Day Twelve - Tuesday, September 25, 2007 - Today was the Moon Cake Festival and to celebrate we took a night time cruise on the Pearl River. We spent the morning trying to track down some 2008 Olympic merchandise in the shops and stores around our hotel, but it has actually been pretty difficult to find in Guangzhou. It was everywhere in Beijing.
For the cruise, we headed back to Shamian Island to board the boat. The crowds were incredible. This is one of two or three major celebrations of the year for the Chinese, so there were people everywhere. Our group had to go in two buses and we ended up waiting around for about an extra ten minutes on the second bus. On the way to Shamian Island, traffic was horrible, but we apparently had one of the best bus drivers in all of Guangzhou, possibly the entire Guangdong province. He maneuvered through the traffic like it wasn't even there and about 25 minutes later we arrived on the island about two minutes before the first bus and just in time to make a 100 yard dash to the boat.
On the boat they had a pretty extensive buffet and, of course, moon cakes for dessert. The real treat though was getting to step outside on the deck, enjoy the breeze and take in all the scenery and lights.
Tomorrow is our last full day in China and we head to the U.S. Embassy to get Madison's visa!
God Bless,
Angie and Mike
