Bagpacking Travelogue: 09/01/2012

Guangzhou 广州

Coming from Shanghai, Felt Guangzhou a big difference.

First, it feels a little messy and not in order.

But anyway I heard such fantastic food and shopping story, I quickly put my bag down and went in search of good shopping.

First up!

Soup.

Second. Cheong Fun - I like it. But not as fantastic as I expected.

Ending off with my braised tou fu. Didn't expect it to be so spicy though haha.

After eating my fill, Off to shopping!

Shenzhen 深圳

Totally in love with Shenzhen.

Coming from Hongkong via train, its such a convenient to go shopping place after Hongkong.

For the subway, tap on the station you want to get to and it'll show you how much coins you need to give, then you'll get a plastic coin which allows you get in the station and out the station. One time.

* Its really much easier to just get a MRT Card and get it refund after your whole journey.

Awesome buys! Where can you find such beautiful shoes?

Totally my place!

Because Shenzhen is also where all the warehouses are

You have everything in huge stock

After shopping for half a day, its time for food! And frankly its good!

Then back to shopping again. Only got back late at night.

Thats how much shopping I did. I'll be back again soon! Specially for shoes :)

Border crossing from hongkong to shenzhen

I've always love crossing borders. Just have such a sense of excitement.

Remembered crossing the borders of Central America. Such adventure!

So here I am again. Crossing the border from Hongkong into China.

But this time in air-conditional places. Not desserts. Without heavily armed security guards.

And most importantly, no requiring a visa makes everything so much easier!

HONG KONG TO SHENZHEN VIA TRAIN

From Hong Kong Airport to Shenzhen, via Hong Kongs MTR (metro or subway if you like) you have to make 4 line changes before you get onto the East Rail Line which takes you to the Shenzhen/Hong Kong border at Lo Wu (called LuoHu on the Shenzhen side). And it will cost around 100 HKD.

If the train is going to Lo Wu (louhu on the Shenzhen side) and your’e going to Futian District of Shenzhen, get off the East Rail Line at Sheung Shui and wait for the train (on the same line) that heads to Lok Ma Chau.

The border crossing from Hong Kong into Shenzhen at Luohu is straightforward, it’s more or less two buildings on either side of the border connected via an enclosed bridge, for all purposes it feels like the same building.

After departing the train simply follow the signs, have a completed departure card and your passport ready to show the Hong Kong border officer as you officially leave HK, then walk more or less straight ahead for a few minutes to reach the China mainland border officers. Show your completed arrival card and passport.

Passing that point you’ll walk straight ahead and be in Luohu, where, if you are outside at ground level, you’ll see a large public square to one side of which will be Shenzhen Railway Station and to the other side Luohu Commercial City (the railway station is the longer of the two buildings) and two levels beneath you will be the Metro (aka subway). To catch a taxi, if you are at ground level, go down one level and kind of underneath the Luohu Commercial building you’ll find a large taxi rank.

When: The first train leaves East Tsim Sha Tsui at 5:28am and the last train at 11:05pm. From Lo Wu the first train leaves at 6:38am and last train at 12:30am. These times are subject to occasional changes; however, the general hours are correct.

How Long: The journey to Lo Wu takes just under an hour, after which you can expect 30mins to 40mins of border formalities before entering Shenzhen.

Prices: A single ticket costs HK$36.50

Off the Hongkong MTR , Time to queue

Look for the foreigners line

Macau

The day I went to Macau from Hongkong, customs was packed and I waited for close to 2 hours to clear the customs. Realized it was the mainland Chinese holiday. Totally packed.

And I did a ridiculous thing. In Macau, I tried to use my Hongkong Octopus card to board the bus. And I forgot to change money. I thought it was the same currency.

Now I know.

Anyway Macau people isn't really very friendly. So I figured my way around.

Reaching the port, Bus 3 to the tourism areas.

Senado Square (Largo do Senado)

The Senado Square is a paved area in the center of Macau enclosed by the buildings of the Leal Senado, the General Post Office, and St. Dominic’s Church. The square is paved in the traditional Portuguese pavement. The main road of Macau's historic centre, Avenida de Almeida Ribeiro passes through the square. The square is part of the UNESCO World Heritage Site "Historic Centre of Macau".

This is a place to be visited with your spouse because it gives off such a spanish feel. Totally romantic.

Egg tarts which I did not like.

My fav food there. 'Steamboat' with curry sauce. Delicious!

Cheong Fun - the simple way.

And the fast selling BBQ Pork and chicken and beef, which was really addictive.

Tau Huay. Water with lots of sugar.

Pork Bun. Which was nice!

Everyone was recommending this fresh milk dessert. The taste was too strong for me.

Ruins of St. Paul's.Built from 1582 to 1602 by the Jesuits, the cathedral was the largest Catholic church in Asia at the time, and the royalty of Europe vied with each other to bestow upon the cathedral the best gifts. With the decline in importance of Macau, which was overtaken as the main port for the Pearl River Delta by Hong Kong, the cathedral's fortunes similarly ebbed, and it was destroyed by a fire during a typhoon in 1835.