Shenzhen in a day and night

The 3^rd day in Hong Kong we woke up early, had our breakfast and started packing for the trip up to Shenzhen. From where we stayed it was a short walk to Causeway Bay MTR station. The rain was packed but the 12 of us manage to squeeze in with our heavy luggage. Our next stop was 2 stations away and we stop at Admiralty and swap train on another line to Tsim Sha Tsui station which was also 2 stops away. Here we have to lug our luggage and walk a distance to EastTsim Sha Tsui station. This line passes through New Territories to the border of China.

We just miss the earlier train and waited for the next train. Every 15 minutes there is a train. The train we caught was surprisingly empty. As the train moved in New Territories, the landscape changes. It was green and still undeveloped. Every now and then you see a few old houses and farm.

We stopped at Sheung Shui Station and walked to the immigration. There were not many of us on this train. Since we were foreigners, we have to fill up the immigration form and health declaration. We queue up to collect the form and began filling up the forms when the next train arrived.

Suddenly the immigration station was filled with horde of rushing passengers rushing to clear the immigration. In between the span of 10 minutes 2 trains arrived. Most of these were passengers from mainland China returning home. They just push through their way through ignoring the queue up sign and nearly took us with them through the rush. We were alarmed. Clearly the health officers saw us filling up forms in the corner were concerned. They came out to make sure we were not trampled by the unruly crowd. It was frightening experience.

We waited for the queue to clear and before the next train to arrive before we cleared immigration and custom.

Outside our mini bus driver was waiting for us. He led us through overhead bridges to where he parked. He arrived early but was chased off by the police, thus he has to park further away.
My first impression the place was dirty and not properly maintained. Even some local were having problems looking for the station.

It took us a while to clear the traffic before we reached the hotel.

Our hotel looked impressive as we arrived. It was rated 4 stars. After registering and receiving our keys to the rooms, we were met with disappointment. The carpet was stained with mark, cigarette burns and the room smelled of smoke. Closer investigation, we found the long bath was not properly scrubbed, shower leaking and bad plumbing system.

Shenzhen is one busy city and in a rush to catch up the modern world. While in a rush to progress, it fails to pay close to finer details. It failed to learn from the mistakes other makes. On closer look the quality and workmanship were bad.

We walked around looking for lunch and found a place to eat. It was not the best and food was passable and was quite expensive. For the price we paid we could have better quality food over here.

We caught up with my wife’s cousin in the evening, who lived in Shenzhen and we had dinner at one of the restaurant nearby the hotel. Before we ordered any food we make sure we checked and agreed on the prices. It was known unsuspecting foreign customers were fleeced with a large and inflated bill.

After the dinner, we went to the cousin’s place. It was about half an hour drive out of the city. Along the way we saw the bridge linking to Hong Kong. It was funded by Li Ka-Shing. The cousin lived in one of the new housing estate built by Li Ka-Shing. It was a well planned estate following the concept of Singapore. We were all impressed by the planning and quality of the estate. Three years ago, the apartment was about a million Yuan. Today it is 3 million Yuan.

Shenzhen is busy city. It is filled with migrant workers from all over China to make a quick buck. It is still not orderly unlike their neighbour Hong Kong. It want to be first class but unfortunately it still have 3^rd class mentality. Drivers toot their horns discriminately. They are the king of the road. Stepping into pedestrian crossing does not ensure one a safe crossing. It is like dipping your toe into shark infested water. As soon as you put your foot onto the crossing, cars appears from nowhere with their horns blasting at you. Cross at your own peril.

One day and one night at Shenzhen is enough for me.