HK 5.0?

Here's a quick note to keep you interested and reading.

I might go to Hong Kong on the weekend, again. I have some money matters to take care of there, so whenever I go for that reason it's usually pretty satisfying.

While I'm there, I may head over to the Adidas factory outlet and buy some soccer shoes. While I was searching for a soccer jersery for Erik, I met a guy in a soccer store who wondered if I wanted to play on his soccer team, and maybe watch some Premier League games. I don't feel comfortable calling him until I have the necessary gear to play if the option comes up. I need to buy the soccer shoes in HK because I've seen pairs that fit me there, while I have yet to see a single pair of shoes, of any kind, that fit me here in Guangzhou. So, if I buy the soccer shoes I'll be prepared to call him back.

I'd love to get some touches on the ball, and some time on the field...in China especially! That'd be pretty fun. I wonder what their skill will be like, and I wonder what mine would be like since I haven't played in an organized game for something like 4 years.

Another thing I'm thinking of buying in Hong Kong is a camera. I still don't own one, and want to buy one before I leave China. More importantly though, I need one for Bali and wherever else I go in Asia afterwards. I'm looking at a cheap ones, and am not interested in a lot of features or mega pixels. I'll see if I can find what I'm looking for in Hong Kong. I have priced cameras here in China, so I know what different models are worth. I wish I could have afforded to buy one in Canada, but I decided to buy some new shoes instead!

This Hong Kong trip will be an in and out. I'll leave Guangzhou as early as I can, and hopefully be back before dark. I know the transit system there and know exactly where I need to go for my different errands, so hopefully I won't waste any time wandering around lost.

I'm going to try a new train to get there though, so that will add some uncertainty to the whole trip. I have always taken the Guangzhou-Hong Kong Through Train, which costs 200RMB (30 dollars) for the 2 hour trip. It's called the Through Train because it zips right across the HK/China border, and stops right downtown where you go through customs. I want to try out the Guangzhou-Shenzhen train, which costs half as much, and takes about an hour. It also leaves every 15 minutes. The catch is that the trip ends in Shenzhen, a city on the China-Hong Kong border. I will have to get off the train, go through customs at the station, then take the subway downtown. It's apparently pretty convenient, as the Guangzhou-Shenzhen route terminates at the beginning of the Hong Kong subway, so it's just a short walk across the station and through customs. I'm anxious to try it, as the train is apparently so fast that cell phones don't get coverage. I've never been on a super fast train before.

That's my plan for the weekend. Happy shovelling everyone!