Holiday Triple Bill - Guangzhou - Part 3

It was late after the evening river cruise and we thus asked the cab driver to bring us to some place near the hotel where we could grab some grub. He dropped as next to a McDonalds and a local steakhouse called Houcaller. We chose the steakhouse as we already knew what McDonalds had to offer, or so we thought.

Anyhow, the ambience and service was good. As with most decent restaurants, tea is served on the house. The prices, as before, were very acceptable. I took the most expensive steak for 59 Yuan while my friend took a chicken chop for significantly less.



Ok... It's not the quality of Lawrie's or even Ashton's but considering that you get a decent Soup of the Day and free flow of salad, I think S$10 for the whole thing is pretty darn good.





After the very satisfying meal, we nonetheless dropped into McDonald's to see if there was anything different from Singapore. And there was.



We had an early night because our flight was at 10:45am the next day and also because we wanted a chance to take pictures of the beautiful gardens outside our hotel.





If walking through the well manicured lawns with flowers everywhere in the cool, crisp morning air was not enough, we had very artistic depictions of the various sports to be played at the upcoming games on display at regular intervals.





How's this for a backdrop?




All too soon, however, it was time to go to the very modern Baiyun airport, where we were met with more reminders of the upcoming games...




As well as some shops you wouldn't find at Changi...



After all that visual bombardment, it was hard not to succumb and buy some Games souvenirs - badges, flags as well as a commemorative stamp set...




As well as take a picture with some of the Games volunteers. And even here there is an anecdote to tell. We first approached a pair of volunteers asking to take a picture. The guy was very happy to oblige but the girl said, "I'm sorry we are specially designated Games volunteers and it would be improper for us to take pictures. I'm sorry."

It was then that I decided to approach an all-guys pairing and they happily acquiesced...



And just before we departed, we decided to try out a drink which seemed to be everywhere in Guangzhou. It turned out to be rather pleasant herbal tea. Not to sweet and with a strong fragrance of Ching Chao. One may quite fancy it as a healthy thirst quencher.



And that was that. The holiday triple bill which was decided upon just a day before we set off.