan in the morning, but I will be seeing him very soon.
Sophie's last breakfast at the China Hotel
The McDonalds across from our hotel.
Last time eating at the Coffee Club, we loved their hamburgers!
Goodbye, China Hotel (our home for the past 2 weeks)
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