Two hours by bus from Huilai brought us to the huge city of Shenzhen just north of the “border” with Hong Kong. Although the latter has now been reunited with China for many years, for immigration purposes Hong Kong (and nearby Macau) are still treated by the Chinese authorities as separate jurisdictions where passport stamping and visa requirements must be observed when crossing the line.Shenzhen is a major manufacturing and commercial centre and one of China’s most prosperous cities. Some claim the place to be a soulless spot where the only mantra these days is making money. We spent two nights in the city centre and found it to be a happy, bustling place bursting with shops and goods. Think Shenzhen – think shopping.
On Saturday morning we caught Shenzhen subway Line 1 to the Luo Hu border crossing with Hong Kong and after completing the immigration formalities we crossed the line, and just ahead at the Lo Wu station we boarded the Hong Kong MTR (metro) that very conveniently has a line extending all the way to the Shenzhen crossing. 20 or so stops later, with two line changes along the way, we had whizzed down the length of Kowloon on the mainland, zoomed under the sea, and popped up on Hong Kong Island at the Quarry Bay metro station just a short walk from the apartment where Lee Tuan’s cousin and her husband live. They are both Hong Kong based architects currently working on various projects in Hong Kong and Beijing. We stayed at their apartment for three nights, spending the days whizzing about on the MTR to see different sights around this great city.
On Sunday we caught the MTR to Central where we boarded a ferry to Lamma, one of Hong Kong’s several smaller outlying islands. There is a nice beach here that was being used by many locals and overseas visitors to frolic in the water and momentarily escape the oppressive humidity. We walked the full length of the island, climbing up over the high lookout in the centre where there were good views of the surrounding ocean and shipping. Near the end of the walk we passed the Kamikaze Grottoes, a series of sea caves that apparently were going to be used by the Japanese in the dying days of World War 2 as bases from which to launch surprise suicide speedboat attacks on allied ships. But fortunately the war ended before the first speedboat could be packed with explosives and sent hurtling out with deadly intent from its grotto mooring. We didn’t have to walk back across the island – there was a ferry dock at both ends, so we were able to board a ferry directly for the hour-long return journey to Hong Kong.
On Monday we rode on the Peak Tram, the historical funicular railway that rises steeply to Victoria Peak overlooking Hong Kong Island’s high-rise commercial and residential districts, and across the water to Kowloon. This must surely be one of the world’s greatest city views. We ended a very pleasant day with dinner at an Italian restaurant in Soho, an atmospheric restaurant neighbourhood and popular meeting and dining spot for expatriates.
There are several ways to leave Hong Kong. One option is by sea - we did that on Tuesday morning when we took a Jetfoil across the bay to the former Portuguese colony of Macau, just one hour away. Last year we visited the excellent World Heritage listed old town centre of Macau – this time we stayed on Taipa Island for two nights, close to several new casinos. We don’t gamble but found it interesting anyway to stroll through these almost unreal establishments and observe all the activities going on within. We spent some time at the multi-billion dollar Venetian, a huge, opulent development modeled on, no surprise, a Venetian theme. In fact it seemed bigger than Venice itself, and with none of the decay (or authenticity either for that matter). But it was hard not to be impressed by the scale and gleaming newness of the place and the hundreds of shiny boutiques and restaurants above and around the huge gaming floor. I wouldn’t be surprised if the cash-flow from the shops exceeds that from the games of chance. Lee Tuan contributed a little to the former on Wednesday when she went hunting for some replacement clothing and I was taken along as a junior fashion advisor of sorts. Given that our joint shopping trips normally end with some tension in the air (due largely to my impatience and dislike of shopping), this was a gamble in itself. But all ended well; she found just what she was looking for and when the advertised Final End of Season 70% Discount was applied, even I had to admit the price wasn't too preposterous.
