Beginning of the journey - The Peak, Hong Kong
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Note: If you can't be bothered reading all the information about the journey
to Shenzhen at the beginning of this article, go to the juicy sections
below, starting at the Safari Park.
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9:00am, November 2005.
We were standing on Hong Kong's peak
and the sun was shining. From our vantage point the view stretched over
the mid levels, then Central, onto Kowloon, sweeping to the hills in the
distance. Over that, the New Territories and further still, our destination
we were to travel to later that day, Shenzhen, China.
Only around 1 hour by train (KCR 73HKD First Class One Way), Shenzhen is a huge city that has grown from almost nothing 20 years ago to a huge modern hub of gleaming skyscrapers and economic activity. Little did I know, the experiences would be some of the most bizarre I've experienced. Well, I suppose, China usually is an experience, so no surprise there.
Tales from Shenzhen spun round my mind as we took the Peak Tram back down to Garden Road in Central (return journey HKD30). Tales of western and Hong Kong businessmen being robbed by Chinese gangs, markets full of fake goods, the police presence and the phenomenal economic growth were in my thoughts.
From Garden Road we had a leisurely stroll through Hong Kong Park, past the Terrapins and Carp, and then took some obligatory photo's standing under the waterfall. We continued past the sheriff court, through the shopping Mecca of Pacific Place in Admiralty to see all the designer shops, stocking Jewelry so expensive, they don't warrant price tags. Price on application my dear man.
View to China
The Journey to Shenzhen through Lo Wu, China
Later that day our journey began at the Kowloon KCR (Kowloon Canton Railway) terminal in Tsim Tsa Tsui (TST), destination Lo Wu on the Hong Kong / China border. (KCR Map). We got some first class tickets as guided by the 'Man with Drill', Mark Fraser. He explained it was no brainer as the 'Cattle' class cabin (second class) was normally pretty crowded with a lack of seats, especially during rush hour when Hong Kong workers are returning to their homes in the New Territories. The first class cabin was very nice and reminded me of the Airport Express. Ah lovely, apart from the freezing air conditioning. Bring a jumper.
Upon arriving at Lo Wu, there was a brief walk to immigration control.
Chinese Visa for Shenzhen
Prior to traveling, ensure that you have a valid Chinese visa. You can get them from most travel agents in Hong Kong, which roughly take 3 days, although you can get them fast tracked for an extra payment. A one-visit visa cost HKD500 (around 65 USD or £40). You can also get a double entry visa HKD800, or a 6 months multiple entry visa. These prices vary from Travel Agent to Travel Agent, and I did see them advertised cheaper in the South China Morning Post.
Chinese immigration control was pretty straightforward to pass. After a brief walk we left the station and were in Shenzhen. Beside the station is a large Taxi Rank, which although boasted a large queue, went down fast due the arrival of taxis at breakneck speed. 'Take us to our hotel, young man', I proclaimed to our bemused driver. Luckily, our translator stepped in and sorted out any misunderstanding.
Mandarin, Not Cantonese Stupid
An assumption I made was that Shenzhen's first language would be Cantonese. Well, I was surprised to find out it was Mandarin / Putongua. The basis of my incorrect assumption was the proximity of Hong Kong. Quickly, I worked out that Shenzhen was mainly a collection of immigrants from all around China, and the common language they could communicate with was Mandarin.
Upon arriving in Shenzhen it was clear the city had grown at an alarming rate. The buildings were new, the roads wide and straight, and the people were mainly immigrants from other parts of China cashing in on the economic development of this Special Economic Zone. Shenzhen is a bit like a teenager who has grown up fast, or too fast. I certainly got to see a number of it's growing pains.
