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We boarded our "delux sleeper bus". Delux in China is so awesome. It includes AC, no spitting, no smoking, no throwing garbage on the floor, and you take your shoes off before you get in. Its a bit difficult to explain a sleeper bus if you have never seen one. Its a giant tour bus of bunk beds. Three rows running the length of this bus, sleeping about 50 people. We had top bunks which were very comfortable for anyone 5'2" and shorter (me) not so much for Carrie, coming in at 5'8", since she was essentially standing up while lying down. The entire road to Guangzhou (our destination) was under construction. It was the bumpiest ride ever (with the exception of the pickup truck/rickshaw in Xingping). We bounced our way to Guangzhou.
Funny story...I thought there was a toilet on the bus because there was a sign that said toilet. So, at 4 am when I really had to go, I went walking the length of the bus, being tossed into sleeping people everywhere. I finally gave up and asked the driver "Toilet?" He said "NO!" and pointed to the front of the bus. Not knowing what the hell that meant, I went back to my bed and prayed for a toilet. Finally, we pull up to a "rest stop" and he yelled something and I knew this was my chance. I bolted out the door and ran into the bathroom which was...AN IN GROUND TROUGH! A creek in the floor which you straddle over and do your thing. There are no doors, just the creek. It was really something.
We made it to Guangzhou in record time. By record, I mean a record for the longest trip ever! It was suppose to be 7 hours but it turned into 12. At least it was air conditioned :) We hopped on another bus to Hong Kong. We missed our stop in Kowloon and got dropped off on HOng Kong island. We changed some money and got on the subway. At this point, we have not eaten in 24 hours. We made our way through the Kowloon streets and finally found our hostel. We dumped all of our stuff and headed to the Spaghetti House where we indulged in a giant meal of pasta, garlic bread, soup, and dessert! Chocolate lava cake. Man it was good. and expensive. Hong Kong is NOT cheap at all. It was shocking.
Hong Kong was completely different from mainland China. It is so incredibly westernized that it is shocking. The restaurants are western, the stores are all western brands and everyone speaks english (and chinese too). There were boat loads of westerners there doing business and it has a Disneyland!
previous travel blog entry
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