I was also glad to have a reason to apply for Chinese visas. Tom has to travel to China occasionally for work and the visa process is time consuming. He had to get a 2 entry visa, and then reapply for a 6 month visa that was expiring. Each time there is quite a bit of paperwork. Recently, the Chinese government decided to allow US Citizens to apply for 10 year visas with multiple entries. I wanted to get the visas before they changed the policy. You have to have confirmed hotel and flight reservations for the visa, so I couldn't apply unless we had a trip booked.
We were going to spend Friday to Monday in Guilin. At the airport, Tom got a lounge pass which allowed him to bring a guest, so he took Charlotte with him while Tommy and I headed to the gate. We were going to stop and get some McDonald's, until Tommy found out they were only serving breakfast. He decided he would rather go to the gate and take advantage of the free wifi to watch some videos before we got on the plane.
While China does not enforce copyright laws and it is much easier to buy illegally copied DVDs or imitation watches and handbags, they also greatly censor what their citizens have access to. The Chinese government blocks Google, Gmail, Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, etc. They also censor the news their people can access. When our flight was getting ready to land, they made an announcement they were required by law to collect all newspapers before we landed.
Guilin is only a 1 hour and 15 minute flight from Hong Kong, so it was a nice easy flight. Then our group took a bus to our resort. We were staying at Club Med, which is an all inclusive resort with locations in Europe and Asia. This was our first time at Club Med and our first time at an all inclusive with the kids.
The resort was beautiful. Guilin is inland, so unlike most resort locations, there is no beach nearby. Instead, they really played up the beautiful scenery. The grounds were dotted with modern art sculptures, with the mountains in the background.
We checked into our rooms. We had 2 interconnecting rooms. The kids were so excited they got their own room. We had stayed in suites and apartments before, but this was their first time with their own room. They felt pretty grown up. After getting a bite to eat, we had time for a quick swim in the pool before getting changed and ready for dinner.
It was a fun first day and we were all ready for bed that night.
While China does not enforce copyright laws and it is much easier to buy illegally copied DVDs or imitation watches and handbags, they also greatly censor what their citizens have access to. The Chinese government blocks Google, Gmail, Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, etc. They also censor the news their people can access. When our flight was getting ready to land, they made an announcement they were required by law to collect all newspapers before we landed.
Guilin is only a 1 hour and 15 minute flight from Hong Kong, so it was a nice easy flight. Then our group took a bus to our resort. We were staying at Club Med, which is an all inclusive resort with locations in Europe and Asia. This was our first time at Club Med and our first time at an all inclusive with the kids.
The resort was beautiful. Guilin is inland, so unlike most resort locations, there is no beach nearby. Instead, they really played up the beautiful scenery. The grounds were dotted with modern art sculptures, with the mountains in the background.
It was a fun first day and we were all ready for bed that night.
No comments:
Post a Comment