Awake in a Dream
Tori asked me yesterday (Saturday, the 13th) "Mom, is this really happening? It doesn't even feel real."
I knew exactly how she felt…it is like we are awake in a dream. Except I'm really awake because I haven't been able to sleep. Christmas has never, EVER made me this excited.
Last evening we went to a musical theatre about Kung Fu. I have to admit that as we were heading down to the lobby to meet Tingting, our guide, I was wishing we could just stay at the hotel and get our luggage sorted out and prepare for our flight in the morning.
You see, we decided to leave some luggage in Beijing at the Gloria Plaza hotel while we travel to Fuzhou. The reason for this is that the airline we are traveling is very strict about the weight restrictions and there is a large fee for overweight bags. So we left one big suitcase here with 5 changes of clothes, our dirty clothes from so far, gifts for our guide/driver here in Beijing, heavier clothes, etc. When we met with Tingting in the lobby and she told us the price for the show I swallowed a gulp and smiled…it was over $100 Canadian (but that was for all three of us). Then she said we would be taking 2 cabs to the theatre, since we wouldn't all fit in one. I thought that our driver would take us and we would go in the bus that we had been using. Then she said she would only be able to travel with one family and she had a cell phone that she gave to the other family in case the taxis got separated. Then she handed the phone to Roger. I swallowed another gulp. Yikes…we were going to be on our own in CHINA! Tingting spoke to our cab driver and we climbed in. The other cab led the way. And it was when we pulled out onto the street that I realized how much more secure I felt in a bus over a small car! Then we passed the lead taxi…Double Yikes and more gulps being swallowed! About two minutes later they passed us and waved and my heart slowed down a bit. It was about a 15 minute drive to the theatre, but part of the length can be contributed to the fact that a lot of the roads are access roads to the highway and are only one way. When we pulled out of the hotel we went a back route. Then about a minute later we passed in front of the hotel. About 5 minutes later we passed in front of our hotel again. This time traveling in the other direction. It was then that I was glad that our transportation was arranged for us and we didn't have to rent a vehicle and have Roger drive and me navigate. Because I know I would have a hard time navigating with my hands over my eyes!
We arrived at the theatre and Ray commented that for the first time since we arrived in Beijing we no longer looked like the minority (and he and Ainsleigh now looked like the minority). The audience was filled with tourists.
About 30 seconds into the show I completely lost all my regrets about not being at the hotel preparing for the next day. The show was phenomenal! The lights, props and music were amazing and the performers were out of this world. Before the show begin there was an announcement that these were professionals and not to try this at home. Don't worry, I would never attempt those moves. I would probably end up in a full body cast. To say that the show was impressive would be an understatement. As I sat there I thought, "Hmm, and you wanted to stay at the hotel and pack!"
About an hour into the hour and a half show my eyes begin to get very heavy, and I struggled to keep them open. I remember thinking, "Do something exciting to keep me awake!" And then they did and I didn't have any more trouble for the rest of the show. The show was about a boy who was learning Kung Fu and his struggles and how he overcame them to reach full enlightment. (Think about Kung Fu Panda.) Most of the talking was done in English with Chinese translation on a screen over the stage. But sometimes it was reversed (especially the singing – it was in Chinese). I highly recommend the show to anyone coming to Beijing. :D
We got back to the hotel a little after 9 pm. (Again no problem with us being without the guide.) In fact, it was a whole lot faster than our route there. And it only took us a little over 5 minutes. Which my bladder was thankful for!
The taxis charge $2 RMB for 1 kilometer of driving. That is a little less than 30 cents Canadian. So our trip to the theatre was $19 RMB and our trip back was $13 RMB. Pretty inexpensive, I thought. Roger told me later how inexpensive it really was. He gave our driver $100 RMB and the cab driver gave him back over $100 RMB in change…I wondered if Roger had made a mistake. But then he showed me and said he wondered if 2 $50 RMB were stuck together when the driver counted out the change. But when I did the calculations it still didn't add up to the right total. If I remember correctly Roger gave $100 and received back $188.
He wasn't sure of the mistake until after the cab driver had left.
Then later when he took our bags down to the concierge that we are leaving here at the hotel he settled up our bill for the internet usage. The rate I had was $2 RMB per minute to a maximum of $90 RMB per 24 hours. I also could have went with a flat rate of $60 RMB per 24 hours, but I decided to go the other route since I didn't know how long (or short) I would be on the computer. But when I had trouble accessing my blog and then facebook I ended up being on the internet a lot longer than I had expected. Thankfully I can still access my hotmail account and Janice has more than graciously agreed to update my blog for me.
I told Roger that the bill should be $90 RMB (About $15 Can.) The front desk confirmed the amount and Roger gave her $100 RMB. She almost gave him back $20 RMB. Roger said she had two 10's in her hand and was passing them to him and looked down and pulled one back. Roger wondered what was causing this strange behavior of receiving too much money with his change!
The current time as I type this note is 4:18 am, Sunday morning. We're expecting a wake-up at 5 am so we can be ready to check-out and eat breakfast by 6 am, as we leave for the airport at 6:15 am. I'm typing this now so that when we arrive at the hotel in Fuzhou it is all ready to send. I expect that I'll add to the note with details from our in-China flight experience.
But needless to say, once again it looks like I do not need a wake-up call. At the airport in Fredericton it struck me how much Mom resembled Gram Slipp. She told me that she is noticing it more and more herself. She says every time she looks in the mirror she sees more of her mother looking back at her. Well, I guess the apple doesn't fall far from the tree. Here it is, 4 am, and I'm thinking that I'm turning into my mother. Another early morning. I can remember trips where Mom would wake up before everyone else and then go into the bathroom to turn on the light to read. Well, Patti, look in the mirror and who do you see? J
Note: Ray, Ainsleigh, and Fiona Chong are a family from Ontario travelling with us. They are adopting a little Chinese boy, Logan. (Ray and Ainsleigh have Chinese heritage.)
