Eat Wind 3 Guang Zhou China

On the afternoon of the 20th of November, I napped for nearly 2 hours but the recharge was inadequate because I had a hectic morning at work. After getting up, I dashed around finalizing my luggage packing and was pleasantly surprised to learn that my check-in luggage weighed less than 15 kg. By around 6:30 pm, we were well on our way to the Air Asia terminal. Everything went smoothly until we got to the waiting area. I sat separated from my Mum and her helper due to a lack of seats and watched my Mum as she frantically went through her carry on luggage looking for something. It was quite amusing. Yes, I know that I shouldn't be laughing. I found out later that she was looking for her brand spanking new mobile phone. She had mistakenly left it at home.

We got to Guang Zhou at around midnight. I immediately assumed my role as an alien while waiting to get off the plane. I declared, "I come in peace." One westerner on board laughed. We were exposed to China's ugly manners almost right away as we waited to have our passports stamped. One guy was assigned to help the aliens, oops, foreigners queue. He took one look at me and barked in broken English. My Mum stepped in to tell him that we (my Mum and I) are Chinese. I sarcastically reminded her that we are not. We are not even 华侨 (Chinese citizens residing outside China). We are 华裔 (ethnic Chinese living outside China). My Mum was fast losing her patience with me. LOL. Some people have an ability to aggravate me real quick and that man did just that. I looked at the signs indicating 'Foreigners'. I pointed at one and told my Mum that we were in the wrong line. I just couldn't resist being sarcastic. LOL. "We need the line for aliens, Mum." OK. OK. I get it. Only I found that funny. The man just stood there glaring at me. ROFL. I really shouldn't have been mean.

From the Bai Yun Airport, we went to bed at a hotel nearby. There we were greeted by 7/8 pink smiling fish (plus a few catfish) who seemed eager to see me. It was a sleepless few hours as I was tortured by some hungry mozzies. Alien me eventually zapped out at least a couple. In the morning, we took a taxi to get to Tian He and moved into two rooms at 7 Days Inn (Tian He branch). We chose to stay here because it is close to my Uncle's home. 

At the 7 Days Inn, we were joined by another traveller from West Malaysia. S is a friend of my Mum's and she joined us for the first part of our trip because she couldn't speak Mandarin or any Chinese dialects. We took two rooms for the first night but to cut costs, we cut down to just one room later. Unfortunately just as expected, I fell ill almost right away. S was not impressed with most arrangements and that affected everyone's mood. I couldn't help but prayed for Tuesday to come ASAP. 

During this first part of our trip, we went to IKEA simply to eat some non-halal meatballs only to be barked at twice by shopkeepers at other parts of the store. I read recently that IKEA is finally making quite a profit in China. So the Swedes probably succeeded in charming the Chinese into buying furniture that one will have to put together at home but they are obviously still exploring how to churn out super friendly shop keepers.

On the 24th, we went to church. We attended mass at the Cathedral of the Sacred Heart (耶穌聖心主教座堂 / 石室). The mass was in Mandarin. Go in the afternoon if you are looking for an English mass. I don't know why but I felt nothing when I was there. It was like God was not home. Eventually I ended up playing with my new camera and took a couple of snaps. According to my Lonely Planet guide on China, the twin spired Roman Catholic Cathedral was designed in the neo-Gothic style and was built by the French after the 2nd Opium War. I wasn't really impressed. I just felt empty the whole time. I guess nothing beats the little St Francis Church on Lonsdale St in Melbourne city. Below are a couple of snaps I took of this church in Guangzhou.