Oh what a night.
late October, still in 2008
What a not so special time for me
What a baby, what a night…..
That about sums it up. Do you know how when you make a plan in your head and it sounds all good and logical and then you execute the plan and it is not quite the same?? That’s the train experience. Amy picked us up at the hotel in this tiny mini-van. She actually knew it was going to be tiny and was worried they were going to have to make a second trip just for the luggage. We jammed everything in and made the 15-minute trip to the train station. It was packed with lots of hustle and bustle and a little frightening when Amy left is to go get track passes for her and the driver so they could go to the track with us. We definitely got a sense of what foreigners feel like in Grand Central Station at rush hour.
Then four and a half of us plus luggage crammed into an 8x10 car. Some luggage went into the way overhead compartment. Some luggage was stored underneath the seat, mostly the stroller. Then other luggage was packed into the middle of the car to create a barrier, almost crib rail, for the sleeper seat on one side. Once everything was all settled and put in a place, we were okay, not roomy by any means, but okay. Now the joke, this was an air-conditioned, soft sleeper. Our definition of air-conditioned…….not the same. “Soft”…also not the same. We also thought this was going to be a one or two stop train…..lots of stops. The good news in all of this was they had a “regular” toilet and a “squatty”. We were happy with that. We have only had to use the “squatty” a few times.
Around 4am, Chris and Kristin were so hot in the car, both thought they were either going to hyperventilate or throw-up. Neither one was going to be a good option in small spaces.
Kassie Fu fell asleep in the terminal so we thought we were going to home free. That 30-minute catnap only served to allow her to entertain us in the sleeper car until about midnight. The “ba ha hey” song, “HI” (at the top of her lungs), and various other loud exclamations. For those of you familiar with the Bill Cosby episode with “Jeffrey” on the plane to California….I am sure Kassie was Jeffrey. The good news is, I felt a little bit of satisfaction in that our daughter keeping them up was a little revenge for their smoking in the sleeper car adjacent to us.
We all felt morning could not have come soon enough. We managed to off load us and luggage at the Guanghou terminal only to find out we had to go down a large flight of stairs. We finally “cattle herded” out of the terminal to see David, our new guide, holding a “Family Tree” sign. Yeah…..we were done. We got to the White Swan and checked into our room. BEAUTIFUL lobby and hotel….small rooms. Good news, our rooms are connected so she can roam back and forth through both rooms. A shower, breakfast, and caffeine made the night seem like a distant memory. Not one we are wanting to repeat…but more distant. So far, we are in love with the vibe of the island and it is helping to make Changsha more of a memory. We definitely felt cooped up at the Dolton and the 9th floor here at The White Awan as opposed to the 31st floor there is MUCH BETTER!!!!!!
late October, still in 2008
What a not so special time for me
What a baby, what a night…..
That about sums it up. Do you know how when you make a plan in your head and it sounds all good and logical and then you execute the plan and it is not quite the same?? That’s the train experience. Amy picked us up at the hotel in this tiny mini-van. She actually knew it was going to be tiny and was worried they were going to have to make a second trip just for the luggage. We jammed everything in and made the 15-minute trip to the train station. It was packed with lots of hustle and bustle and a little frightening when Amy left is to go get track passes for her and the driver so they could go to the track with us. We definitely got a sense of what foreigners feel like in Grand Central Station at rush hour.
Then four and a half of us plus luggage crammed into an 8x10 car. Some luggage went into the way overhead compartment. Some luggage was stored underneath the seat, mostly the stroller. Then other luggage was packed into the middle of the car to create a barrier, almost crib rail, for the sleeper seat on one side. Once everything was all settled and put in a place, we were okay, not roomy by any means, but okay. Now the joke, this was an air-conditioned, soft sleeper. Our definition of air-conditioned…….not the same. “Soft”…also not the same. We also thought this was going to be a one or two stop train…..lots of stops. The good news in all of this was they had a “regular” toilet and a “squatty”. We were happy with that. We have only had to use the “squatty” a few times.
Around 4am, Chris and Kristin were so hot in the car, both thought they were either going to hyperventilate or throw-up. Neither one was going to be a good option in small spaces.
Kassie Fu fell asleep in the terminal so we thought we were going to home free. That 30-minute catnap only served to allow her to entertain us in the sleeper car until about midnight. The “ba ha hey” song, “HI” (at the top of her lungs), and various other loud exclamations. For those of you familiar with the Bill Cosby episode with “Jeffrey” on the plane to California….I am sure Kassie was Jeffrey. The good news is, I felt a little bit of satisfaction in that our daughter keeping them up was a little revenge for their smoking in the sleeper car adjacent to us.We all felt morning could not have come soon enough. We managed to off load us and luggage at the Guanghou terminal only to find out we had to go down a large flight of stairs. We finally “cattle herded” out of the terminal to see David, our new guide, holding a “Family Tree” sign. Yeah…..we were done. We got to the White Swan and checked into our room. BEAUTIFUL lobby and hotel….small rooms. Good news, our rooms are connected so she can roam back and forth through both rooms. A shower, breakfast, and caffeine made the night seem like a distant memory. Not one we are wanting to repeat…but more distant. So far, we are in love with the vibe of the island and it is helping to make Changsha more of a memory. We definitely felt cooped up at the Dolton and the 9th floor here at The White Awan as opposed to the 31st floor there is MUCH BETTER!!!!!!
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