Since we left the Chinese mainland we have hit some rough patches. Frankly traveling 1125 miles south and staying in a new city every few days in order to catch a flight that has already been booked can be tiring. It was good to arrive in Hong Kong, the English prevalence and increased food choices offered a welcome release from the ways we had grown used to in China. Some things were just not going right though. Our room was crap and tiny and the only one basically under 100$ we could find that didn't look like we would be robbed if we ever left it. It did have a whopping 2 English tv channels though!
We went out that night and got into a heated discussion about how I am not classy enough to match my age. We quite ironically ended the night on a park bench discussing our thoughts drinking cheap beer and malt wine coolers of various colors in front of a fountain whose pool was literally a giant arrow pointing directly at us as if to say, "look at these high-so socialites." We would have gone to a bar but we couldn't afford it because we had to wait 'til the morning for the ATM to work again.
The next day we found out that seizing Hong Kong is really hard and 2 full days is not enough in a city of 20 million plus people. We had to miss out on a temple and I had to talk myself down from this crazy rushed feeling that was wholly new for me on this trip. It was almost as if the cloth watch I wear from Lao was trying to move its stitched hands to count real minutes. I calmed and walked slower and felt better watching black and white lemurs bound and wrestle at the free zoo.
We rode a historic tram to overlook the hong kong skyline. It went lovely until while buying hot chocolate, we realized that I had misplaced 30$ at lunch. Quite quickly we had another "heated argument" this time regarding certain responsibilities I may or may not possess and Ashley's talent with details and who does the most work for our travels. I know what you readers are thinking, "Ashley really is detail oriented!"
The night ended with us safely in our cramped pod drifting to sleep to the muffled traffic music. The next morning I awoke with new resolve to catch details, count change with precision and read until I understand. After forgetting to refill my wallet and Ashley reminding me, we were on our way to Macau. We lugged ourselves to the ferry and successfully entered Macau. We found our hotel and after a ridiculous climb to the top of a hill which used to be a fortress, we checked into the hotel. Our room was musty and damp and had a few mosquitos flying out of the AC unit but that's nothing new. We spent most of the night at the casinos so we weren't even in the room very much anyway. My foot was aching a bit the next morning but we hit the pavement along the well traveled tourist trail around town. It was great but that's not what this entry concerns. We got lost on those spiraling and nonsensical Portuguese streets. After realizing that we had walked in a circle like we were in a fucking forest or something, we broke down and caught a bus. Back at the hotel we upgraded to a nicer room and I took a nap. I awoke to searing pain and a swollen foot. I have limped for four days now. The morning we were to leave Macau we realized we had no place to stay that night so I found a place and asked Ash what the date was. She thought I said what day do we check out and so we booked the hotel for the wrong night. Struggling not to freak out, we took the ferry across the green waters to mainland China once again, to find a hotel that very well could be full and a room we had paid for on a night we would be in a different country.
Port city Shenzen, China; a place with not a thing to offer two spent travelers who were already emotionally in Malaysia. After breaking the language barrier and sorting out the booking issue we realized we were famished. Ashley mentioned her neck was itching as we hit the working class streets refusing to eat a rip off meal at our cookie cutter airport hotel. I found solace in foodstall veggie dumplings while Ashley filled her tummy with mangosteens. The search for a decent restaurant was fruitless so we sadly made our way to the airport and sullenly shoveled McDonalds into our faces. We gingerly fell asleep late that night on our diving board bed. In the morning we left for the airport me limping and Ashley's neck itching.
to be continued...
On a side note it feels like so long ago I wrote the blog about riding the highs and swimming out of the lows. Upon further review this is still applicable but also can be explained more specifically. Water Waves are like all waves, if you increase their frequency, then their amplitude decreases. If you're tethered to another person and only have one life vest and one kick board you can use these tools in different combinations according to mood and individual strengths to navigate each peak and valley. If you are in a vacuum there will be no friction or sound as you slide from atop a cresting problem nor will there be any stopping you. Most importantly life is super complicated with combinations of rules and weird unexplainable happenings but if you are with a person you love dearly it's all good really.
No comments:
Post a Comment