HK -> Macau -> HK -> China!!

HK -> Macau -> HK -> China!!

Guangzhou, China, Asia

I got up this morning at 8am and packed up all my stuff. That’s the worst part about staying in a dorm is that if you’re not packed up the night before, you have to try to be ultra-quiet so you don’t wake up everyone else in the room while you’re packing. I think I did a pretty decent job, but the rest of the guys might not agree. I left my big bag at the hostel and checked out so I could go explore for the day.

I went straight to the Chinese embassy and picked up my passport at about 9:15am. I made sure to triple check the visa to make sure it is exactly what I need and it’s all right. So I really have two 1-month visas, I just have to leave the country and come back to start the second one. That should work perfectly for me, because now I will have a chance to go to South Korea. I would not be allowed to stay in China until I fly home anyway, so it’s a good excuse to get over to SK to see my cousin Crystal and meet her husband and baby.

I decided that since it all went so smoothly with the visa, I should go to Macau for the day. I hopped on the metro and got to the Sheung Wan stop where the HK-Macau Ferry Terminal is. I got a round trip ticket on the high speed ferry for $280HK ($35US), and I was pretty happy with that. I hopped on the ferry and I was off to see another country! We got there at about 11am and I had a little walk around the center of Macau. It looks just like a big city, with some oddly shaped buildings.

I found out where the Hard Rock Hotel was (of course!) and got a free bus over to that island where most of the casinos are. It was just like being in Vegas, but while it’s still being built. There was the Hard Rock Hotel, Venetian, MGM, Hyatt, it was a little weird. I went into the Hard Rock Hotel only to find out that there isn’t actually a Hard Rock Cafe there! I was devastated. They had a Rock Bar where they served food, so I got a burger there, but it just wasn’t the same. It turns out they’re building the HRC now and it’ll be done in about a year. I walked around the casino area for about an hour and then got on the Lucky Express bus back to the ferry Terminal on Macau Island.

I got the 3pm ferry back, and it was just as good as the one coming over. There really nice big catamarans and it only takes one hour to get across. I got back into HK at 4pm, headed back across the harbor to Kowloon and got to my hostel by about 4:30pm. Unfortunately, I couldn’t get into my hostel. The outside door was locked and no one was coming when I rang the doorbell. I was trying to decide what I could do if no one ever came, should I just leave without my bag, or try to find someone in the chaos downstairs who might have a key, but luckily at about 4:45pm a guy opened the door. I think my incessant doorbell ringing must have woken him from his precious beauty sleep.

I grabbed my bag and got the heck out of that hostel as soon as possible, no need to hang around that place any longer than I needed to. I got the metro over to Hung Hom Station and joined the long queue for people boarding my train to Guangzhou. It seemed pretty unorganized, but I think I’m still comparing things to how they’d be done in the States or UK, and this is just a whole other animal. I got through immigration no problem, and there didn’t even appear to be a customs check. We got through all the craziness so we could wait in yet another waiting room.

We finally boarded the train at 6:20pm and it was a mad rush like I’ve never seen before. It was as if everyone thought the train was going to leave without them, and maybe it does for all I know. It was the first time I noticed that my size is probably going to help me travel through China in some cases. People were trying to barge through and cut everyone in line, but they weren’t moving me. The funny thing was I was getting dirty looks when they couldn’t push me out of the way to get to the front of the queue. It really is a different world! I got on the train no problem though and got my assigned seat, which was very comfortable. I hope all the trains through China are like this. It has big seats and tons of room above the seats that even fit my big backpack. Uber impressed!

I filled out the arrival card on the train, and getting off in Guangzhou was just like flying into an airport. You were escorted off the plane straight into immigration, and then through customs, before coming out into the arrivals hall. Immigration couldn’t have been easier for me because there was a single line for “Visitors”, the rest were all for Chinese people, but I was the first one in line of the foreigners. The pain-in-the-ass visa I got worked its magic, and BAM, I finally made it to China! I worked my way through all the hotel touts and taxi drivers to find the metro station, that was just next door to the train station. Guangzhou is such a big city that luckily almost everything is in English as well as Chinese. I knew which metro stop I needed to get off at so I managed to get my token from a machine and arrived at Fangcun station about 25 minutes later.

I had directions from the hostel so I had an idea of where I was going. The email said it was about a ten minute walk, and they were spot on. It was also nice that it isn’t that hot in Guangzhou. Carrying around such a big bag can be a real pain if it’s hot and humid. I found the YHA hostel and checked in at 9pm to find one of my roommates already fast asleep. That makes it difficult because as crap as it is to have to pack everything up when someone is sleeping, it’s just as poor to get yourself situated in a new room without turning any lights on. I managed to find what I needed with the light from the bathroom and took a much needed shower. Tomorrow morning I have to get up first thing and get to the other Guangzhou train station to buy a ticket to Guilin. Hopefully there is still availability on the sleeper train…

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