We're Outa' Here!

This is the moment we've all been waiting for: the night before our departure from Changsha. At 7:30 tomorrow (Tuesday) morning, we'll be in a van on our way to Changsha's airport, and by 9:55 we'll be on a short flight to Guangzhou for the last phase of our trip.

The last couple of days here have actually been decent. For one, the weather has improved. The last 3 days have been sunny and about 78 degrees. We've also found some pretty nice parts of the city that have broad pedestrian shopping districts, nice shops and restaurants, and plenty to do. Unfortunately, our hotel (see pic of hotel with Colleen, Danielle, and the girls in the foreground...it makes our hotel look nicer than it is inside) is nowhere near these parts, so a taxi ride is required. Why we weren't put in one of the nice hotels near these districts I'll never know. One block from the shopping areas is a Crowne Plaza, and perhaps 5 blocks away is a very modern looking Sheraton. I've managed to buy some cool Beijing Olympics gear (t-shirts), and the girls have found some stuffed Olympic characters, pens, pencils, papers, etc. The local Pizza Hut has become one of our haunts, too. See a couple of the attached pix for images of the family walking and shopping in this district.

Here's another good reason not to stay in this hotel: you can be caught in a falling elevator. Today, our incredible babysitter, Danielle, boarded an elevator on our 19th floor. Once the doors had closed, the elevator immediately fell 4 floors before braking and eventually coming to a stop!!!! I mean, the damed thing just FELL!! Danielle screamed for help, which came a few minutes later. Neither we nor the hotel know why it fell, and the hotel has been incredibly unhelpful. Here was their one and only expanation/excuse: the recent earthquake near Chengdu might have caused the fall. It took everything I had not to laugh in the hotel manager's face and then knock his lights out. Rather than admit that his hotel is a pile of ****, he chose to blame a failing elevator on an earthquake hundreds of miles away. When I asked him how the other nearby hotels would respond if I called and asked them if any of THEIR elevators fell 4 stories, he averted his gaze and seemed to understand the utter stupidity of his excuse. I still have not received anything resembling a sincere apology, and they certainly have not taken any real responsibility, in spite of the arguments I've made. For all this, Danielle held up like a trooper and I say again that Danielle is the best thing that's ever happened to us.

We all had a lot of packing and organizing to do tonight, so we chose to go back to our favorite restaurant and bring back some take out. The 6 of us settled in my room to eat and the girls had a sort of picnic on the floor (see pic). After dinner, everyone broke to their own rooms to give the girlies a bath and to pack.

So here I am, spending my last night in Changsha. I wish I could say that it's a bittersweet moment and that I look forward to returning someday. I don't. I'll always be thrilled, of course, that this is the city that gave me my third daughter, but that doesn't mean I like the city.

I've got to keep this blog short since I still have packing to do and it's getting late. More in the next day or so from the much more enjoyable city of Gaungzhou. Best to everyone back home!