Guangzhou Interview - where we stayed

[Bill & Angel]

Upon the advice of countless posters here on CFL the provided great reviews, and ignoring the apprehensive response of my fiancee, I suggested that we stay at Mr and Mrs Yang apartments, just around the corner from the US Consulate. After assuring her that many people said this was a great option, she agreed, and so we booked a night for Sep 2nd, the eve of Angel's interview.

 

The train ride from Shenzhen to Guangzhou was smooth and comfortable. Before we knew it, we were back in Guangzhou, the same place I attended American Citizen Day 2 weeks before, and the same place her and Peter had their medical exams the prior week (it should be added that the hospital really botched the blood taking on Angel, as her arm was now horribly bruised and in pain, something apparently that is common in China).

 

We took the short walk from the train station to the Yang's, went to floor 29, but then called because no one was there. We were told to go back down to floor 9, and Mr Yang met us and brought us to our room. The room was a two-bedroom apartment, the 2nd bedroom apparently converted from the main living room with a low wall that doesn't reach the ceiling. There was a water cooler on the right, next to a sofa, across the way was a TV that we never turned on. Behind the TV was the converted bedroom, and to the left was the main bedroom. Also to the left, closer to the entrance, was a door to a kitchen, and then a door to a bathroom. The kitchen was small, and we never used it. The bathroom had a sink and toilet, side by side, and the shower arm on the wall (no shower stall, no bathtub). You could basically take a poop and a shower at the same time.

 

The rooms were hot, and Angel was tired from walking in her new shoes that were not yet broken in (and she was still coming out of a cold). She attributes AC to the source of her being sick, so she laid down in the main bedroom to rest with the AC off. We immediately turned on Peter's AC to cool the place down. While Angel rested, I called Mrs Yang to help with the internet (it did not immediately work, although my computer saw 3 available wireless networks, 2 requiring a password, and the 3rd with not enough bars to generate a decent signal). She came down with an extension cord and ethernet cable, and after wiring the computer directly to the router, we were up on the internet.

 

Peter and I played games for a short while, and then Angel got up and we were off to look for a place to eat. She was still tired, so we went to the restaurant across the street. The menu was not quite the Shenzhen menu we were accustomed to. Between the frogs and chicken balls, there really wasn't much on the menu that appealed to me. We opted for cold sweet ribs, chicken, some kind of very salty fish, an egg dish that could be described as an egg-adilla (replace the cheese with egg in a quesadilla), and a bowl of hot vegetables. I didn't recognize the vegetables, but tried the green looking ones. It had the look of cooked spinach on a thick stem, and tasted like asparagus, pretty good. The egg dish and chicken was also pretty good. We had some cream cheese puffs for dessert that had a small chunk of mango inside. Peter loved these. After the bowls of rice Angel and I had, I was simply too full at this point. The whole meal was about 350 yuan (about $50USD, pretty expensive as Chinese restaurants go).

 

Back at the room, we were beginning to realize (and perhaps it was just myself that was "beginning", as I think Angel had already come to this conclusion earlier) that the room was sub-standard for what we were used to. The air circulation was very poor, the AC unit in the master bedroom had no temperature reading and was very loud, taking a shower in the same place you take a poop was less than desirable, one of the cabinet doors in our bedroom was on only one hinge (the other 2 broken). The towels were thin and obviously very old, perhaps handed down from someone's grandparents, and the floor seem to be always wet (not carpeted). I could imagine Angel's thoughts, but I went with it because, well, there wasn't much we could do at this point.

 

At bedtime, Peter asked that I lay down with him for 10 minutes to help him sleep, which I did. He was very restless, and this helps him calm down. Before long, we were both asleep. In retrospect, his room had both the best circulation and the best AC. I got up and went to our bedroom to join Angel, and the AC was off. The air was stifling, hot and humid. I thought I might be able to sleep through it, but then I started with a coughing attack, which then kept Angel up. The snowball effect continued, as she decided to turn on the AC to help me with my breathing problems, and then I tried to cover her because the AC had made the room very cold (not to mention noisy). In her flurry state of mind and still being sick, she didn't want the covers, even though I knew the cold couldn't be good for her. I turned off the AC, and prayed for sleep. Then I began another coughing attack.

 

Now, both of us wide awake, and the time just passing by like the cold unfeeling bastard that time can be sometimes, Angel could no longer hold inside her dissatisfaction with my adhering to the advice of a strangers on a website. She reminded me that the side of the conversation I was listening to was the Americans who don't know China, and she added that many of these couples probably stayed in Guangzhou a few nights beforehand and probably became accustomed to the environment by the night before their interview. I was convinced she was right, but being right didn't seem to help the situation. After profusely apologizing, and providing no excuses for my choice of dwelling space, I finally suggested we crash Peter's sleep heaven. Her initial response was stubborn refusal, but she later conceded that it may be our best shot at some sleep. We towed our blankets and pillows, and joined Peter in his room, Angel on one side, and me on the other side. Peter was sound asleep, which did not change at all from the commotion of us joining him. For Angel, Peter has always been the best sleep medicine for when she has trouble sleeping, and for me, the better air circulation and the AC allowed me to finally knock out. Answered a little late, but my sleep prayer from earlier was finally answered.

 

This was our experience. It should be stated that Mr and Mrs Yang are truly nice people, and the price is simply unbeatable, but from our perspective, I think they should raise the price so that they can renovate the place, as it desperately needs it.

[Guest WenDylan]

Thank you for sharing your experience. It was very descriptive and should really help some future guests of GZ. I, personally, think tsap seui should move to GZ and start his own hotel or comfy American Chinese style Inn.

