While planning our family trip to Tokyo, Japan I noticed that our flight would have a layover in Guangzhou, China. I suggested to my husband that we should extend our holiday and visit the place before returning home, and he agreed. As we flew into Guangzhou, I eagerly looked out my window to see what was in store for us, but to my dismay, the place seemed dilapidated and run down compared to Japan.
With my young son and daughter, as well as my 72-year-old father accompanying us on the holiday, I began to wonder if it was the right place to take them. Despite my trepidation, I was determined to discover what Guangzhou had to offer. We stayed in the bustling district of Tianhe, the centre of the city.
After checking in to the hotel, we went out to look for food. We found ourselves sharing the pedestrian walkways with not only people but also electric motorcycles that would appear silently out of nowhere, honking to make their presence known. We went into a restaurant and with the help of Google Translate we managed to order two huge bowls of noodles and an even bigger bowl of meat.
We enjoyed them thoroughly. In the morning, we headed to the Tianhe Sports Complex subway station, where we had the option of buying unlimited day passes (children under six years old travel for free). There were security checks at each entrance, but the officers were helpful, despite the language barrier.
Our first stop was Yuexiu Park. It was raining but we still went on a paddle boat ride on the .
