So close...

The other day we decided to go out and have a nice family lunch so we all got in the car and we drove to a nearby complex with an underground parking garage and lots of shops and restaurants. After some initial frustration driving around in the parking area, one of the guards jogged ahead of us and directed us to a space.
After maneuvering the car into the available area, Michael took Tovina in hand, we located the closest stairway, and up we went. As we neared the top we admired the sun shining in the clean, glass walled enclosure.
And then we tried the door...
which was locked..
because, really, why would anyone want to leave the parking area through a door marked 'exit'?

Michael panicked...


but Tovina kept her cool and she suggested going back down and looking for another way out.

While the temptation to break the door lock was great, we decided to follow Tovina's advice and eventually ended up at a lovely Japanese restaurant where we had our own private-ish spot where we took off our shoes so we could sit cross legged on the raised wooden floor and Tovina was able to crawl around and bang on the floor and shake the wall hangings and only minimally annoy the rest of the customers.

As a final note, having doors randomly locked is something we run into everywhere in China. We like to think that there is some method to this madness but thus far we have not been able to determine what it might be.