[dale7570]

thx. for the detailed post. i guess i'm not the only one that was dissatified with the yangs rooms. i agree that the rooms should be upgraded, but most (if not all) of the rooms are sub-letted by the yangs as needed. the security folks in the building told us this.

Edited September 5, 2008 by dale7570 (see edit history)

[pangxiong]

thx. for the detailed post. i guess i'm not the only one that was dissatified with the yangs rooms. i agree that the rooms should be upgraded, but most (if not all) of the rooms are sub-letted by the yangs as needed. the security folks in the building told us this.

 

My wife and I stayed at the Yang's from Sept 1-8 2008. The interview was on Sept. 3 and we got PINK! But we had to wait until Sept. 6 and walked to the post office to receive her passport/visa and document package.

 

We had air conditioning remote controls with adjustable temperature settings, so the room was set to our liking.

The stay was ok, the beds were extremly hard like sleeping on the floor, the carpets were stained with black oil spots everywhere, but other than that Mr. Yang was very helpful, he took my wife to the Hospital to get her medical examination.

 

As for food in the area, there's a Ikea store with a resturant inside, across the street is a Kentucky Fried Chicken and on the other side of the park there's a 24 hour Mc Donalds. We've even tried the Full House resturant outside of the consulate that was very tasty.

[dale7570]

thx. for the detailed post. i guess i'm not the only one that was dissatified with the yangs rooms. i agree that the rooms should be upgraded, but most (if not all) of the rooms are sub-letted by the yangs as needed. the security folks in the building told us this.

 

My wife and I stayed at the Yang's from Sept 1-8 2008. The interview was on Sept. 3 and we got PINK! But we had to wait until Sept. 6 and walked to the post office to receive her passport/visa and document package.

 

We had air conditioning remote controls with adjustable temperature settings, so the room was set to our liking.

The stay was ok, the beds were extremly hard like sleeping on the floor, the carpets were stained with black oil spots everywhere, but other than that Mr. Yang was very helpful, he took my wife to the Hospital to get her medical examination.

 

As for food in the area, there's a Ikea store with a resturant inside, across the street is a Kentucky Fried Chicken and on the other side of the park there's a 24 hour Mc Donalds. We've even tried the Full House resturant outside of the consulate that was very tasty.

 

 

yes, the beds are like sleeping on rocks, i agree. as a side note the mcdonald's provides free use of a computer with internet access.

[Stepbrow]

thx. for the detailed post. i guess i'm not the only one that was dissatified with the yangs rooms. i agree that the rooms should be upgraded, but most (if not all) of the rooms are sub-letted by the yangs as needed. the security folks in the building told us this.

 

My wife and I stayed at the Yang's from Sept 1-8 2008. The interview was on Sept. 3 and we got PINK! But we had to wait until Sept. 6 and walked to the post office to receive her passport/visa and document package.

 

We had air conditioning remote controls with adjustable temperature settings, so the room was set to our liking.

The stay was ok, the beds were extremly hard like sleeping on the floor, the carpets were stained with black oil spots everywhere, but other than that Mr. Yang was very helpful, he took my wife to the Hospital to get her medical examination.

 

As for food in the area, there's a Ikea store with a resturant inside, across the street is a Kentucky Fried Chicken and on the other side of the park there's a 24 hour Mc Donalds. We've even tried the Full House resturant outside of the consulate that was very tasty.

 

 

Congratulations on your PINK. Did you already tell us, or did I overlook your post?

[Stepbrow]

Thanks for the nice write-up Bill.

[Bill & Angel]

 

yes, the beds are like sleeping on rocks, i agree. as a side note the mcdonald's provides free use of a computer with internet access.

 

I wish I had known about the McDonalds when we were there.

 

Ah well, maybe next time...

 

Now I need to figure out where we are going to get married, and now she says she wants to bring her parents over for the wedding. I've heard this is very difficult...

[IllinoisDave]

Your description of the rooms sounds exactly like ours down to the lack of internet and AC and "shared" toilet facilities. I'll just add that we had no warm,much less hot, water in the morning for showers. But due to a lack of much sleep because of no AC, a cold shower wasn't all bad.

 

In all fairness I should add that we didn't have any need of the Yang's assistance for our paperwork,logistics etc. Not everyone's so lucky. If you're the least bit unsure of having all your ducks in a row for the interview and don't mind the most basic of accomodations, Mr. Yang's place may be the place for you.

[dale7570]

Your description of the rooms sounds exactly like ours down to the lack of internet and AC and "shared" toilet facilities. I'll just add that we had no warm,much less hot, water in the morning for showers. But due to a lack of much sleep because of no AC, a cold shower wasn't all bad.

 

In all fairness I should add that we didn't have any need of the Yang's assistance for our paperwork,logistics etc. Not everyone's so lucky. If you're the least bit unsure of having all your ducks in a row for the interview and don't mind the most basic of accomodations, Mr. Yang's place may be the place for you.

 

dave's info is acurate. the yang's will assist you in getting around guz. mr. yang called a cab for us and 2 others and rode with us to the medical. of course you could simply give the address to the cab driver. the yangs also looked over our paperwork, but since their english is very limited this has a small value. if you need help with the paperwork i would recommend getting help from smiling asia. good luck to all.

[chilton747]

It has been my experience in several Chinese run hotels that they turn off the hot water around 6-7 am every morning. This is very common. We are not planning on staying at the Yang's, the main reason is that it is expensive. My wife has found a house that is rented for 50 rmb a night with AC, a kitchen, and internet access. It's a little ways from the Consulate but that is ok. A doctor friend of my wife stayed there recently and highly recommended it to my her. We will have our paperwork in order and we can find our way around with no problem.

Edited September 15, 2008 by chilton747 (see edit history)