Day 17 - LAST NIGHT

Wow... What an adventure, and it is finally coming to an end.   We woke up to leave our hotel in Guangzhou at 5am.  Two of the five familiesand our agency's representative had flights back home today out of Hong Kong.  We opted to stay one extra night in Hong Kong because we could not get 3 seats together on the flight today.  Hong Kong is considered a separate country (sort of, hard to explain), so we had to get off the bus, carry our luggage through a checkpoint leaving China.  Get back on the bus, and repeat the process 5 minutes later as we entered Hong Kong.  Why this isn't done in one spot, who knows.   It was a pain, but we managed.   We arrived at the hotel in Hong Kong at about 10am.  This place is unbelievable.  We couldn't ask for a nicer hotel for our last night in China.   We were upgraded to the executive level.  We were escorted from the front desk to the 59th floor for a private check-in, and then escorted to our room.  We saw our luggage pulled from the cab, and the next time we saw it, it was being delivered to the room.  The upgrade includes breakfast buffet, which we were able to get today since we arrived so early at the hotel.   There was also a cocktail/appetizer thing for a couple hours in the executive lounge.  Another perk of the upgrade!  The food was awesome. So much so, we didn't need to get dinner, but I will probably still get something small in a little while.  Miriam's favorite was the scallop wrapped in zucchini, garnished with caviar placed perfectly in a mustard sauce.  Oh to live like the rich all of the time.  We made our first family toast while there.  Miriam with her champagne, me with my rum and coke, and Mayah with apple juice and water in her bottle.   As for the room, we are on the 57th floor with a great view of the some of the city and mountains.   The room is very large, and has a little hallway when you walk in.  To the right is a little cubby area where the closet is located.  To the left, a floor to ceiling marble tile bathroom, double sinks, separate shower and tub, and a separate toilet room.  The bathroom has a TV in it too, and speaker hooked up to the TV in the main room.... I guess so you can still hear the TV as you move back and forth from the room and bathroom while getting ready.  The whole width of the room is windows, so the panoramic view is awesome, and being on the 57th floor doesn't hurt.  We had chocolates and fruit delivered to the room as a thank you while we were walking around.  There is even a Bose wave radio in here.  Did I say this hotel is awesome?  Too bad it is only for one night.   The hotel sits on top of what is called the the Pacific Place.  A very high end shopping mall.  This place makes Northbrook Court look like Randhurst.   The top level has stores like, Versace, Burberry, Channel, Prada, Louis Vuitton, Jimmy Choo, Cartier, Gucci to name a few.  I went into the one watch place.. the watches started at $15,000.  I asked what the most expensive watch was, and he said he would show it to me, but they were showing the watch to some potential customers.  The watch was over 7,000,000 Honk Kong Dollars... or about One Millions US Dollars.  Crazy.  We had some fun walking around the place.     As I sit here back in the room, writing my last entry, I look out the window, it is night time here, the lights in the mountains flicker in the distance like glistening gems.  It is breathtaking.  What a way to conclude our journey in China.  We can't wait to come home tomorrow.  It will be great to see everyone that can make it to the airport to greet Mayah to the United States.   We came here as two, we are leaving as three, and a family.  Mayah has been everything and nothing like we expected.   Thanks again to everyone for your support during this long wait, and what feels like an even longer trip in China.  Lastly, as I sign off, I can't wait to have some Portillo's.

Enjoying the room when we first arrived.  The view out the window only gives a small perspective of the view we have.

Down goes Mayah.

Miriam getting Mayah off to the right start (depending on who you ask)  She is looking at a catelog.  Can you see the name on the bottom?  It is the Cartier catelog, and yes, it is a hard cover bound book.

Just looking cute on her shopping trip.

Mayah still has strength and conditioning ahead of her.  She just couldn't keep up with mommy on this shopping experience.

Back in the room.... The ladies having a tee party.