The Victory Hotel & Shamian Island

Our hotel, The Victory, is on Shamian Island. On our way to the hotel last night, our guide, Connie, informed us that the buildings on it are all protected in the way some buildings are protected historic landmarks in the U.S.A. The island is very tiny, but a popular place for tourists, adopting families, and brides. Probably the most well-known building for most adopting families is The White Swan Hotel. There is a restaurant named Lucy’s that has a mix of American and Chinese cuisine. It caters to adopting families. There are several street shops with friendly, but assertive sellers. There are also numerous statues, perfect for many photo opportunities. Our hotel is over 200 years old, but has recently been remodeled.

Here is the front of The Victory:


When we arrived last night, Connie handled the checking in for us. She reaffirmed that today (Sunday) is a free day and gave us some instructions regarding our visit to the Civil Affairs office tomorrow. Connie seems enthusiastic, reassuring, and quite intelligent. Her personality is a perfect fit for occupation. She gave us her cell phone number and I’m glad, because when we got up to the room, we discovered one bed. It is king-sized, but there is only one. We had requested a room with two double beds. We called her immediately. She called the front desk and then called me back with two choices. We could have a cot moved into the room free of charge (normally there would be a fee for this) or we could move to a new room with two beds, but the room would not be as large. She informed me that we had been upgraded to a suite. We chose option A.

This is the entry to our room (pardon the hanging laundry which can be seen in the mirror):


This is the sitting room area (Preston is waving):


This is still the same room (note the television in front of Brock; that is what Preston is watching):


This is the bedroom:


This is the cot they brought up for us:


I did not take pictures of the bathroom, because I spent part of the morning hand washing underwear and socks. They are draped all around the room to dry. It is a good-sized bathroom though, with a large tub AND a separate walk-in shower. Most importantly, it has a toilet. I forgot to mention in my previous blog entry that I had my first experience with peeing into a hole in the ground back at the train station in Hong Kong. It was basically a toilet seat that was part of the floor. When you walk in the bathroom stall, you go up two stair steps and then hold on to a handle on the wall to brace yourself. So glad I don’t have to do that here in the hotel.

We briefly went exploring today. As we rounded the corner from our hotel, we discovered this statue (and our first photo opportunity):


We continued by crossing a pedestrian bridge to go off the island. Here are some pictures of Brock & Preston posing on that bridge:



What we found on the other side was a very busy street, lined on both sides with all sorts of markets. We were not sure what was being sold. We saw Chinese soldiers. I was very uncomfortable. We saw no other American tourists; it didn’t seem anyone spoke English; and it was obvious we didn’t know what anything was, because we kept looking at everything with quizzical expressions. We stood out.

Here are some pictures of what we saw:


}


Brock asked me where I wanted to go next and I insisted on going back to the island. I am so glad he readily agreed. I know appearances aren’t always what they seem, but it appears the island is much safer…and I needed that feeling of security. The island has both Chinese tourists and American tourists, but it was a much slower pace. People were strolling leisurely, rather than walking quickly and with a purpose. We took advantage of some photo opportunities at a small handful of the different statues (all which seem to tell a story).

Here I am pretending to enjoy the view of whatever this photographer is capturing (Preston says the sun was in his eyes):


Preston is pretending to read over the shoulder of this one:


Preston pets the well known dog statue outside of Lucy’s:


Preston was thrilled when this real dog allowed him to pet it. Dad & I have decided that this dog makes a lot of sales for its owner, a shopkeeper that came out, made small talk with us, and ushered us inside, where we ended up buying Preston a box of Pokemon cards.


While walking we made small chat with a couple entering Lucy’s. They are from Fort Worth and are here getting their 3rd Chinese child (and first girl). Their boys are 5 and 2 ½. It appears their new daughter is about 1 to 1 ½. They assured us that Lucy’s is friendly to adopting families and encouraged us to try it some time. They also told us about a Thai restaurant around the corner from our hotel. It is named Cow and Bridge. After stopping at a shop to buy Preston a t-shirt with the Chinese symbols for Ge Ge (older brother) and stopping at the previously mentioned shop (Pokemon cards), we made our way back to Cow and Bridge for some lunch. There were at least two other tables with what appeared to be American couples adopting Chinese children. Somehow that makes things a bit more comfortable for us. Brock ordered garlic spareribs, while Preston & I split some chicken on stick with Thai sauce and some fried won-tons. We were thrilled to find Coke products, as we had been told they would be scarce here in Guangzhou. Brock had a Coke; Preston had a Sprite; I had Coke Zero. Our total, which included a 5% gratuity, was 197 Chinese yuan. This is approximately $30 to $32 American dollars.

Here are Brock & Preston posing outside of the restaurant:


On our way back, we stopped at a convenience mart for some bottled water and soda for our hotel room. The woman who waited on us was also very friendly and spoke English.

I almost forgot to mention that our hotel cost includes a daily breakfast buffet. Included are several types of breads and pastries, a wide selection of fruit, cold cereal and milk, two types of hot cereals, and an interesting selection of hot foods, such as fried rice, fried noodles, fried potatoes, ham, bacon, chicken sausage, mixed vegetables, boiled eggs and a handful of items we could not identify. I was impressed when Preston willingly tried one of the unrecognized items. Brock thinks he spotted a counter where you can request eggs made to order as well. Drinks included coffee, hot tea, water, orange juice and pineapple juice. I was thrilled to spot a cooler with soft drinks and bottled water, but when I tried to open it, I discovered it was locked. It must be for the lunch and dinner meals only. I drank a lot of hot tea; Preston tried both juices and water; Brock drank orange juice.

As I finish typing this, I see that it is now less than 24 hours until we meet Shaling. Less than 24 hours until not only her life, but also all of ours, will change forever. Less than 24 hours until we become responsible for raising TWO children…until we become responsible for raising a daughter. Though we’ve been fortunate to have exchanged letters with her, we still have MUCH to learn about her. Is she really a tomboy as the orphanage staff described? She obviously likes to draw, but does she like music? Will she want to join the band like Preston? Will she like to sing? Will she play sports or want to take dance lessons? What a fun (and challenging) year 2011 will be as answers to those questions start to play out.