Day 8: Liwan Plaza for Christmas

This was probably the most different Christmas I have ever spent in my life. No Christmas tree (not counting the 20 to 30 downstairs in the hotel); no gifts to unwrap; no turkey and stuffing. Obviously the greatest gift we've ever gotten came six days before Christmas this year. The 25th just seemed like the next day in the life of loving Keira.

We did do a few things...actually one really big thing. Robin and kids joined us and we all hopped in a taxi cab for our first unchaperoned outing. Amy had been very reluctant to tell us how to get back to the shopping mall where the DVDs were. But we kept insisting and finally she wrote it down in Chinese for us to show the cab driver. He knew instantly where we wanted to go. It was about a 10-minute drive and cost around $2.00 for the six of us.

When the cabbie pulled over to let us out, a beggar (these guys are way too poor to even qualify as pan-handlers) opened the taxi door for me. I don't usually give money to street beggars, but I do pay for service rendered, so I put a couple of yuan in his cup (about 25-cents). Instantly three or four more were crowding around us all, shoving their cups at us. As I walked away one even tugged a bit on my arm.

Ever since we arrived I kept wondering where all the 1-billion Chinese are hiding. I mean, Guangzhou seemed populated like any big city. Well, on Christmas day a sizable percentage of that 1-billion were at the Liwan Plaza shopping plaza.

Highlights: Kelsey and Robin spent 40 minutes in the first store they found. We saw kids in the "split pants" (crotchless pants with no diapers; just hold the kid over the street when it's time to go). Kelsey and I found a small tea shop on a side street and tasted like pros having been taught proper tea tasting etiquette on Saturday. Loaded up on more $2 DVDs including the entire Baby Einstein 19-DVD for $32.

Hailing a cab was a feat. The competition was fierce and there was no queue. Newcomers would step in front of you and take your cab without even looking back at you. Finally, Robin secured on for us. The beggars swooped in again. This time I refused to give in. They were so aggressive, even pushing their cups into the open door of the cab. As we finally settled into the cab, I didn't notice on man's cup was still in the arc of the door and as I pulled it closed I'm afraid I heard change being knocked out of his hand.

Christmas dinner was take-out food (I almost said "take out Chinese") from Lucy's. Keira was fussy and wouldn't fall asleep, even when I walked the halls with her. In the room, she watched part of the movie Cars with me until I could tell she was ready to sleep.