Going Rogue in Guanghzou

So I should start this blog by telling you all how much I LOVE my agency.  WACAP has been incredible and if we were to ever adopt again we would go through them again.  They have been above the bar on EVERYTHING.  Now that being said, I like to control my own fate.  I like to make my own plans, schedule my own life, so when it was time to book travel for Jack's adoption, I went rogue.  I told WACAP from the beginning that I would book my own travel, drivers, translators, and get myself around.  I only needed them for our adoption-related appoinments.  Many people said we were nuts.  Others had tried to go rogue in the past and failed.  But I was determined to not only prove you could do it, you could do it well.  I should mention that going rogue saved us about $2400 in travel expenses. 

I have a previous blog about getting around Hong Kong!  I will post another time about Beijing.  Today is about how to get around Guangzhou, get to your appointments on time and do it all for less than $10/day.

Here goes.  Steer clear of the taxis.  They are great, but the traffic is bad.  ALL of your appointments can be accessed easily by subway and it will cost you $.50/per person per trip!  First I will start with if you are staying at the Victory, then the Garden.

1.  Download the subway app by mx data for Guangzhou Subway.  It is free and once downloaded you don't need wifi and can use it in the city.  You can choose a starting station and an ending station and it will tell you where to go, when to transfer, and how much it will be.  I have used it a million times. 

2.  Medical appointment with your child. 
From the Victory turn left out the front door. 
Walk down to the end of the road and cross over the river.  Go up and over the sky bridge and you will be standing right in front of the HUANGSHA subway station.  This is Line #1 (Yellow line). 
Follow the signs (all in english), ask for change at customer service and buy your ticket.  You will be going to ZHUJIANG NEW TOWN station on Line #3 (Orange line).   
Get on the train headed towards Guangzhou East Railway station.  Go 8 stops to YANJGJI station and follow the signs to Line 3.  This is where you are transfering from yellow to orange.  It is not scary, just follow the signs.  This is all VERY laid out and in ENGLISH.  Just follow the signs. 
Then take the #3 Line towards Panyu Square and go 2 stops to ZHUJIANG NEW TOWN. 
Exit the station and look to your left. The building you are looking for is #59 East side on the 5th floor.  It is right there next to the subway exit. 
Reverse the directions to go home.  Total transit is like 25 minutes and will cost you $2 USD.

3.  Consulate appoinment.
Same as the Medical, head to the Huangsha subway station from the island (see above).
Buy your tickets. You are going to the Guangzhou East railway station exit.  This is the last exit on the Yellow line or Line #1.
Get on the train towards Guangzhou East railway station.  Find a seat.  Stay on the train for 11 stops till it gets to Guanzhou East.  This is the last stop on the line.  Get off and head for exit F.
Once you exit look for the Ikea next door.  The consulate is in the building next to Ikea.  Plain as day, right there. 
This is EASY to find.  Just follow the signs and look for the giant blue building when you exit.  Head towards the yellow/blue glow and there you are!
Total transit time 23 minutes, cost=$.65

4.  Six Banyan Tree temple.
Same as above.  Hit the Huangsha Subway station.  Head towards Guanzhou East.
Go 4 stops to GONGYANQIAN station.
Take exit I2 out of the station.
When you exit, go straight for two "main" blocks. You will pass a ton of electronic stores.
Turn right at the second intersection and just walk about 2 more blocks.  It is on the left.  It is beautiful ... worth the $.75 to get in.  A must see. 
Reverse directions to get home.

Now for the Garden you will start at TAOJIN station which is right in front of the garden.  You will need to take this line (the Red line, Line #5) to Yangji station which is 3 stops down.  At Yangji you can transfer to the Yellow line or Line #1, which is the one you will take from the Victory.  Once you are on the Yellow line or Line #1 follow the directions above for each location.  Again everything is in English!  Just follow the signs.  If you can read you can do this.  Don't be afraid to rock the public transportation.  I would say the GZ subway is as easy as the Hong Kong subway. 

I can tell you, I was nervous about going rogue.  By doing what we did, we were essentially on our own for all things that were not adoption related, and we had to get ourselves to all our appointments.  Yet with a little planning and being prepared for anything, we have had the most wonderful trip.  We have been on time to all our appointments and had zero issues.  WACAP has been supportive and wonderful in allowing me to control everything.  Their in-country staff has been great and I would do it again in a heartbeat. 

Please let me know if you want more info on how to navigate the system here on your own.  I can help you find your way to the safari park, restuarants, the island, just let me know where you want to go.  Also for each location I was headed to, I had the Victory write the name of the location in chinese so that if we were lost we could show the address to someone on the street and find where we were going.  People are great about pointing you in the right direction.  I highly recommend you do this, so that if the crap hits the fan you can jump in a cab and find your way home.  Better safe than sorry!  I will post tomorrow about the great debate of "the Victory vs. the Garden"...

Enjoy the photos.