Shenzhen

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Hey Everyone,

Well I finally made it to China. I mean real People's Republic of China not Hong Kong quasi China. I tried about two weeks ago and was turned away at the border because I had the wrong visa. We had taken the train up to the border and then I left my cohort there and returned to HK where I went up to Victoria Peak, but that's a different story. So for this trip, I left my hotel yesterday morning on the DB02R bus that takes me to Hong Kong Int'l airport. Having done a bit of research I found a "limo" service that takes the road route to Shenzhen and feeling like a new view, I decided to take it. That cost was considerably higher than the train as one may expect HKD 45 vs HKD 160 but there was no train transfers, no overcrowded cars and the port of entry was much less crowded which made customs much quicker. The downside is that because the port of entry is much less busy, there are few services for tourists. I made my way through customs into China. At this point I would like to say that the cell phone service providers are really quite impressive. There is a hallway that leads over the Wo To River, one side is China PRC, the other is HK SAR and my phone works on one side, not on the other. How they do it, I have absolutely no idea! Anyway I had no phone, no data, no map. I thought I would be able to get a map at the border, but again this was not a big POE so they had no tourist services. There was a large bus station across another pedestrian bridge, but again, no map. I walked around for a bit feeling completely overwhelmed, I found a tour shop and asked for directions to the Lu Wo train station which should have been about a 10 minute ride away if I knew how to get there. They didn't speak ANY English other than what I later came to realize was the word "Taxi." Thankfully for me, the Captain on our plane Russ, bought a sim card for his US phone when we got to HK so he could use it before we got our HK phones. Thinking I could turn my HK phone into a Chinese phone with the same act I found a small electronics shop and successfully got a 1G Chinese data sim card installed in my phone for $100RNB. Aah. I had a map. Google is blocked in PRC but Apple Maps is still allowed. I pulled up the LuWo station and got in a cab. Using Bing Translator I typed "Can I please go to the LuWo Train Station" I showed the driver, he smiled and we were on our way. I looked up the place we were going on Trip Advisor and then back to the map to see how our progress was. Much to my surprise we were going completely the wrong way. Afraid I was being taken as a fool, I alerted the driver and he pulled over. After about a 10 minute discussion, both of us using our phones as translators we figured out the problem. I had used Mandarin and he was Cantonese (foolish I know) but the translation was a bit different so he was taking me to the North Wo station not the LuWo station. We were almost there and I didn't want to pay all that money to go back to Shenzhen so I just agreed to go to North station and take the subway back to where I wanted to be. 48 RNB for the cab ride and then I was off on my next adventure.

The trains are clean, frequent, cool and very overcrowded. Nothing is written in English, which is fine, I understand I was in China. To get a single ride ticket, the system is all automated. I found a ticket machine and stood to the side for a few minutes to try to figure out how it worked. Thinking I had an understanding of where I was going and how the system worked I got in line. The lines move quickly and build up quickly behind you so the pressure is on to have it figured out. I thought it was supposed to cost 5 RNB to get from point A to point B. I had to take the #4 line (red) from North station down to the Convention center and transfer to the #1 (green) line and then take that to the final stop at LuHou (LuWo is the HK side). Thankfully it was the last stop as this made it much easier to pick on the screen. Ok, my turn. The computer knows where I am which was helpful so I press the green "#1" button and count stations from the indicated "red" transfer station. I knew it was five stops so I counted five stops, it was the end of the line, so I was good. I touched that part of the screen, put in my 10 RNB and got five change and a green plastic type of coin. "Now what?" I have no idea so again I watch people and try to do what they do. I'm not sure which direction to go but there seems to be only one way in. I go in, put my bag on the security belt and walk through. A guard starts directing me to go back but I don't know why. I try to grab my bag and head back, but he stops my hand and starts forcefully telling me to turn around. Of course this is all through Chinese and body language and I don't understand a word he is saying. I can feel that I am getting flush as everyone is looking at me and I am really the only light skinned person there. I turn around and another guard is walking toward me. I had a hat on, and therefore the infrared cameras could not take my temperature as I walked into the train area. Everyone's temp is taken with an infrared camera before they are allowed down to the trains. This is the way they stop the spread of disease such as SARS which hit the area so bad. They took my temperature with a laser and I was good to go, but sweating profusely. Down to the trains I found which direction to go and then hopped in the car. I thought the train was crowded, but I had no idea what was in store. By the time I was getting downtown I felt like a packed sardine. Ha! That was nothing. LuHou is a main shopping district and when I transferred to the green line, I learned the meaning of a crowded train car. A few minutes later I was where I wanted to be. It was 11:00. It had taken me almost four hours to get from my hotel to LuHou.

