Really not a good day

Today was not great.

Waking up at 5am was not great. Having our cab arrive late was not great. Having Tan sprain her ankle in the ensuing rush to get to the boat to take us to Hong Kong was not great. But these were the high points of the day.

Despite Tan's hobbling, and Waipo's stubborn attempts to help me with all the luggage, we were in good time for the plane and breathed a huge sigh of relief when we had finally settled into our seats. Tan started to undress Xixi to get her pyjamas on for the flight. That was when our bad day got a lot, lot worse. One of the air hostesses noticed Xixi's spots from her Chickenpox and said she'd need to get a doctor to check her. To cut a long story, and argument, short, the doctor said Xixi couldn't fly, so we were all taken off the plane and introduced to a confusion-laced pandemonium, with some ignorance thrown in for good measure.

Nobody seemed able to give us proper advice. One thing was clear: Xixi would not be allowed to fly until a doctor had cleared her as being non-contagious, which would be days. So I made the calm announcement that Waipo, Tan and Leilei must take the next flight back to London (that night), and I would stay with Xixi as long as it took. There were tears, but there was not really any practical option; Tan staying with Xixi might have been had she not sprained her ankle.

We were finally advised that I would need to go back to mainland China as there was no official route from this part of the airport to Hong Kong itself; while in the airport we were officially still in mainland China. So while some officials were arranging a boat back to Shenzhen I thought to tell them my double-entry Chinese visa had already used up its entry quota, and that I didn't think I'd be allowed back. "No, no, it is fine", was the response. I wasn't convinced. A few minutes later I was called over to pay for the boat tickets back. "Are you sure I'll be allowed back?" I asked again? "Yes, of course". So I paid for the tickets and went back to console the wife. But I still had a nagging doubt in my mind as I've experience officialdom in these parts before and I don't have complete confidence. I insisted the boat ticket sellers ring the Shenzhen customs and explain my visa situation. They did, and after getting some other people involved in the conversation sheepishly told me I wouldn't be allowed back in with my visa and offered me a refund.

But now there was a different problem; I was not officially allowed to get to Hong Kong from where we were. Well I wasn't prepared to spend a week in an airport with poorly Xixi so again I insisted that some sort of protocol needed to be broken or I would ensure that they would regret it. Eventually some higher-ranking airport official came to sort out the problem. After some sad goodbyes, Xixi and I left the rest of the family for a strange walk through the airport with our luggage, past bemused officials, and after going through passport control again were now officially in Hong Kong. The next step was to go to the airport doctor to get an official "Not fit to fly" certificate. Not only did the certificate cost 40 quid, we were also "advised" to buy some ointment for another tenner. Then we were told that once Xixi's spots had become crusty we could take her back to the doctor to inspect again and give her a "Fit to fly" certificate if all was ok. "Can I go to any doctor to do this?", "No, you must come back here". I had a nagging doubt again.

Our last port of call in the airport was to book a hotel. I just wanted something close for the time-being, and we found that there was a good discount on one of the hotels a few minutes from the airport, as business had not been so good recently - 60 quid for a night was not too bad. After a taxi to the (rather nice) hotel and a shower and poopoo (for Xixi), we went for a walk. It was funny seeing Indians standing at a table in a 7-11 drinking beer from a can. And we saw some white people too. But red was the colour I was interested in. I probably go on about it too much, but I'm still shocked about the quality/style of red wine produced in China when they have such great weather for grape growing. One day I expect them to be exporting some grands crus. One day. But Hong Kong had imports at a similar price to the UK. I got a couple of mini bottles for me, plus some nibbles for us to eat.

Xixi seemed very non-plussed about the whole experience. She took everything in her stride and was a delightful companion. Unfortunately Tan was uncontactable as her Chinese SIM card didn't work in Hong Kong, and she hadn't put her UK one in. That night, over a glass of wine after Xixi had gone to sleep, I hoped they had got on their 11pm flight ok, and wondered what the next few days had in store for us.