Our travel day started with a final breakfast at the Garden Breakfast Buffet. Maybe it’s best we were checking out since I decided to actually look at the OJ I grabbed from the bin.
After breakfast, we had some time to kill before our 2 PM bus, and Mom and some of the kids roamed the back courtyard at the Garden Hotel for some photos.
And of course we headed back to Walmart and Starbucks. We picked up a couple of Luggage Tags and Mom got another Starbucks Guangzhou mug. On the way back we made a final stop at the Front of the Hotel for a group shot – perhaps our last visit to the Garden, ever?
Time was slow passing so the kids had some “bubble time” in the room while Mom & Dad packed the suitcases up for the trip.
Just before 1:15 (we were operating on Mom time for our 2PM bus departure) we called for the luggage to be picked up – the baggage guy sure got a workout, since we added a suitcase (Meg & Curt rounded up to 3 Suitcases!).
When we got down to the Bus Departure area, we found the Ticket Taker, an older woman in her late 60’s, dressed in a fluorescent orange jacket. She didn’t speak any English at all… but she had STICKERS!! And these Stickers became our tickets, after she slapped one of each of us. After our baggage guy loaded the last of our bags, we were on our way. Our 48-person bus made one other stop at another hotel before heading south toward Hong Kong.
The terrain and views were uninteresting, until we neared Shenzhen. Then, it seemed the whole city was a huge construction zone. Cranes were everywhere, and a HUGE project was underway (perhaps a Mall or Train Station or Transit Hub) with massive open spaces under soaring roofs. We drove nearly a mile, and the building was uninterrupted.
Then, before long it was Border Crossing Time. You’d think China…Hong Kong…One Country…Two Systems, it would be easier to cross. Not so much.
Our bus pulled in to an open spot and dropped of ALL passengers and Luggage. So far, so good – we were told when we departed that we may need to switch buses from one side to the other. We were told to wait just near the bus parking spot, as it pulled out. The we saw the “Departure Hall” sign and thought, must be the way we will go.
Well, no, we were told to walk the in OPPOSITE direction, against a massive flow of foot traffic, with all of our luggage, and hauling the children along as well. Thankfully, we’re blessed with good travelers who can roll with things when plans change – which on trips like this, happens A LOT!
We were led around the bend to a different loading area where we were told to QUICKLY split up, 5×5, into TWO CARS (in this case they were minivan/SUV hybrids). No one ever said anything about CARS…
It became apparent that the cars would be our method of transport across. We each had to have our individual passports, so Mom divvied them (reluctantly). Again, thanks to AM&UC we were able to pull this off – would have been nearly impossible without the extra hands.
We loaded 4 of our 8 suitcases into our car. But before we were able to take our seats, the Driver, a bit of a pushy fellow, shoves 5 border cards/departure cards (China), and 5 Arrival Cards (HK) into Mom’s hand and tells her to fill them out…QUICKLY…Hurry! She didn’t quite finish, so Mr. Pushy told her to get into the car and finish on the way. So Mom’s juggling her half open travel bag, our 5 passports, departure cards, arrival cards and a pen, in a cramped front seat, all the while writing on the dashboard of the car, as we jerked around the border lanes looking for the shortest line. (It sounds funnier now, but trust me, it wasn’t that entertaining in the moment!)
The likelihood that all of the information that Mom wrote on the cards was correct was about the same as the likelihood as Mr. Pushy scoring ANY sort of tip from us.
As we rolled to a stop at the end of a long line of cars, we were told to GET OUT of the CAR (!) and leave the luggage, and to take only our children, Passports, and departure cards to station #28. And the Driver would meet us on the other side. And, oh yeah, we should GO NOW and HURRY! So, just so I get this straight, Mr. Pushy was asking us to leave ALL of our possessions in his car, while he drove away, with the Tailgate up, through a different part of the border crossing, and take his word that he’d meet us on the other side…? OK, got it.
Here we come Station # 28! We walked into the building and it was set up as a typical immigration checkpoint (we leaving China). The Agent checked us all out against our Passports, and passed us through no problem. Luckily, we DID meet up with Mr. Pushy on the other side. We loaded up and off we rolled to enter Hong Kong. This part was significantly easier. We stopped at a window (not unlike a McD’s takeout window) and he handed our passports to the HK Border agent, who sat comfortably inside his little booth.
