You Can Never Go Back???

There is a saying that says “You can never go back” and when we left Harbin, for what we thought was to be our last time in January of 2014, we believed it to be true. But as we discovered, “You can go back” if you have the stamina.

It took us 20 hours in airports, airplanes and cars to finally arrive in Harbin, minutes before midnight the next day.  The 20 hours included a dash through the Guangzhou airport to catch our connecting flight to Harbin. China Southern Air, delivered us 40 minutes late to Guangzhou, leaving us only 60 minutes to get through customs, security and over to a different terminal. Thankfully, we had only carry-on luggage and China Southern was up to the task.

As we exited the plane, we had large green dots slammed onto our chests and quickly directed to the customs hall where we were placed into a special line which jumped us head of everyone else.  

On to security, where the green dots got us into a special line and again cut in front of others who had clearly been waiting a long time to clear security. Lots of long, mean looks from those poor souls. Been there myself, so I can relate.  We are definitely going to keep the green dots for future use.

Upon exiting security, we were hustled onto one of those electric carts that you see in airports around the world, usually shuttling elderly folk or VIPs between gates.  With lights flashing and horn beeping and feeling very special, we were dropped off at the entrance to the terminal where we were to catch our flight to Harbin.

The Guangzhou airport is very modern with moving walkways that with a brisk walk, can carry you quickly to your gate.

One small problem, the Chinese do not adhere to the “Keep to the Right” rules of escalators and walkways. They, along with their many, many, many suitcases create an immovable roadblock, making speedy passage on these moveable walkways virtually impossible. If we were to make our flight, a power walk/jog was in order because as expected in these situations, our gate was as far away as you could get from the terminal entrance. With minutes to spare, we caught the last shuttle bus out to the airplane.

It had been a long day, but made much sweeter when we were greeted by the smiling faces of Doctor J and Doctor J. We first met Janie and Justin on our arrival to Harbin in 2008.

At the time, they were both completing their doctorates at HIT. They quickly became a part of our extended Chinese family, a bond that continues 9 years later.

They are now well into successful careers and proud parents of Joy who we call doctor j as her proud Jiānádà zǔfùmǔ (加拿大祖父母), Canadian grandparents.