Day One in Nanning aka Land of One Trillion Motorcycles

On our first full day in Nanning we had a great breakfast buffet at our hotel and then ventured out with our guide for the first time.  I have never in my life seen so many motorcycles and scooters - all colors, all sizes and shapes.  Pink with flowers for ladies, sleek black for the stylish male and everything in between was seen!  We saw from one person on a motorcycle up to two adults with two kids. Most of the riders did not have helmets. A scooter/motorcycle was even carrying a refrigerator going down the road.  The land of motorcycles will be my name for Nanning as it was my first impression!

Next impression was how "green" the city is in color.  Nanning has a tropical climate and the greenery is very plush and rich. We are lucky and it is in the 50s here now so very nice as compared to being in Southern China in the summer when the heat and humidity are unbearable even for a Deep Southern from Alabama! We had a very nice walk.  We spotted several Western businesses - KFC and Starbucks. The Chinese New Year decorations for the Year of the Horse are so pretty! 

Our first stop was the Wal-Mart to stock up on instant noodles and snacks.  I had filled two shoe box size lidded plastic containers with snacks, instant oatmeal, etc.  from home to last us a few days.  Mistake - told Billy on the long flight from Seattle to Beijing that we had snacks in the girls' carry-on = no snacks by the time we got to the hotel. (The instant oatmeal definitely came in handy as we had it for breakfast the first morning in Guangzhou).We also needed another item.  Billy forgot to pack enough underwear.  I will spare him the embarrassment from posting publicly the whole saga but we have had much humor from his XXXL colorful underwear purchase.  One pair has "vogue" written all over them!  For those who know my husband you will find this hysterical!  It is always interesting shopping in a Wal-mart store in China as compared to the US.  You can actually find someone to help you in each department and they are eager!  The meat department is extremely interesting.  I have to go back and take more photos.  We love the escalator in the Walmart which is grooved for the shopping carts. They have items in bins going down the escalator so you can keep shopping even while moving!  I know all Americans wish you could find PIG SNOOTS in your local Wal-Mart deli and the ability to buy rice in bulk!

After leaving Wal-Mart we headed back to the hotel.  The girls spied a McDonald's so we had lunch there. Another interesting cultural difference.  On the ground level there was a walk-up window where you could order ice creams, coffees, etc.  The restaurant portion was upstairs.  I approached the counter to order and was handed a photo menu.  Very difference offerings from our McDonald's although some were the same.  For a side with a Kid's Meal you had the option of french fries or corn!  The girls got their familiar cheeseburger and chicken nuggets. Billy got something that was a burger with what looked like polish sausage links on top.  I wanted a regular cheeseburger and fries but they did not have those only a double cheeseburger for an adult.  Oh and one other difference - they only had squat toilets! Another interesting observations is that the sink to wash your hands is OUTSIDE of the restroom area.  Everyone uses the same sink. I do not remember ever having to stand in line to use a McDonald's restroom before but Maya G. and I had to wait some time for our turn.  Another opportunity for more stares from young school girls!

We ventured back to the hotel and put away our food purchases.  Our guide then took us to the People's Park which is only blocks behind our hotel.  As I mentioned in the last post this hotel would not be my first choice by any means but the park is a HUGE plus. There is no cost to enter. I see us spending much time here during our stay.  It is amazing, awesome, beautiful, interesting, and fun! Upon entering we passed another land of motorcycles parking area.  How in the world they know which one is theirs and exactly where they left it is a mystery to me. They have locks that go on the front tires so that no one can steal them.  Upon entering the park we saw a beautiful lake with boats.  The park was very clean with wide pathways to stroll.  The girls spotted a "children's playground" on the map.  We headed in that direction.  The Children's Playground is actually an amusement park area! The girls had been given "lucky money" for Chinese New Year and they wanted to spend it here!  There are ticket booths with pictures and numbers of the rides on the booth.  You tell the cashier which ride you want to pay for and you are given a slip.  We realized quickly not to buy more than one ticket at a time if we were here by ourselves without the guide or we would not have known which ticket went to which ride.  Another interesting observation - on the small kid rides for Maya Grace on some you pay per "car" instead of per rider.  So if one little flying airplane has two seats you only pay for 1 ticket.  BUT some you pay per rider.  PERFECT sense right??  The rides were 5 rmbs or 10 rmbs so less than $1 or $2.  Adventurous Mary Bailey rode a roller coaster in the front seat alone.  They placed another child in the seat with her who was around her age.  She said the child kept talking to her and Mary Bailey said I had NO idea what she was saying. My child knows some Chinese.  Why she did not try to talk to her I do not know!   The girls loved our time there and have been begging to return.

We had dinner at a local restaurant with our guide.  I had a rice with beef dish.  Billy had barbecued eel something.  Anneli had a huge adult size meal.  This is a tidbit for those coming to China - The five of us ate three meals today for a total of US $32.  Our agency guidelines were so much higher as to what we should plan for in regard to meals.  You can do it so much more cheaply at small out of the way restaurants well and McDonalds!

Additional note about today while we were at the park our guide was able to speak with Ally Kate's orphanage director.  We learned she did indeed know that we were coming for her.  She had been taken back to the orphanage for a few days it seems for paperwork processing and a photo.  We were given an updated photo of her.  Her hair has been buzzed cut so lots of pretty hand band shopping in our future.  It is hair and it will grow back. We were told she is easy going which will hopefully help with her adjustment.  Her weight is 44 pounds so she is still a tiny little one to be almost 9 yo.  Her height is 46 inches so shorter than the last measurement we received.  We were told her weight was 37 just a few weeks ago.  There are scales in all Chinese hotel bathrooms so we can weigh her on Monday for an accurate one. We were told that we can not visit the orphanage nor the group home in which she is currently living in here in Nanning. This made me sad but hopefully we can meet her current caregivers. (Ally Kate is the taller child in the photo in case you do not recognize her.  Her hair will grow back.)

I spent several hours too today getting the word out on Facebook about the children from Maya's orphanage who need homes.  I love those ladies hearts! We emailed back and forth multiple times today as I asked for more info on a few on the children. 

This was a great day in the P.R. of China!