A group of us finally got to do a long-planned, weekend trip to Guanzhou. We caught a China Air flight from Hangzhou late Friday afternoon and two hours later landed in Guanzhou. Robin's wife picked us up and we drove into the city to the White Swan hotel.

The White Swan is a 5-star hotel where the Queen of England stayed, as did a number of US presidents and other important types. Definitely my kind of accommodations. It is situated on the Pearl River, with interesting views of the lights across the water and the neon-lit dinner cruise boats that run at night. Naturally, when we arrived, we found that they did not have our reservations and while they had rooms, the rate was 100 RMB more than the Internet price. We argued, but to no avail and finally agreed.

After settling into our rooms, we left for dinner at a restaurant near by. It is in a district that is very European and filled with hotels, restaurants and bars. The place we ate at was mostly Thai food and specialized in pigeon. It was quite tasty, but with the usual pigeon head rolling around on the plate. It may have been a Thai restaurant, but it was very Chinese.