Shenzhen

Shenzhen is not what I expected it to be. From the rather daunting pieces of random cautionary advice given by D's Shenzhen-based project mates, I thought it would be more of a cowboy town, like Tijuana or Johore Baru. You know, those towns that seem to thrive only by the grace of a much more cosmopolitan and expensive city nearby. The place to get cheap beers and a decent meal at halfway decent prices. Shenzhen however is so very much a city alive. While it's topography is very similar to that of Hong Kong, but without being surrounded by water, it has its own charm, and quite unique from Beijing or Shanghai.

We arrived at the airport very late at night on Friday, and at the hotel very very early on Saturday morning. I hate arriving at night because I prefer to get my bearings when I first arrive. We slept a bit and woke up again at a more decent hour (noon...heh) to grab a bite to eat before wandering about. D had the weekend off...yay! Emerging from the hotel, armed with a trusty map, we looked for a coffee shop. We found one round the corner from the hotel that serves THE BEST French toast. Fluffy crustless egg drenched triangles with a thin layer of tahini in the middle. We had Blue Mountain coffee on Saturday and Hawaiian Kuona yesterday. What can I say, we really like the French toast.

After breakfast, we hopped into a taxi and pointed to the Shenzhen Fairy Lake Botanical Garden. We wanted to see the famous petrified forest and the Paleontological Museum. Of course once we got there all the maps of the 8000 mu park were only in Chinese. We find that unlike Shanghai and Beijing, tourist spots in Shenzhen mainly cater for Chinese tourists. We finally managed to get to the museum by hopping on a bus and another open air tram at the Hongfa Buddhism temple. After exploring the museum and cooling ourselves down with a nice cold drink in the petrified forest, we found our way back to the entrance of the park and found a cab to take us to Dapeng Ancient Village, which is 45 minutes away.

Dapeng is located in the eastern part of Shenzhen and is said to have been built during the Ming Dynasty to fight against the Japanese invaders. The village is surrounded by a wall, and you enter through a rather imposing imperial like gate. Once you enter, you find yourself in what can only be said to be a rather dilapidated housing area. We walked along the little alleys, looking into people's houses, wondering how they lived in such conditions. Mind you, this was not a recreation. Trash was just left laying about, and you could smell the lack of proper sanitation. After a nice stroll, wandering into several residences that had been remodeled in a museum-like way, and throwing oranges into a wish tree (D found this to be the second most enjoyable part of the day), we decided to call it a day. We had not counted on there being no cabs in such a remote area. After unsuccessfully trying to flag a cab/hitch a ride on the main road, we were approached by a man who kept pointing towards the direction we wanted to go and to the back of his motorcycle. We kept repeating the words "taxi". He kept on nodding and finally we figured he wanted to give us a ride. As we were up sh*t creek anyway, we both hopped on the motorbike and whizzed down the highway..helmetless and destination unknown. After 5 minutes, we found ourselves in a larger village, at the bus station. We were so touched by his kindness, especially when he refused payment and D had to practically shove cash into his pocket (This dangerous motobike ride was by far D's favourite part of the day...what can I say, he is just a boy). We took a taxi back to the hotel, freshened up, and met up with J at the Hilton Bar for a few G&Ts on the 56th floor.

On Sunday, after our French toast, we took a taxi to Minsk World. The Minsk is an anti-submarine and anti-aircraft USSR aircraft carrier which has been refurbished to become a sort of theme park. It is said to be the "first large military park of the world combining the functions of sight seeing, recreation and popular science and national defence education together". We just wanted to go because it provided us an opportunity to stand on the decks of an aircraft carrier. We found the Russian dancers performing on stage in the middle of the plane "garage" quite funny, but the Chinese "soldiers" in camouflage tight trousers and halter neck shirts doing "military maneuvers" in ballet slippers had us rolling on the floor. The size of the ship, the 48 missiles primed and ready for action, the armoury next to the recreation room...now that was nothing to laugh about.

After sweating half a day on the Minsk, I persuaded D to get a haircut with me, Thai style, at the hotel. This means that instead of sitting in chairs, we lie down on a special modified beds which have a sink at one end. Our heads are suspended on padded head supports while our hair is being washed. After the hair/head massage, the shampoo girl then proceeds to massage our arms and hands, and our shoulders. Once that is done, only then are we moved to the chairs to get our hair cut. All this for RMB60 each.

We had roast goose for dinner. A perfect end to a great weekend.