Imagine: You’re waiting for your bus, standing at the side of a Chinese street at 6:30 am. The bus, the first of a day to another city, is 30 minutes late. The bus could be late because (pick the correct answer):

1. The bus was the leave the station at 6:00 am. The driver thought getting up and leaving home at 5:59 am would be good enough.
2. The driver’s watch has only three times: Breakfast time, Lunch Time, and Dinner Time.
3. The driver waited because a rider said his mother, brother, friend, or lover was on their way and would there  “soon.”
4. The driver stopped the bus to get gas.
5. The driver stopped to buy breakfast.
6. The driver stopped to smoke a cigarette at the side of the road.
7. The driver lost the key to the bus in a game of Mahjong.
8. Two of the above
9. Three of the above
10. All of the above.

Select the correct answer and receive a free ride on a Chinese bus – if that bus arrives (airfare to China not included).

I’m back in China. Okay, Hong Kong is China so I never really left. If that’s the case why is there that pesky border?

Three days in the city I love to hate. Some times I think that Hong Kong is the city where bitter expats go to die, like an elephant graveyard. It used to be the city that Brits who completely f*cked up fled to the start over. Now? Not so much.

The “visa run” is a trip many expats are well acquainted with. Luckily, Shenzhen, China (my home base) is right beside Hong Kong. It’s a very quick trip to one of the world’s financial centers (and nearest locale to have a Chinese visa issued).

My brief observations on Hong Kong:

1. It is beautiful.
2. It is crowded.
3. It is expensive.

I spent two nights in the Mirador Mansions, an ancient building full of guest houses, tailor shops, and laundry establishments. The bed stretched from wall to wall, with one square meter at the end of the room by the door for my bags. Think of a roomy casket and you’ll get the idea.

A snippet of conversation before I rented to room:

Guest House Manager: Are you sure you want this room? It is very small.

Stevo: How much is it.

Guest House Manager: 110 Hong Kong dollars a night (about $14 USD).

Stevo: Yes, I want.

The room had wireless and AC. I don’t need much more than that.  Note: For $110 HKD I could get a nearly palatial hotel room in China’s less traveled areas.

Three days: I shot photos. I bought a snazzy Benro tripod and ball head, and five pounds of protein powder. I visited my Hong Kong office.

Paddy in the BA/HK

And I met Paddy.

You’ve seen him around, the large green-headed expat Irishman. Paddy in the BA is no longer in the Buenos Aires. The infamous Irish rover and blogger now calls Hong Kong home. He and I sat at McLovin’s Irish Pub and had a pint of Guinness before he jetted off to a Pacific  island.  He’s a peach and I hope he eventually crosses the border to visit.

Three days away.Three days to chill and wander. It was pleasant. Except for:

1. Hong Kong is crowded.
2. Hong Kong is expensive.

Now it’s “go time.” A lot  to do in the space of three weeks. With a camera in my hand and a song in my heart it will all come out alright.

Shopping and walking in China

Shopping is a pastime enjoyed by many of China’s foreign residents. Clothing, electronics, assorted kitsch items: It’s all affordable.

I shot this image last weekend as Mrs. Stevo and I were taking a break from shopping. What attracted me was the lovely and long 4 pm shadows.

I bought a shirt and a headband for my torturous adventures in the local gym. Mrs. Stevo purchased a shirt, a yellow number that proclaims “Superstar” or some such statement to the world. Ah, shopping. I hate it yet love it.

As I was saying, Shenzhen, China is a sprawling city, it’s hard to believe that places like Sanmenkou Island co-exist with monolithic concrete creations. The airport and the Shenzhen’s beaches are separated by 50 km. I’ve been to the beach twice in my almost five years in China. I like the beach, I don’t like public transportation. Luckily, on our October holiday excursion, a friend had a car.

