Hong Kong to Shenzhen

We were unable to obtain a visa for China in Kuala Lumpur so we spent our time there eating! One of the best things about Kuala Lumpur is the variety of great restaurants. We indulged in sushi every day and a mix of lebanese, mexican, chinese and the occasional big mac :). It was great after three weeks of chicken and fish on Mabul.

We decided to fly to Hong Kong in our last effort to obtain a visa for China. We arrived in the evening and it was hard not to be overwhelmed by the skyline, the massive skyscrapers seeming to reach above the clouds. Hong Kong actually has the worlds greatest number of skyscrapers (7,500+). We took a taxi to our hotel in Kowloon and then ventured out to Wan Chai to meet up with our friend Josh (who lives in Shenzhen). It was a great night out and we had brunch the next day at a nice spot with everything from pancakes and eggs to biscuits and gravy. We explored the city, went to a few markets (including the famous jade market) and within 2 days we had our China visa, easy processing simply by paying a bit more to a visa service.

Although we had a paid hotel room for the night, we left for mainland China as soon as we received our visa (which is a short 40 minute train ride away). Typhoon Hugapit was hitting Hong Kong so we decided leave before transportation to Shenzhen shut down. All flights and ferry services, along with schools and offices were being shut down for the category 8 typhoon coming in. We arrived in Shenzhen and met our friend Josh outside of customs. The strong winds could push you in any direction and it was hard to just stand in one place. Josh lives on the 26th floor of an apartment complex and it was strange to feel the wind push against the building, making it sway.

We haven't done much in Shenzhen (besides shopping!!), the city is more of a business center than a place for tourism. It's hard to believe that this massive city was a just a small fishing village 15 years ago. With it's close proximity to Hong Kong it is now one of the fastest growing cities in the world (pop 10 million and growing...).

To be honest, it's just been nice to relax at our friend's apartment. We've been going to the grocery store and eating home-cooked meals which is a nice change. We also celebrated our 1 year anniversary of travel last week, it's hard to believe that we've been away for an entire year and also that we have just a little over 2 months left!

We're headed to Yangshuo and Guilin soon, a part of China we've been wanting to travel for a long time. More to come.