Three Weeks With My Brother(s): Part 8 (Hong Kong) (My 100th blog post!)

January 23, 2016

With a late morning appointment on the bullet train, we enjoyed a relaxed breakfast and checked out of our hotel.

How to transport twins on a motorbike in China

How to transport major appliances in China

 It was a fairly quick and uneventful drive to the train station, where we camped out on some seats against the wall to wait for our train.  We had plenty of time before boarding, so I held the seats while the guys went exploring.  The station had a few little shops, and when the guys came back, I went for a look.

Guilin Railway Station

 I found a package of dried fruit to buy for a friend, and went up to the counter.  Twenty yuan was sitting on the counter when I approached, and the proprietor was not there.  I waited a minute for her return, then gave her the item I wished to purchase.  She assumed the money on the counter was mine, and tried to give me change.  I used my best pantomime to indicate it was not my money, but apparently my best wasn't very good.  I kept trying to give her my own money.  At one point, she looked like she finally understood, but went to get a second package, thinking I must have wanted another.  More pantomiming and head shaking ensued.  I finally just shoved my money into her hand, took the change she was trying to give me before, and walked quickly toward the exit.  She is probably still wondering what that was all about!

The snack shop

Chinese version of queuing for the train

We finally boarded our train to Shenzhen a little after eleven.  The train was quite full, but I was happy to have an empty seat next to me, while the three guys took the seats across the aisle.  We were well into our trip, when an argument broke out a few seats ahead of me.  The "stewardess" was being adamant about something with an equally adamant passenger.  They kept pointing to the seat next to me and shouting.  Oh, dear.  Not speaking the language, I could only imagine what the problem was.  Maybe the guy didn't want to sit next to an American?  Eventually, the guy got up and came to sit beside me - yikes.  I tried to give him as much space as I could, and my travel companions caught my eye to ask if I was okay.  Needless to say it was an awkward situation.

At another stop, a woman got on and insisted that B's seat was actually her seat.  B and M were away from their seats, and P steadfastly defended them.  The woman was raising her voice, and the "stewardess" again got into the mix.  The guy sitting next to me threw in his two-cents worth, pointing to the seat from whence he came.  The woman finally went and sat in that seat.  I learned later that B really was in the wrong seat - his seat was actually the one next to me.  So where did Cranky Guy belong??

We all survived the journey without resorting to fisticuffs.  We were met at the train station by Mr. Lu, who would drive us from Shenzhen to Hong Kong.  He asked us to have our passports out, and checked whether we all had our departure forms.  I'd never gotten one when I arrived in China, and told him this.  He had forms for us to fill out for entry into Hong Kong.  Then we were on the road.  In China, the driver sits on the left side of the car, driving on the right, like in America.  But in this guy's van, the driver sat on the right.  I realized how strange it must be for people who commute back and forth, constantly changing which side of the road they should drive on!

It was a long drive to the border, and an even longer wait once we got there.  Lines of cars inched toward immigration, looking somewhat similar to driving into Canada.  As the drivers neared the checkpoint, they got out of their vehicles and opened the  trunks or hatches.  A guard pointed what looked like a laser gun at each of our heads (We figured this was either a camera taking our pictures, or a health check testing for fever).  We finally reached the checkpoint station, and the guy looked us all over, then looked over all the passports.  He saw that I didn't have the required departure form; apparently our driver had forgotten what I told him.  Luckily, our driver had a supply of extra forms available, and I quickly scrawled my information on it.  The driver and the security officer were chatting and laughing, so I assumed it wasn't a big deal, and it wasn't.  Switching to the left side of the road, our driver transported us toward our hotel.

Hong Kong reminded me of New York - lots of tall buildings and narrow streets - but it was much hillier.  Our driver maneuvered through the busy streets easily.  Once we had arrived at our destination, however, finding the front entrance to our Park Hotel was a challenge.  We could see the building and the sign facing the main street, but no vehicle entrance.  He tried circling around several blocks, once getting all the way up into a one-way alley, and then having to back the van all the way back down to the street.  Whew - glad I wasn't driving!  He finally asked a policeman who explained where the stealthy entrance could be found.  (I had always heard everyone speaks English in Hong Kong.  So I was surprised to hear them speaking in Chinese.  I guess Chinese is still the language of choice.)

At last we climbed out of the van and carried our bags into the "secret" lobby.  We were happily upgraded to suites, and took that as a good sign!  Our rooms each had a small sitting room with a half-bath off the entrance, and a big bedroom with a deluxe bathroom that had a shower and a tub.  A sign posted on the mirror asked us to close the door when using the shower, as the steam could set off the smoke alarm (!)  The room also had the best amenity I've seen this whole trip: a cell phone available for use during our stay, that allowed us to access the internet while we were out exploring the city.  It felt like we had just returned to civilization - not only could we now access Google and Facebook, which were unavailable in China, but we could use them on the go - brilliant!

view from our hotel room

Bob and I walked down the street to exchange some currency for Hong Kong dollars, then went back to the hotel to meet an old classmate of Bob's who lives in Hong Kong.  The friend was very friendly and chatty, and once M and P joined us in the lobby, the signing was too fast for me to keep up!

Bob's friend led us to a restaurant he thought we might enjoy, but it was too crowded or something, because we turned around and went back out into the street.  He offered, instead, "Hong Kong Fast Food," which was fine by us.  He ordered lots of delicious dishes, which we quickly gobbled up.  Then we hoofed it to the waterfront to enjoy a feast for our eyes, the Victoria Harbor light show, known as the Symphony of Lights.  This nightly laser lights and music show takes place on the walls and rooftops of several of tall buildings on both sides of the harbor.  It was very crowded when we arrived, so it was a bit hard to see, but what I could see was fascinating.  We were actually on the Kowloon side, looking across at Hong Kong island.  What a creative idea, to involve several buildings in this cooperative presentation.  I was very curious about the logistics of it all.

Google photos made this panorama from separate pictures - cool!

After the Symphony of Lights, more walking around the city.  We saw a huge cruise ship moored nearby, and an old light tower.   Bob's friend suggested a popular dessert place, and who were we to refuse?  We walked through a very posh shopping district, passing Gucci, Coach and Cartier, to name a few.  Nearby was an absolutely beautiful, glamorous building Bob's friend told us used to be the police station.  Police stations in Detroit never looked like that.  We soon arrived at the Dessert Kitchen, where a line of eager patrons snaked out the door.  The wait was not too long, and we were soon seated at one of the long tables.  The menu was quite different, to say the least, and I chose the Sweet Almond Soup, which looked safe.  Bob got something with fungus in it, and we asked his friend if this meant mushrooms.  He said it didn't, but couldn't really explain what it was.  More power to you, brother, for your adventurous nature!  My dessert was not bad - kind of like cream of chicken soup without the chicken, and sweeter.  When in Hong Kong...

posh police station!

Sweet Almond Soup from Dessert Kitchen
(staging by Bruce)

Back at the hotel, the guys decided to go out on the town, but I was "too pooped to participate."  There was a pillow waiting for me...zzz.