As he review our documents, Mr. Pushy opened the Car doors (sliding open like minivan doors). We were not sure what was happening until an older Chinese woman dressed in an official looking Lab Coat, complete with Face Mask approached. It took a second to figure out what she was up to – she was waving an infrared Body Temperature scanner. She checked us all out and shouted something in Chinese to the Agent in the take-out window. As he checked our faces against our passports from his seat, Mr. Pushy closed up the car doors, seemingly confident that we were good-to-go.
We were waved through and off we drove, headed, we thought, for our next Bus to take us to HK Airport. Before long, we were on the highway speeded away from the border crossing. We saw a lot of buses and terminals, but never slowed down. Soon it became apparent that Mr. Pushy would be taking us to the Airport.
On the way, there wasn’t much to do except looks out the windows. Luckily Lisa was able to grab a few nice photos…
We’d planned to make our way to the airport, then catch the Hotel Shuttle to the Marriott. Thinking we might save a step and perhaps a lot of time and hassle, we made the mistake of asking Mr. Pushy if there was any any chance he could drive us to the Hotel, which was, literally, a 3-iron from the airport. A wild hand wave, accompanied by a loud NO! NO! gave us our answer. No way, no how.
He dropped us at Terminal 1 (at the FIRST opening in curb traffic – so he made sure he drove us the absolute MINIMUM distance he had to), and WE unloaded the luggage. As I grabbed the last suitcase and rolled it up onto the curb, I turned to say a quick “Thanks”. But, in that quick moment, Mr. Pushy had already hit the auto-close on the tail gate and car doors, and had quickly walked around the car and was stepping into the driver’s side door to his seat. I think he knew that it wasn’t much use to hang around sniffing for a tip!!!!
Of course the Hotel Shuttle picked up at Terminal 2! So we paraded through HK Departures Hall, found a lift, rode it down to Arrivals, and trudged our way to Bus Spot #30 for the Marriott Hotel Shuttle.
We finally rolled up the Hotel, just in time for the Trade Show crowds (leaving the Asia World Expo Center, adjacent to the Hotel. There were so many people that we could hardly get out of the bus door and safely to the Hotel doors. It was a mob scene. Kyle tossed me his backpack and shoved his way through the mass of bodies to meet up with UC to recover the luggage. He took 3 steps away from me and he was immediately swallowed by the shifting crowd, disappearing toward the bus. Somehow we managed to get all of our bags, and backpacks (and of course, children) through the mob and safely inside.
Time to decompress! AM helped to set us up at a couple of tables in the lounge, where we snagged a round of cold drinks while Mom and UC got us checked in.
And if we hadn’t had enough drama for the evening, Zachary broke a drink glass with his teeth! Completely our fault, though…he tends to bite the edges of glasses and cups when drinking, and the glass he had been given with his bit of Sprite was very thin at the brim. We should have asked for a kid-safe cup. No worries though, he was fine – no blood.
We dumped the luggage and had a nice low-key dinner in the sports bar. Zachary was mesmerized by the ceiling mirrors… as was Tyler. Once he realized that he was looking the a mirror, he shout out “That’s Tyler”. Then he realized that UC was in his view as well, he should “There’s Uncle Curt!” Very funny to hear the surprise in his voice.
After Dinner Dad and Kyle played some pool while AM and Dylan played Foosball. Soon after, we were back in our rooms…passing out for the night!!
Back In Hong Kong!!
Not sure which of you wrote this particular blog section, but there is a writer somewhere in your gene pool. I found myself reading this as a suspense novel, rushing through to the next segment. Happy you all made it safely to HK! How wonderful that you have had Am and UC with you!!! We never had temperature scanners anywhere, but then we did not go from China to HK! Have thoroughly enjoyed your blog and reading about your trip!
Thanks Lynne, Temp scanners are sometimes used during times of higher perceived risk, like a number of years ago with SARS. When Lisa, Kyle and I traveled to bring Dylan home, in June of 2009, we arrived in Shanghai from Detroit. Before they let anyone even stand up to gather their carry-ones from the overheads, a brigade of Hazmat-suited health department officials boarded the plane and Temp Scanned EVERYONE on the plane via forehead scanners. If anyone was flagged, they’d immediately be sent to quarantine – AND, all of the people in the THREE rows in front of AND behind would be sent to quarantine as well!! Luckily, our row and the three behind us were cleared – and we got our stuff and bolted before they found anything! Thanks for the kind words…we just try to give everyone a taste for what is happening and how we react to it!