Steve helped me load the 12yd skip, it was only just big enough! I have a sort of day off today so I will be doing some last minute visiting. A little more packing of very fragile stuff. Anna is on her way back from China (friday) and has an overnight stay at a Hotel booked by the travel company, but she made the mistake of checking the reviews of this hotel:

“This hotel is truly budget. It was provided to us because a connecting flight to Beijing from Shanghai had mechanical problems and we missed our flight to Seattle which flew only every other day. We had to stay 2 nights. Our room had dead bugs in it. Our friends’ rooms, like ours, had some, too, plus we all smelled sewer gas emanating from the floor drains in the bathrooms.

The beds were sunken in the middle and had noticeable springs coming through. We slept on top of the comforter. Some of the staff knew a little English, but it was really the kindness of English-fluent Chinese fellow travelers who were able to make our needs known to the front desk. The restaurant staff knew some English.

This is changing in China as elementary students are being required to learn English, especially in the urban areas. The airline also gave us 20 yuan per meal, which just about covered everyone’s needs. But some of the food was truly questionable, other food excellent. So food quality varied. The rooms were crowded, cramped and our friends’ room had a shower pipe burst, too. The hotel housekeeping staff office was just 2 doors down and they were loud throughout the night. Because it was being paid for by Hainan, we stayed there, but it is about 16 miles from down town. ”

She lands 5:30pm on Saturday at Heathrow and I suspect will be very pleased to be home.