Lido Hotel, Shenzhen
Our 3 star Hotel was on a nice wide road (Shenzhen Map, 2007 Dong Men Nan Road, Tel (0775) 8225 9988, www.szlido.com), and we got a double room for 270 Yuan per night (USD 35 or UK 22 - 1 Yuan is roughly 1 HKD). The room was nice with a TV, which didn't show anything useful for a western viewer. To get this deal, try and book it through a Travel Agent in Hong Kong. If you call directly, you may get a higher rate, although the web site does offer the price of Yuan 270 for a weekday room, but it says the counter rate is Yuan 540. At least make sure you book in advance.
View from the room at the Lido Hotel
Sunday Morning
Unfortunately, one day, I had to stay in with a sore foot, and made use of the room service. I ordered the simplest thing on the menu, believing they couldn't really muck it up that much. Unfortunately, my Spaghetti Bolognaise came and was disgusting. I have eaten many things from around the world and couldn't place the flavour of the sauce. It was like Bisto with some thing else in it. I ate enough to keep me going a few hours. Left the rest.
However, another time, we ate in the Thai restaurant beside the hotel. The food was very nice and the manager spoke perfect English. So if your stressed from the day and want to chill a bit, try there.
Sleep to Shenzhen's grand symphony - car horns
Prepare to be woken by the sound of car horns peeping. It is so annoying. Ask for a room away from the main road. I'm sure they would be quieter. As it happened we were all had rooms at the front of the hotel so we couldn't check this out.
The staff, although well intentioned, either cannot act independently or get very nervous when confronted by a foreigner. It took 8 people to stare at my friend and I when we checked out. It was as if they had never done it before! Then when we asked for our secure safe deposit box, they had to ask what room we were in. This was the same people who checked us out 30 seconds previously. Truly strange. I suppose it keeps everybody in a job in modern China.
For more expensive 5 star options try the Hilton Shenzhen, The Sunshine Hotel, or the Shangri La (around RMB 1000 per night - around UK 80, US 130).
China's Police are watching you
There are numerous different types of policemen around the city. They have different uniforms, different powers and it's almost unfathomable to work out who does what, or what they do. They certainly keep an eye on foreigners, and I feel not to help keep us tourists safe, but more to watch that we don't do anything wrong and pollute their keen moral codes of conduct with our western decadent ways.
Shenzhen's Safari Park
This place was funny in a remarkable way. We arrived by Taxi that took around 40 minutes from the Center of Shenzhen. The entrance ticket cost Yuan 100 and it was well worth the money.
Upon arrival we got a map of the park. On the front of the map was a picture (see right). I don't know about you, but it struck me as strange that it showed some Lions shagging, until I noticed it was even stranger, as it was a Lion getting it from a Tiger. Great, I thought, I've never seen a Liger!
Watch out Animal rights activists. I bet you've never been to Shenzhen Safari Park. Have a look at these pictures and videos. There's something for every one. The most bizarre was the 'Elephant on One Leg - Spinning' and the 'Goat on Motorbike - on tight rope'. Shenzhen Safari Park
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Click for the Windows Media Video's
'Elephant on One Leg - Spinning' and the 'Goat on Motorbike - on tight rope'
Window of the World
Another Gem of a place.
This was created by a Hong Kong entrepreneur who decided to bring the world to the Chinese People. Instead of visiting The Eiffel Tower, The Pyramids, Holland, Big Ben, New York, The White House, Peru, Sydney Harbour Bridge, they come to you. Have a look at some of the pictures.
We created quite a stir skiing down the Indoor ski slope. People, in this part of China, unless they have traveled, are unlikely to have never seen snow, even less some foreigners going down some ski runs. My friend was really chuffed when one of the crowd asked if he was the instructor!
You can even get the Underground / Sky train there if you can't handle the F1 Taxi drivers (more later).
Another good place to visit is Happy Valley, which is more of a traditional thrill park.
Nightclubs in Shenzhen
I pride myself on finding good night spots, but its just a bit difficult here on one visit. If you have any suggestions please enter them on the chat forum.
