We woke up in Mong Kok (旺角), Kowloon (九龍), Hong Kong. Our hotel was in Hong Kong. Our plan for the day? GO TO SHENZHEN. 😂 Not by plane. Not by long-distance coach. Not even by high-speed rail. We were simply going to take Hong Kong’s MTR (港鐵) toward the border… and walk across. For an international traveler looking at Hong Kong and Shenzhen on a map, that can sound slightly unbelievable....
Elaine’s First Green Train in China — Then We Discovered We Had No Seats! On the Move in Shaanxi: Elaine’s First Ride on a Chinese Green Train Elaine had already traveled on plenty of trains in China. Fast ones. Very fast ones. The sleek high-speed rail (高铁, gāotiě) that makes moving between Chinese cities remarkably easy. But Dad wanted her to experience another side of China’s railway system. Something older. Something slower....
What We Experienced in Xi’an: After spending most of the day at the Qin-Han Museum, Dad and Elaine walked to Qingong Metro Station and tried Xi’an’s metro instead — with Elaine using Alipay on her phone to scan straight through the gate. Dad likes taking the easy way when it makes sense. But Dad also likes trying another way. 😂 Earlier that day, we’d taken a DiDi (滴滴) to the Qin-Han Museum...
ON THE MOVE · DAD & ELAINE TRAVEL CHINA There was one final job before Dad & Elaine could leave Beijing. Get to the airport. Simple? Not quite. Because Beijing has more than one major airport. And ours was: Beijing Daxing International Airport (北京大兴国际机场, Běijīng Dàxīng Guójì Jīchǎng) — PKX. NOT Beijing Capital International Airport (北京首都国际机场, Běijīng Shǒudū Guójì Jīchǎng) — PEK. 😬 Mix those two up and you have a considerably...
Our Shandong journey was coming to an end. Dad & Elaine had reached Dezhou (德州, Dézhōu), and that evening we were heading back to Beijing. The journey sounded straightforward: DiDi → Dezhou East Railway Station → high-speed train → Beijing South → Beijing Metro → hotel. By this stage of our China travels, that combination was beginning to feel almost normal. What Dad didn’t know was that Elaine had plans for the...
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