Guangzhou China

After the positive experience we had with our two happy, gentle Cambodian guides, we have determined that any 40-50 year old here has endured a horrific youth under the rule of the Khmer Rouge. I guess mainly they’re just glad they survived, when so many people they knew ended up in the Killing Fields. Their calm, positive nature disguises that reality. One little interesting footnote on Cambodia is the currency. The real is the official currency but everything in the country is priced in $US. Last night we finished our visit to Cambodia with dinner at Madame Butterfly - very good Cambodian/Western food. This morning, after a final dip in the pool, we checked out of the hotel and went with Jak and Wut to the Airport. Below, we met the King and his Apsara.

On the first leg of our trip home, we once again boarded a China Southern Airlines flight to Guangzhou. Clearly the Asian airlines haven’t received the memo on no food or drinks, because even on a two and one half hour flight we got lunch and free wine. We could not connect straight to Toronto so we had a night in this Chinese transit hub. And that’s where the “fun” began. First, despite being told that we didn’t need a visa on an “in transit “ stop, we got turned away from passport control twice before we got our next boarding passes and applied for a 24hr visa. Then we finally got through passport control and got our bags - the only ones left on the carrousel., We walked for kilometres in this massive hub to locate the hotel selection desk. We didn’t recognize any of our choices and just randomly chose the Crystal Orange Hotel to which we were shuttled.

The rooms were a good size and adequately outfitted. There was no restaurant in the hotel and when we went out for dinner the reality of being in the People’s Republic started to sink in. Nobody took or even knew what MasterCard was and we had no yen. Banking machines were only in Mandarin. Thinking that KFC was an international chain and should take our credit card, we headed there - no luck. Were we going to get dinner? Finally we found a South Korean place that took MasterCard. We had a pretty interesting and different, but good meal.

I thought I’d finish my blog here. Alas, the PRC has blocked Facebook, Google and Yahoo, so no browser for me. This entry has become a footnote. Breakfast was provided and it was quite the spread. Basically, in China, breakfast is dinner. Then we were shuttled off to the airport for our 14 hour flight home. The upside of this reality was that we were once again in Premium Economy. Getting out of China was seriously easier than getting in.

There were a couple of unique things at the airport - these ladies in costume and these iPad luggage carts.

Time for some reflection: The organization of our trip was fabulous with the exception of the little hiccup in China. The Mekong Cruise was the perfect way to get a sense of both Vietnam and Cambodia. Everyone will ask “What was the highlight?” Angkor Wat and Thom Wat would likely be the most amazing single day but I’m inclined to say that the Mekong Cruise was the highlight with its many and varied destinations and experiences. We had a wonderful trip and would heartily recommend it!