Dongchong beach was our destination. From there it was tickets on a small and scary boat across the water to Sanmenkou Island. The boat’s pilot, a Kejia man, has skin the color of leather from his daily journeys back and forth across the south China Sea, smiled as his craft smashed through the waves and his passenger squealed.

A large dog, in China? Sanmenkou Island must be a magic place.

If you’re from a large city you can appreciate what Sanmenkou has to offer. The island rises like a tree-covered, crooked finger from the Pacific. There are few cars, few people, and the only sounds are children splashing in the sea and the waves lapping at the sand and rocks.  Peaceful. Serene. Idyllic.

A photographer (or two) have been known to shoot Shenzhen's Sanmenkou Island.

Most of eastern Shenzhen is undeveloped. There are settled areas, but the green mountains make urbanization difficult. Two nuclear power plants and a prison share the area, as do merry-makers looking for a quiet escape.

Sanmenkou Island is place where time has little meaning. People seem to drift from place to place, ghosts of their busy city selves. Small hotels, fresh seafood, the remains of a military facility, and climbable hills offer these ghosts a variety of way to stay content. An afternoon on the island is a restful tonic to the weary urban warrior or the burnt-out traveler.

The day never ends at Sanmenkou and Dongchong beach. As dusk settles hordes of people arrive to spend the night on the beach. Facing east, it offers the early-riser a chance to watch the sun rise over the Pacific Ocean

Dusk over the mountains at Sanmenkou Beach, Shenzhen, China.

Thanks to David at Random Wire for recommending this great spot. His flickr images gives a much better picture of the place.

Getting to Sanmenkou Island, Shenzhen

Boats run from Xichong Beach and Dongchong Beach to Sanmenkou Island. Prices vary, be prepared to bargain.

Beach at Sanmenkou Island, Shezhen, China

It’s easy to forget that Shenzhen is more than just concrete. It’s a sprawling city, the east on the South China Sea.

Tomorrow: My day at the beach.  Stay tuned.

An extravagant dinner is a big part of the recent Chinese Mid Autumn Festival celebration (a much tastier part than the moon cakes). Mrs. Stevo and I were lucky enough to dine with some friends, Kejia or Hakka people. When I heard snake was on the menu I started to highly anticipate the meal. Would it taste like chicken, as I had heard? Frog, another legendary chicken-flavored meat, does taste somewhat like chicken I had discovered.

Snake is much better than Chinese Mooncakes

Mrs. Stevo has a pathological fear of snakes. Not like, “Yikes, a snake!”  More like, a crying fit that requires a sedative. This fear isn’t limited to the live reptile: It also extends to anything that looks like (in her perception) a snake. Toy snakes, the elongated shadow of a moth, gerbils, all cause a screaming fit. Mrs. Stevo was a little hesitant to attend the Mid-Autumn Festival celebration in case live snakes were slithering around. That was not the case, the snakes were cooked.

The yellow-tinted snake wine tasted venomous. It was if the snake was biting the inside of your mouth from the great hereafter. It wasn’t without its charms but not a tipple I would partake of every day.  I did not sample the snake gallbladder wine. I will only go so far in my efforts to culturally assimilate.

An earthen pot held snake and chicken soup. The steamy, light-flavored broth did indeed taste like chicken. I didn’t get to eat the snake meat: Mrs. Stevo’s nerves started to get jittery when she realized the pot was full of snake. The fact the snake was deceased and had been cooked for several hours didn’t matter much.

The giant platter of snake meat looked a lot like fried fish fillets. The skin was a greyish black. As I pulled the meat from the bones I was a tad repulsed. You’re eating a snake, a gross slithering creature, my inner monologue droned. I pushed forward, eating the snake fillet, and then another.

Yes, snake does taste like chicken. The texture, at least of the snake I ate, was chicken-esque.

My next goal, a difficult one, is eating monkey. Yes, the look cute on TV, that’s just good PR. If you have ever dealt with a real monkey (the little bastards) you’d ask for an invite to the feast.