For an easy option you could go to the five star hotels. Pretty sedate scene, but they have some nice bars. The view from the top of the Hilton in the globe is quite impressive, although a bit obscured by hoardings around the perimeter. I couldn't understand why they would want to do that. In general, the hotels seem to offer low key bars and not much more.
The nightclubs in the city are a different matter entirely. Interesting, they usually have a security guard watching everything that can be unsettling.
True Colors Nightclub (4/F, Dongmen Friendship City Jie Fang Road Lohu.) This was pretty westerner friendly and served some cracking Spaghetti Bolognaise. There is a big performance area where a live band will entertain, then a small disco area, predominately playing Dance music / Techno. A pretty easy, non-imposing place to go.
I went to another club and can't remember the name. It had a sort of cabaret show, three discos and women who sat with men at the bar and played drinking games with them. The guys bought the drinks, usually whiskey and they both drunk, as determined by the dice game. The more whiskey they drink, the more the girl gets paid. So it's in her best interests to drink as much as she can, as well as get the guys juiced. My Chinese host informed me that the girls have a limited shelf life as many develop liver problems and are prone to gaining weight. However, I was reliably informed that these jobs are still hot property.
For other good clubs, I found this site, www.shenzhenparty.com/bars/index.html which seems to be catering for a western audience. They mention Shekou a lot and I found out it's a place many westerners stay. Perhaps checking out Shekou one night, or day, may make a good addition to a trip.
Food and Restaurants in Shenzhen
Some Mongolian restaurant. The food here was way out. You could have fried Silk Worms (Big maggots) or Donkey Innards. It was cheap yes, but even the more normal dishes looked a bit weird. Very spicy, looked full of mono sodium glutamate and fat, and the chicken was basically bone. Didn't enjoy that much, even although I am not a fussy eater.
Some Chinese restaurant. Pretty good food, but we asked for Peking Duck. We got the cucumber, spring onions, pancakes, hoi san sauce and then our Duck came. Or should I say, just the skin of the duck with the beak! Total culture clash situation.
As said before, you can eat in nightclubs such as True Colors, or you can go to an International Hotel for a more easy experience. The Shangri-la has a Henry J Beans for Burgers, Tex Mex etc.
McDonalds, as always are everywhere. KFC's are dotted around the city too.
Prostitution and Gangsters outside the Hotels
When it gets dark, the areas outside the main hotels are full of beggars, girls, pimps and scamsters. A pal of mine went to 7 eleven just down the road and said he was approached by about 40 people on the way. So take taxis at night from door to door. As for Shenzhen's taxis……
They are scarier than the biggest roller coaster. Prepare for a white-knuckle ride with most of them. The driving is the worst I've ever seen. Fast, furious and loads of honking.
Buying Genuine Nike Trainers is Impossible
We tried to buy some genuine Nike's in a big modern shopping mall. The
assistants had so many problems with this. Apart from being astounded
we're buying genuine goods, larger shoe sizes are few and far between
(I have a UK size 8, so I thought this was a bit poor). Also, the Chinese
seem to get very nervous dealing with westerners so they kind of flap
about and don't pay attention to basic communication principles such as
pointing with accompanied grunts.
Shopping for Fakes
Beside the Train Station is the market, where you can buy most fake goods. Haggle well. Don't pay too much. Remember the 'haggle rules' in Asia. These rules are my own so I apologize if they get you into trouble.
1. Don't pay what you think it's worth. Pay the cheapest you can get
it for.
2. When they ask you for a price offer less than below half their first
offer price.
3. Haggle up from there.
4. Don't go too high though. Firstly walk away. They may call you back.
If they don't you are likely to have offered too low a price. Use this
as a gauge price when you negotiate with the next stall owner. They all
stock the same stuff anyway.
I've heard that if you are caught by Hong Kong custom officers bringing in fake goods back to Hong Kong, they can confiscate them or perhaps fine you, so go easy. If anyone has any experience on this could they post on the Chat Forum?