Catsup..... Ketchup

Actually, it's neither catsup nor ketchup. This is catch up. Sorry I've been unable to post for quite some time. I'd like to start by issuing a big Happy Belated Birthday to Mr. Matt Sassman. He turned 23 on November 20th. By the date of this post I'm early, but in actuality I'm a week late. I'd also like to wish everyone a happy Thanksgiving. Stay tuned to find out what I ended up doing/eating that day.

01 Oh That Foosball

So let's discuss Shenzhen for a moment. It is the city within China which is closest to the New Territories and Hong Kong. To get to Hong Kong by land, you have to come here. But as I've found, that shouldn't be the only reason to visit Shenzhen. It's not the Chinese equivalent of a watering hole along I-80. It's a thriving modern city with better shopping than Hong Kong and much better prices. Its metro system (and remember I'm writing this having already been to Hong Kong and Taiwan) is the cleanest, quietest, most intuitive underground rail system I've ever seen. It's nearly inconceivable that Marin is wishing for BART when systems as superior as Shenzhen's are out there.

02 Some Important Building

However, when Jon and I first arrived in Shenzhen, we knew nothing of the MTR. As usual, we arrived with no plans and little knowledge of the city. We were on foot and navigating through a combination of intuition, luck, and assumptions about the size of buildings. It's proved to be surprisingly effective. We spied a cafe named "Infinite Space Internet Bar" and set to looking for a hostel. No one spoke English (being that it was still China no matter how clean the city was) but the employees flocked to help us. They were the most friendly locals we've ever met in China. Through some example internet sites, we were able to convey that we were looking for directions to a hostel. They managed to explain the entire MTR process through an elaborate display of charades. Most entertaining and informative. We arrived at Shenzhen Loft within 20 minutes. The place was extremely clean and the cheapest we've ever paid. The dormatory rooms housed 3 people, so Jon and I spent our few days there with a 73 year old man named Yan. Yan was originally from Taiwan, but he spent over a decade working in Bolivia. He told us all kinds of stories and was extremely helpful, but not much of that bears repeating. Besides, the best part of that hostel was the... drumroll... air hockey. Booyah! Jon and I lit up when we saw it. Our first night was a heated competition. The rickety table was swaying everywhere as we threw our full weight into every shot. I ended up with multiple bloody knuckles on both hands. It was hard fought and high scoring, and we must have played for over two hours. One of these days, I'm going to win too.

03 Flashy the Yellow Light

The second night I decided to allow my hands to heal. Jon felt he needed to do some shopping, so we cruised some local markets. We each finished the evening with apparel from the Chinese equivalent of Adidas. Not a knockoff, but an actual Chinese brand whose symbol kind of looks like Saucony's. Anyway, it was nice, cheap clothing that is sorely needed in the heat and humidity we will continue to face.

That's about it for Shenzhen: extremely friendly people, great lodging, very clean MTR, and all at China prices. Hard to beat... or is it?

04 The Panasonic Building

05 Mr. Monk

06 Chinese Money