I haven’t been writing much recently and my timeline is getting blury. But two weeks ago (or something like that) I took a ferry from Incheon (Korea) to Qingdao (China). I bought the economy ticket and got myself a little bed in a ninety person room for the seventeen hour trip. Getting onto the ferry I spotted a fit looking guy pushing an overloaded touring bicycle through the terminal. His name is Mr. Won and he told me that he’d just quit his job as the editor of a magazine and that this ferry ride marked day one of his bike trip around the world. Qingdao was cold, colder than Korea. With the ocean chill it was winter jacket and boot weather. Stepping out of customs and onto Chinese soil felt like a monumental moment. The mainland of a new continent, the world’s new superpower, Asia… The first thing I saw out of the ferry terminal was a honking traffic jam. Lanes of cars packed dozens deep were facing off head to head, each sure that they had the right of way on the tight street. As if street direction is something determined by sheer strength of will. A group of nonplussed police officers nearby convinced me that might be true.
I hadn’t eaten much on the ferry because the food was wildly overpriced and I didn’t have the foresight to pack any food other than a few old granola bars I’d forgotten about at the bottom of my bag. So once I dropped my bag off at the hostel ($4 a night!) I bought myself a huge meal at the first restaurant I saw. Barbequed oysters, seafood fried rice, and a beer. I would come to regret this.
The next day I woke up hopelessly cramped. I could only make it out of bed to use the bathroom. I slept all day. A classic case of street food regret. It took two very uncomfortable days but I slowly started to feel better.
I bought a train ticket to Shenzhen, the city just opposite to Hong Kong island on the mainland of China. I bought an economy ticket ($50 to get down two thousand kilometers of coast, how could I not?) The train was cramped. The seats are positioned so that you’re knee to knee with the person in front of you and packed shoulder to shoulder on the sides. I can’t figure out if this is more space efficient than the western style, forward looking seats. I suspect it isn’t. The aisles are filled with standing passengers and attendants who walk up and down the aisle selling meals, fruits, snacks, and drinks. The trip from Qingdao to Shenzhen took twenty eight hours, and sleeping was a real challenge. One old guy fully embraced the situation and unapologetically curled up, head on my shoulder, for a good night sleep. I suspect I still have some western hang ups about personal space to get over. Still, it was the best train ride I’ve ever been on. I sat with my Mandarin-English phrase book and a notebook on my lap and pretty soon someone asked me what I was doing in China. Before long, through hand gestures, drawing, and the few Mandarin words I’d learned, I was explaining what tree planting is and how I’d crossed the pacific. At every stop new people would come on the train and I’d tell my story all over again. Before long the whole train knew my name, where I was from, how old I was, where I was going, and what tree planting is. People kept feeding me. By the end of the trip I’d forgotten how uncomfortable I was.
Shenzhen was alright. I got in late and spent a day there to rest and recoup before heading to my pal Elphick’s place in Hong Kong.
Elphick and I used to live together in Vancouver with two other guys in a big ‘ole run down house. He moved back to Hong Kong two years ago. That’s where I am now, in his apartment listening to Nujabes and looking out his window at a busy street. I’ve been here a few days now and it’s great see a familiar face after six months of wandering. I’ll pick up my visa from the Myanmar consulate on Wednesday. Then my plan is to take a train to the countryside and hitchhike through Guangxi and Yunnan provinces, through northern Laos, into northern Thailand. In the border town of Mae Sot I hope to meet my old Finnish pal, Eero, who’s flying to Bangkok once he finishes his grad thesis. Together we’ll travel through Myanmar, India, and into Nepal.
Gnarly Travels 