Family history, Fantastic food and a Flight fiasco!

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Guangxi province is one of the most beautiful and varied provinces in China, it has the incredible limestone karsts we had marvelled at in Yangshuo, a bustling capital city Nanning and at its southern most point; the popular seaside town of Beihai, famous for it's beaches and fantastic seafood. Guangxi province also happens to be where Saskia was born, just to make it that little bit more special! In a few short days we revisited 'The Spot' where Mairi and William first met Sas, had an amazing time discovering Beihai, the town of her birth, ate some delicious seafood, and almost got arrested at Beihai airport! 

Nanning Remembering

So, our time at the wonderful Giggling Tree had come to an end but our exploration of Southern China was far from finished. Feeling rather tired after the 5am football induced bedtime we caught the rickety bus into Guilin, bidding farewell to the quiet roads where water buffalos and cyclists roam. We arrived in the middle of a monsoonal downpour and, to avoid a soaking, comically tumbled into a waiting tuktuk to get to the train station. 

The large central station was packed to bursting, mostly with young students whose summer holidays had just begun. We elbowed our way through the hubbub to the waiting room and sent a contingent off to buy tickets to Nanning. Lewi and Mairi returned half an hour later with news that the student holiday makers had taken all the seats on the early trains but they'd managed to book us onto the 4pm departure. 

With three hours to kill we had a leisurely DIY lunch at a hotpot restaurant just around the corner. We chose our raw ingredients, the waitress brought a big bowl of ginger and garlic flavoured stock which gently simmered over the electric hob in the centre of our table, and we cooked our skewered food to our exact preference. Such a clever and yet simple idea for a restaurant. 

It was eight years since Mairi, William and Saskia had been in Nanning and stayed at the Majestic Hotel. Since then the hotel had reverted to it's Chinese name, as lots of places have done, and so we had had a lot of trouble locating it online. Having jumped in a taxi from the train station, the smooth six hour journey behind us, we still couldn't say for sure whether we were heading to the right hotel or not. It was almost 11pm when we arrived at the Ming Yuen Xing Du Hotel and with relief found the same grand staircase, fountain and piano bar gracing the entrance just as they remembered. 

As we stood waiting for the lift to our rooms, William described that it was on this exact spot eight years previous that he and Mairi had first met Saskia. It was very special to be standing there with them as they relived those incredible moments. 

Over the next two days we found a nice balance between seeing some sights but also relaxing by the hotel's superb swimming pool. The only minor minus point of the pool was it's hyper hygienic stance on compulsory swimming hats. I regret not having any photographic evidence of this attractive fashion statement! Even worse we had to pay the equivalent of £2 for each hat. 

We were told by a friendly tourist information lady that almost every town in China has a "People's Park". Nanning's is an interesting concoction of Old China; with it's beautiful bridges, carp pools, ancient trees and live musicians; and New China's funfairs and karaoke. We enjoyed a fast melting ice-cream as we took a stroll around the lake, pausing to shelter beneath a twisted old tree as a rain cloud drifted over our heads. 

Earlier that day the ever so helpful Jenny Long from the hotel's business desk had helped Mairi and I organise our travel to and from Beihai, booked us a hotel there and even sorted us a flight back to Guangzhou. The trains being fully booked, no doubt by those pesky students! 

At the hotel and around the city we had seen quite a few other adoptive families and it was interesting to talk with them about their experiences of returning to China. We in turn shared ours. 

On our last evening in Nanning we found an excellent restaurant on an old floating wharf beside the Yujiang river. It was strung with fairy lights and looked very welcoming. The food and feel of the place were brilliant and although the staff didn't speak any English we got by as usual with the good old pointing technique. Plates of whole fresh fish, fried greens, and heaps of rice were soon steaming on the table. Delicious.


Onward to Beihai

We got up early the next day as we had quite a few things to do before catching our train to Beihai. We had another swim: a) because the day was very hot and it was lovely pool and b) to make the most of having spent nearly £10 on swimming caps! Then we had a quick look around the Provincial Museum, which had some very nice displays of pottery and ancient artifacts such as a beautiful bronze phoenix shaped lamp and ceremonial drums.       

I know I go on about loving train journeys but I do. Traveling on Chinese trains in particular is a fun experience and the trip to Beihai was no exception. We talked to some very friendly people, families going on holiday and a young man about to start a new job as a train conductor. As if to stop the passengers from getting bored, salespeople enter the carriage and perform long enthusiastic speeches about their chosen product, of course they also hope to sell their product to as many people as possible. Today's best pitch was for a set of logic puzzles, the chirpy young fellow handed out sets of the metal loops and let everyone play around attempting to undo the 'knots'. He sold quite a few sets and it helped the passengers not to notice how delayed the train had become! 

We arrived at the Pearl Bay Sea View Hotel, which ironically does not have a sea view, at about 6 o clock and were very impressed with Jenny at the business desk, Nanning. She had booked us into a stylish and modern hotel and by chance we had been upgraded to business rooms. They were the cheapest we had stayed in and quite possibly one of the best. 

With stomaches rumbling we set off straight away in search of a substantial dinner.  Waisha___ seafood island, better described as a promenade was where the best eating was found and was only 5mins walk from our hotel, perfect! We were ushered into a very busy restaurant where dozens of glass tanks housed an enormous array of fish and shellfish. It was hard to chose but we made our choices and then sat back and enjoyed a truely spectacular sunset over the south china sea. It was the first time we'd seen the sea in china and it was a gorgeous sight, we couldn't help but think wow this is Sas's birthplace and what a place it is. The food arrived; mounds of cockles, razor clams, prawns and fresh vegetables, we chopstick'ed our way through everything in record time, the circular rotating central table speeding things up. It was the best food we'd eaten in China and that's a big statement, we went back the next night.  