Coming up to the surface I was approached by numerous men peddling everything you can peddle. Car services, copy watches, handbags, etc. I found one guy who wasn't as pushy and a bit younger. He just seemed "safe" which I realize is ridiculous, but what can I say? I asked him if he had Ray Ban or Oakley glasses, he smiled and said he had everything so I went with him. 10 minutes later we were in a mall of sorts although nothing like the mall you are picturing in your head unless you have been outside of the US. The shops were tiny and there were hundreds of them! "Tom" lead me to a sun glass store, but they didn't have what I was looking for. I stepped outside and I think Tom was bummed as I'm assuming he works on some sort of commission. I pointed to the Ray Ban glasses I had with me and said I wanted these. Just down the hall we stopped into another store and hit the jackpot. Oakleys, Ray Bans, Etc where all there. I bought six pairs of sun glasses, five as gifts and one for me. I walked out paying $600 RNB ($100 USD) for $800 USD worth of sun glasses. The prices started at $1400RNB but I had done some research and I knew what I should be paying for them. I named my price and then stuck to it. The girl pouted and few times and it almost worked, she was a cutie but I'm sure that's why she was there. She was just the pretty face to get people to pay more. Finally she walked out to the guy in the hall who had been glaring at me and asked him if she could make the deal for $600. He said ok and looked at me like he wanted to rip my head off. It's all good though, I had Tom looking out for me!

We left the sun glass store and Tom asked me if I wanted to meet his sister. Uh oh, how do I politely decline that invitation. Well, it turns out his sister had a watch shop and that is all he was talking about. I did have a Breitling watch on my list so I asked if she had any. She brought out a catalog full of ALL of the fine brands of watches. I asked which ones she had, and she said "all them." After I picked my jaw up off the floor I looked through to find the Breitling section. I was disappointed to find out that she did not have the Breitling I wanted but she assured me she had "all other" watches in the magazine. The watch was for a friend and I would have been happy to find a replacement but not knowing someone's style is difficult when getting ready for spend a few hundred dollars on a watch. By the time I realized she didn't have the watch I wanted, there were about 100 watches on the table and my but was getting sore from sitting on a plastic five gallon bucket. At that point it was about 1:30 and my stomach was screaming at everyone within a earshot. She laid out a very nice Jeager LeCoultre watch with a black leather band. I really did like the watch enough to buy, but I had to know the price. $2500 RNB is what she wanted for it! I felt like I was so far away from what I wanted to pay (No more than 800RNB) that it wasn't even worth bartering. Unfortunately she was waaay to good to let me walk out of the store without at least starting to bargain. I said 800 and now it was her turn to almost choke. "no way, I loose money" Long story short, $1200 RNB later I walked out with a beautiful watch. Tom showed me to a restaurant and we parted ways. I gave him a $20 RNB tip and he was off to find his next target.

I ordered a chicken, steamed green stuff, rice dish and a bowl of won ton soup. About 10 minutes after finishing lunch, I had a stark realization. I had been told to stay away from beef and chicken in PRC and I had just eaten quite a large amount of chicken. For the next couple of hours I was in a decent amount of pain as my stomach attended a rock concert and participated in the mosh pit! I'm pretty sure it turned inside out at one point. I did not purge of my lunch, but I sure didn't feel well. I headed back to the train station and got on the green line to OCT which was easy as there was no transfers, however, buying the ticket was a bit of a hassle since it wasn't at the end of the line. I had to count the number of stops but luckily it was 4RNB for the few stops before and after OCT so I figured if I was a stop or two off, it wouldn't be a problem. OCT is a Chinese Heritage Theme Park that is similar to Epcot but instead of having little countries, it has little regions of China. I walked around for an hour or so, but my stomach was still killing me and I figured I better start making the journey home. The bathrooms in China are essentially pit toilets and you have to have your own TP. They are certainly something I had not seen before and they smelled aweful!

Same type of journey home as it took to get there and I was back in Discovery Bay at about 8pm where I met one of the pilots for dinner. Bed at 10 ish and I was out like a light!

Fantastic day for sure.

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Comments

[Dania]

You are my hero
Wow. Love reading about your adventures, Ian.

[Z]

You're alive!!!
Man buddy, I was thinking some bad mu-shu pork had gotten you since you haven't posted in a while. Glad to hear you're alive and still adventuring. :) Were those legit Oakleys or fakes? Do they have Maui Jim's?

[Teddy Roosevelt in HK]

Hey Z! I am alive and well :) Glasses were sold as "copies" but I'm not sure if they actually are. There are conflicting reports and they are so nice, I don't really care one way or the other. They are such good copies that it is really impossible to tell. They come in the correct case, they are polarized, they are made really well. Yes, they have Maui Jims. They have everything! I am not sure if I will get a chance to make it back there or not. I have about 2 1/2 weeks left and most of that will be flying. Later buddy!