Goodbye America, Hello China

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Wow - it's taken me a while to get back to the historical story but here it is.
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So we're driving back to the airport - we were all awake for the 6.30pm parade, we managed to get a few souvenirs and we're thinking we will definitely have time for dinner before checking in the luggage, returning the rental car and doing the whole security thing with 2 kids, 7 pieces of hand-luggage plus a car seat and double stroller (we were planning on dumping Sebastien's car seat at the airport because 1) he has almost grown out of it; and 2) apparently cars in China don't have seatbelts in the rear so we won't be using it in China). Alex's seat, on the other hand, would be useful for the plane ride over and for our subsequent visit to Australia so it was coming with us the whole way.

We made good time and at 9pm Brett dropped us (me, 2 kids, double stroller, two car seats, 7 suitcases and 7 pieces of handluggage including two laptop computers - can you just picture it?) off at the terminal and after getting most items onto a porter's huge luggage cart, he went to return the car to Budget whilst I worked my way inside to the check-in desk.

Hmm, something's not quite right...Air China, China Airlines, China Eastern, China Southern...uh oh. The ladies behind the desk took a look at the tickets I handed over, asked me where we were flying to and kindly told me I needed to be in the next terminal along. I couldn't grasp it at first - how was I going to get all this stuff plus the two kids down and around to the next terminal - and hang on, Brett was expecting to come here to meet up with us once he'd returned the car...how was I going to let him know where we were?? Neither of us had a phone anymore.

The porter managed to cart the luggage that fit onto the cart to the next terminal, with me following in his wake, stress levels rising. Anyway, we checked in at the next terminal - and had a couple of guys who worked there deal with the luggage (one of the times I'm happy to play the "pity me" card). Sebastien was in his infant seat and I'd put him down next to the stroller (which had all the hand luggage in it and Alex in the front seat) whilst I checked I had all the tickets, passports etc and some snooty lady walking past told me that I was endangering Sebastien by setting him there - well thanks very much lady!

Once checked in all I needed to worry about was whether Brett'd work out what'd happened and make his way over here. Time was getting on - so much for making good time earlier - so I headed to the front doors of the terminal to see if I could spot him outside. Many well-intentioned people told me not to worry, that he'd be there shortly, but I was busy imagining what I'd do if he didn't: leave his boarding pass and passport with the check-in desk and board with the kids on my own, or miss the flight waiting for him to turn up.

But it all turned out alright as he sprinted up to our terminal - we managed to get through immigration and security just in time for our 1am (LA time) flight.

Whew - now I was ready for a trans-Pacific flight of around 9 hours - just have to get these two kids to sleep...










Oh, sorry...wrong two kids. :) This is possibly the most Sebastien slept at any one time the entire trip, waiting to board our LA-Taipei flight. Let me just say that Sebastien is not the traveler his sister was at the same age. He barely slept - and nursed whenever he wasn't sleeping. Thankfully Alex is now at an age where the inflight entertainment is interesting for her - so she was somewhat distracted.

So we flew LA to Taipei, Taipei to Hong Kong and then Hong Kong to Xiamen - well it was a cheap ticket :).

In Taipei we could watch the activity below whilst waiting for the plane:











Here's what our hand luggage looked like - Brett had dumped the infant seat in LAX - near a dumpster I believe - Minnie was the preferred friend as we'd just been to Disneyland. Alex was responsible (most of the time) for her own hand luggage:










I ought to write a post about discipline and unfamiliar places...it's tough to nut things out on the run, and usually it's not something Brett and I spend time thinking about before hand...we'll have to change that:












Alex worked out that she could kick the ground with her feet and tip the carseat over - she just didn't reckon on us leaving her there like that. What isn't shown here are all the disconcerted Asian people who are watching this unfold and can't fathom why we'd strap our child into a contraption and leave her a few rows of chairs away - or why we wouldn't immediately run to set her right way up (at least she can't fall any further).

Games we play: stacks on Daddy whilst Sebastien checks out the luggage trolley:










Here's Alex in Hong Kong, having found something to keep her amused whilst we waited to board the bus out to the plane:










Just the right size for her luggage!

And so we arrived in Xiamen, PR China at around 5pm the day after we set out. Totally spent, we were the last to get off of the plane and make our bedraggled way to the immigration and customs area. We were allowed through and discovered that Alex and Sebastien were immediately minor stars. No photos of this as we were just so tired, but they were surrounded and fawned over before we even made it out of the luggage claim area.

We burst out of the terminal into the heat and humidity of a subtropical evening. Fortunately, since two white children are a rarity in Xiamen, our prearranged student guide had no problem identifying us and helping us transport our luggage to the university hotel - our home for the next week.