Tuesday, June 6th
It is very peaceful here but it is not quiet. My cousin Nick is napping on the Mickey Mouse sheets that covers his living room bed and I just ate a piece of “sweet” bread filled with coconut cream that was anything but sweet. There is no agenda for today and no heavy backpacks to transport. We have arrived at the glorious day of rest and recuperation. A day we have been looking to since early Saturday morning. Nathaniel lives in an apartment on the 3rd floor of a rectangular brick building. The street that takes you to these rectangular brick building is dried mud and dust with broken tile and brick pieces littering the sides. There is a dog barking (typical), distant cars, a whistle and lots of chatter. There are people everywhere in every corner and within earshot in any direction. It is considered “out there” but is still a large urban area. We have not reached rural yet. On the 2nd floor of this rectangular brick building is a school where the landlady teaches with a microphone and lots of repetition. I can tell from their repetitions that they are young. Their echos blow in through our windows with a gentle breeze. The climate is ideal, cool and sunny year round.
From the window I see a mud-bricked house with a tiled roof that dates back to the Ming dynasty in the early 20th century. Beside it is a larger white tiled apartment building with multiple balconies and several glass paned windows. But before we continue here let us recall the details of your journey here so as to not forget.
Arriving at Hong Kong International Airport was a treat. We still existed and moved in an artificial, comfort world of English translations and air conditioning. Nathaniel was there to meet us and buy our tickets for the train that would take us into Kowloon, which is just across the bay from Hong Kong and the cheaper option for lodging. Besides, the trains to Shenzhen had already closed for the night. From the train station we walked to our hostel on Nathan St. Kowloon at midnight was warm and peaceful and empty until we reached the area around Nathan St. There were a lot of Chinese and Africans hanging around asking us if we needed lodging for the night. Finding our hostel was a bit of a scavenger hunt, mazing through a tall building until we found the door to our hostel, three beds in a tiny room.
Rolex advertisments, Lacoste, Prada, Starbucks and more of the same are the essence of this part of town. There is a hotel called The Peninsula that is top class with private chaeuffers in Bentleys. For the most part the city is very clean and we only saw four people sleeping on the street that night. Two were a couple, nicely clothed with a suitcase that seemed to be waiting for the morning to come. The Bay was an instant cessation to the humid heat with a quick water breeze.
A shower is a small tiled room shared with the toilet, which is a porcelin urenil in the ground. Toliet paper is never provided. The showerhead detaches from the wall and sprays water. There is a small sink in the corner space for teeth brushing. The ultimate three in one combination.
From Kowloon we caught a train to take us across the border into Shenzhen, China. This is a place filled with more local stuff like restaurants and smaller stores. It is also home to some pretty large markets callings out, “Pretty lady, you need manicure? Handsome man, buy shirt.” There is also a mall called “Rainbow” with goods and clothing that look pretty much the same as the markets but are quadruple the price, at least. There is a small amusement park with a tiled gold fish pond for pole fishing and lots of rides that twirl. By dusk we are boarding a bus that will take us to Shenzhen International Airport. We arrive just in time.
We stay the night outside of Kunming and catch a bus in the morning for Ilianshu. It is here we catch a breathe and rest. It is here we slumber in a noisy peace.
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