The Saga Continues

After nature, mountains, rivers and small villages we headed back to the big cities. We humped on the train back to Shenzhen. Once there, Ben parted with us. He wanted to spend some time with his friend Eric before heading back home a day or two later. So Isabelle and I headed to Hong Kong. From the train station, there was a sign Hong Kong that way. We followed it thinking that it would lead to some bus terminal or something. Walked a bit more and then a visa gate followed by a security check and before we knew it, we were already there. We knew Shenzhen was close to Hong Kong but never thought that it was that close, not walking distance. Of course we had to take a city train to get to downtown but still, we just couldn’t believe that it was so close.

Downtown Hong Kong was a bit of shock. There were so many people, dense crowds, narrow streets and it was much more cosmopolitan than anywhere else in China. At every 2 steps there was Indian guy nagging you to sell you watches and stuff in the streets. Another big shock was the size of our hostel room. It was minuscule, less than 2 square meter of “free” space. The rest was entirely taken by the bed and the bathroom/shower which was nothing more than a showerhead over a sink and a toilet. Of course the bed was rock hard and the sheets paper thin. Well at least it wasn’t too expensive, very well located and only for 2 nights.

We didn’t have much time before our next train to Shanghai so we basically walked around town. I was pleased to see all the streets’ sides filled with neon lit signs in big Chinese characters. That was something I wanted to see since I got in China but there aren’t that many of those in Beijing. During the days in was just another big city but at night it took a whole new look. Across the bay, laid a massive wall of skyscrapers, all lit with huge publicity billboards and corporate logos. Much more commercial and developed than any place I had been. It dwarfed even New York City. It was Time Square everywhere...

The next day, we took the ferry and went on Hong Kong Island. It was even more developed than the mainland portion of the city. It really was a vertical city with extensive networks of pedestrian over paths. The streets were narrow and the tramways were funny looking thin double deckers. We took it for a ride not really knowing where we were going but it was a fun and quick way to visit. We got off at the far end of it where we found a typical Chinese food market. That’s when I realised that we were still in China but up until then it didn’t feel that way at all. We could see the usual hanging organs, cut open fish with their hart still beating, live toads getting picked up from a bag full of them then decapitated hacked up and sold. All good stuff...

That night we took the famous Peak Tram to the top of a mountain overlooking the city. For me, that was the single thing that I unconditionally wanted to see in Hong Kong, this breathtaking view of the metropolis. That was it; we were in Hong Kong with that amazing view.

After only about 50 hours in town, we jumped on another overnight train to another major city, Shanghai. I would say that our experience there was somewhat similar to our previous stop but slightly smaller scale. At least in terms of development because size and population wise Shanghai is two or three times the size of Hong Kong. There too there was a Quebecois to welcome us, my friend Patrick. We all went for a drink in the French quarters. The architecture in that neighbourhood was more European like. So much so that many streets felt like old Montreal or maybe even Europe. There was also a brand new development made to look like old Chinese architecture. It was pretty and all but so touristy and obviously new that it took away from its charm.

There too we only spent 2 nights before heading out and that time back to Beijing. That time, however, for the first time we couldn’t get beds so we had to rough it up on seats. Even though they were called “soft seats” it still was a rather sleepless and uncomfortable 12 hour train ride.

Isabelle left after a few more days spent visiting Beijing and some of its main attractions. We had a nice party on her last night and she left early the next morning, or should I say that same night… Then it was just me, home alone once again after almost 1 month constantly surrounded by Quebecois Friends and travelling around. My apartment felt a bit empty for a day or two but now it’s ok. I’m waiting for the next visitors for whom that might interest…