Saskia was very keen to keep practicing her newly developed skill of underwater handstands so before bed she persuaded Lewi to go for a quick dip. Their synchronised aqua-batics kept us three on dry land amused. 

Beihai's sights and highlights

One of the key reasons for Mairi, William and Sassy's trip to China (aside from seeing us of course) was to try to find the orphanage where Saskia lived for the first year of her life. This morning we hired a taxi who drove us through Beihai's traffic full streets and to the place where he thought it was. We entered through the gates to an open courtyard garden where a tall white statue depicting a woman, children and doves rose elegantly from the lawn. There were buildings all around and a very agitated security guard was getting on our back, but our taxi driver remained calm and negotiated for Mairi and William to go and talk to the orphanage staff. They didn't spend long, and different languages were spoken but the meaning and significance was understood clearly by both parties. Smiles all round we left feeling good about the people of this Beihai establishment, and they similarly to us. 

Continuing our insight into the past we took a stroll along the beautiful, and wonderfully pedestrianised, streets of old Beihai. The buildings were crumbling, their artistic plaster and paintwork faded, but the character was still preserved. Many of the charming shops and houses are open fronted and allow you to get a glimpse into the lives that these people have been living for centuries. As we walked along we passed an elderly lady laying huge mushrooms to dry in the sun, and a street sweeper clearing the crisp wrapper traces of modern times away. It was a lovely afternoon but very hot so we took some bottles of much needed refreshment to the waterfront. We sat on the seawall steps watching Sas collect shells from the scrap of beach below sipping our beers contentedly. 

Although Saskia had found some very nice shells on 'shell beach' (our name) it wasn't the cleanest or best located beach being sandwiched between a construction site and the fishing harbour. So for the rest of the now late afternoon we chilled at Silver Beach. This is apparently the main tourist attraction and we were expecting hoards of holiday-goers, however we were pleasantly surprised with the small handful of people we encountered. The beach was long, the sea fantastically warm and we lolled in it's gentle waves until our fingers got wrinkled. There were a few small cafes on the beachfront one with beautiful wooden lattice pagodas which provided some welcome shade! We enjoyed a cool beer and Sas proclaimed that her fresh coconut was the best she'd ever tasted. 

It had been an emotionally important yet very enjoyable day and was rounded off perfectly with another delicious dinner at our seafood restaurant. 

It's seems as though Beihai has everything that we as travellers and tourists could want from a town. At the moment there seems to only be a domestic market and we didn't see any westerners during our stay. Perhaps this will change in the future, who can tell with the rate China is evolving.

The Importance of Passports

I woke up with a start this morning..."how can we catch this flight without our passports?!" 

Somehow in the process of booking flights with Jenny Long we had forgotten that mine and Lewi's passports were still at the Public Security Bureau in Guangzhou, awaiting visa extension. This was such a silly thing to have forgotten but there was nothing we could do about it now, so we went to the airport hopeful that on this internal flight we might be able to prove our identity with drivers license, credit cards, and the receipt from the P S B visa office.

Feeling very anxious but trying not to show it, we walked up to the check in desk at the tiny Beihai airport. The lady frowned at us and beckoned her superior over. She shook her head a lot and we were asked to wait to one side, the police were now on their way. It wasn't looking good. 

The police officer came over to speak with us. His english was excellent and the fact that he didn't just say "No" was a good start. We all tried to explain the situation but the problem was that it wasn't possible to confirm the validity of our receipt. For all he knew it could have just been a piece of paper. It was looking tricky and we were seriously considering the implications of 20hr buses and having to change all our onward plans. We agreed that whatever happened we would meet at the Victory hotel, hoping this was a good omen for success.

William Mairi and Saski had to board the flight and so in all manner of confusion and upset they left and Lewi and I accompanied the policeman upstairs. He shut us in his office and after calling the P S B gave us a telling off for traveling around China without our passports "This is not allowed". But he still didn't say no and was listening to our suggestions and explanations that we had a flight out of China booked tomorrow that we would no doubt miss if we had to take the bus.  

This debacle went on for a total of 4hours and at one point when a patrol car screeched up outside the now deserted airport with sirens blaring and lights flashing we really thought we were about to be arrested. 

Thankfully this policeman was on our side and he worked tirelessly to get proof from the P S B that they had our passports, that we weren't terrorists or fugitives or anything of the like, and he got us onto the later flight that afternoon. What a relief!! And what luck to have met such a kind and hardworking policeman. We thanked him profusely and he bashfully accepted the small gift we gave him.

When finally we were sat on the China Southern aeroplane cruising at 30 thousand feet and being served complimentary peanuts we allowed ourselves to relax. 

Guangzhou airport was buzzing but we had only 1hour to get to the P S B to collect our visas and all important passports. Luckily this all went smoothly and in the end it was victory at the Victory, five very worn out relieved persons toasting an unknown policeman. 

With a renewed energy we went out for a lovely meal at The Orient Express where love ballads played and proper French camembert was served. It was a relaxing but slightly surreal way to end what had been an emotional few days in Guangxi province.

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Comments

[China Traveler]

PSB receipt
Actually, it is supposed to be perfectly permissable to travel in China on the PSB receipt. I've done it. What you have to do is attach a picture to the receipt and have that picture and the receipt red-stamped at the PSB.