part 1
part 2
part 3




By this point I was fretting that we would never get back, but our driver then pulled to the side of the road, studied the map and street names again, then hung a u-turn, came to the entrance of the alley type street our hotel was on and told us to get out. I guess he didn't believe in curbside service. I tried to pay him 10 yuan, figuring I was giving him a decent tip for the 7 of us and he became very animated, telling me it was not enough. He repeatedly said "san" which is 3 and even gestured 3, but then finally pulled out his money, showing me he wanted 30 yuan instead of 3. Ahhhh...now I know why he never turned on his meter. No way was it a 30 yuan ride, but at this point I couldn't have cared less since we just needed to get to the hotel, so I tossed the money at him and we walked/jogged to our hotel where Simon and our driver were impatiently waiting.

We went upstairs to grab all of our bags and then went to check out. They asked us if we used anything from the mini-bar and we told them no. They insisted on a maid checking the room and told us we owed them for a package of tea that Caleb had drank (you'd think tea sitting with two cups on a table was complimentary) as well as some shower gel that Taylor had taken. The gel was called some kind of hair and body juice and Taylor thought that was screamingly funny, so he took it to show his friends. Ok, kids, thanks for making us look like liars when we said "Oh no, we didn't use anything extra in the rooms at all." Oh well, it was a pittance, so we paid and headed out for the airport.



Upon arrival, Simon helped us get checked in, we snapped a few photos with him, and then we went through security. Our checked baggage was too heavy, so they made us take one as a carry on. Luck would have it that Micheline's shea butter and coconut oil for her hair and skin was in that carry on and even though it is more of a cream consistency, they decided it was a liquid. I had just mixed a fresh batch before we left for China, and in spite of my protests that it really wasn't a liquid, I watched them throw it in the trash right in front of me. She gets very dry and ashy and has eczema without it, so I wasn't very happy, but I guess rules are rules.

After getting through security we settled in for a bit of a wait until our flight to Guangzhou was called, but once we were on the plane I breathed a sigh of relief that we were on the first leg of our flights that would be taking us home!