Our plans had been to leave our house in Lancaster at 3:00 a.m., drive to Hunt Valley, take the light rail to BWI for our flight to Toronto where we would board our Air Canada 14 hour flight to Shanghai. A couple of days ago, Gerry asked, "Now, what time do we return to BWI?" When I checked, I realized that IF we arrived on time from Beijing to BWI, we would not arrive early enough to catch the light rail back to Hunt Valley to retrieve our car. I do not want to think about how we would have felt had we realized my mistake upon our return. NOT funny. Consequently, I booked a hotel close to the airport which has 24 hour shuttle service and parking privileges for our car while we are out of the area.
My clothes have been in my suitcase for two day! I was delighted to find that my clothes only weigh 15 lbs. Given that my suitcase weighs 10 lbs., I have about 15 lbs. allowance for the other "must haves" that have been noted on the blogs of people who have just returned from this tour. Interestingly, the #1 item mentioned has been toilet paper. Although we are staying in 5 star hotels and the rooms on the ship used for the Yangtze portion of the trip are well appointed, during the day when we are out and about in China it seems that we might be faced with "squaty-potties". DON'T ASK! SO, I am packing toilet paper. Also packed are my Nook, i-pod, camera, and the books about visiting China that my daughter, Caron, gave me for Christmas. Yep, the weight of "stuff" adds up.
Fortunately, one of the most important items I am packing for the trip weighs almost nothing. My daughter, Sarah, gave me a wig for Mother's Day. You know how profusely I sweat in the event of humidity or high temps. After a day of touring, you know my head will not be a pretty sight. Given that often we will be expected to go to dinner with little time to waste, I am so relieved to think that I can just don my "rug" and be on my way. In one of the books Caron gave me, it mentions an ethnic sect of Chinese called Uigher, pronounced "Wigger". Well, it now seems I will be a Uigher!!! Thanks, Sarah. I expect your gift will often save the day for me and the appetite of my dinner mates.
If it's any consolation, I never had to use the squat toilet. Most places that had them also had a Western style. I brought those little packs of Kleenex and used that for TP. Many bathrooms have rolls of toilet paper OUTSIDE the bathrooms and you get your TP before you enter. (I thought they were papers towels until I tried to use some--then noticed that women were taking their paper first and then going into the bathroom.
ReplyDelete