Barely Made it to Shanghai!

Wow, yesterday was the most insane travel day ever! Let me briefly lay it out here, before I have to run for breakfast and activities. Well, cheap activities because I just discovered I only have $100 left to my name!

Woke up at 7a. Hobbled into a quick shower on my purple, broken toe and headed downstairs to meet Nic for breakfast. Was too late to actually eat, but off we headed to the metro and to Hong Kong Island to the Chinese Embassy where a line had already formed down the whole block for visa applicants. Got in line, got the form to fill out, took turns racing around to find ATMs and passport photo shops. Got into the visa office and got number 58 when they were helping person #7! Finally got to the window and they said the fastest they could get us a visa was 3p. We explained that our train was at 2.45p and we had tried for 2 days to get visas, but they were closed for Christmas! They said we could check back at noon or again at 2p.

Off we raced back to Kowloon on the mainland to pack our bags and get back to check in with the visa office. It was already 10 something, and we hit traffic on the tunnel back to Hong Kong Island after explaining to the hotel that we may or may not check out a day early, depending on the visa. The visa office gates closed from 12p to 2p for lunch and we slid in at 11.53a to get back in to the sea of people waiting for visa help. A woman came to the closed window we had to wait at around noon and told us it would be until 3p. We begged and she said check back at 12.30p or 1p and then closed the window. Nic read, I watched a film on my laptop and she re-opened at 12.30 to check for us. She was super helpful and I nearly proposed to her when she came back with two passports in hand! We got our visas and we were on our way!

Tunnel traffic was hell but we found a lady with a cab who suggested another tunnel, which was faster, but cost a grip! We ended up at the train station with about 15 minutes before the 1.19p train to Dongguan and Guangzhau we wanted to take. I raced for an ATM and got cash just in time to get our tickets and go, but not with enough time to get breakfast yet. Quickly through customs, which was far less stressful now that I had that final visa and didn't have to beg for them not to stamp that page - my passport is completely full now! Jumped on the train and chilled for a bit. All the webpages I found said Dongguan was 50km to the airport, same as Ghangzhau East station, but an hour closer by train. So we hopped off the train at Dongguan and discovered there was not much English, no ATMs to get local currency, and a lot of shady cab drivers. Nic's got some conversational Chinese under his belt, so we argued a bit, looking for a metered cab to keep it honest.

We found a very helpful girl in a local shop who called an English speaking friend who told us that all the websites were wrong and we were now 150km from our flight. it was 3p and our flight was at 7p. We negotiated with the least annoying shady cab driver and made a deal at about $40 for the 2 hour drive. Loading our bags in the trunk we took off. After about 20 minutes, the cabbie seemed lost and was making u-turns and asking around. Then he found a taxi stand and raced over to it. I assumed he was going to ask a fellow cabbie for directions. I was way off.

He negotiated with the cab drivers to pawn us off on them! There was a lot of shouting and talking in Chinese and we were yelling that we needed to go NOW to the airport! We finally figured out what was going on - he wanted us to pay the $40 to another cab driver and go with him, and then pay him $15 or so for the ride to that cab! We told him we'd pay our $40 whenever we got to the airport and no money any sooner! It took a lot of yelling and fighting - I was so glad I had Nic with me to argue in English and Chinese! We were afraid to get out of the cab, since our bags were in the trunk and he could drive off with them. Nic shouted that he was a theif and got out and angrily popped the trunk. Once the bags were safe, I jumped out too and we hopped in another cab, refusing to pay the first a penny. The other cab guy paid the first out some portion of the $40 we would pay him and we were back on the road. Apparently this whole thing is typical Chinese drama!

Two hours later, we were finally pulling up to the airport, but our cab driver pulled over asking for the money then before we got there. After the last escapade, we agreed only to pay him 1/3 until we were at the airport. Turns out, he was afraid of us paying obviously at the terminal since he was an unlicensed illegal cab, so we slipped him the rest as we pulled up and said goodbye like he was a friend and we were finally there. After checking in and getting some food and boarding our flight, we could finally relax!

The flight was just fine on Air China, and for once I actually got seated next to a cute girl! Of course, she didn't speak English, but I shared my headphones with her as I watched American Dreamz on a Filipino bootleg DVD on my computer, and ended up exchanging emails - new friend in China! :)

Back on the group, we were too late for the busses (it was now about 10p) so we had to cab it again, which a cute and helpful girl at a car rental place guessed would cost $7. Outside the unmetered cabs offered it for $21 and we insisted on a meter. Once we got into a metered cab, we circled the parking lot and he stopped to ask one of the shady cabbies for directions. The cabbie got into the car with us and we figured out where we were going. Then he told us the fare was $21 and not metered. We were pissed and Nic yelled and got out and tried to get our bags back to leave. He finally caved in and turned on his meter, and it cost us $14 to get to our hostel. But we were finally there!

We checked in, Nic checked email, I found Ayaka, and we freshened up and got some noodles form a street vendor. We were exhausted and pissy and generally crap, but the street vendor food brightened the mood immediately! So good -why can't we have that in the states?! Finally we called it a night, after a very very long day.

Now I'm in Shanghai and getting ready to head out for food and some shopping! Hell of a trip, eh?!

I can't believe I'm going home so soon. It's difficult to grasp. But Sounds like some people are coming over for New Years Eve?!

Turn For the Worse...

That looks normal, right?

So, we made it to Hong Kong, fairly exhausted, but in great spirits. Nic and I both agreed that it's an amazing vibrant town we could probably live in. Unfortunately, a series of unexpected events have put a bit of a damper on our day (although we spent most of it napping and holed up in our hotel dealing with things - don't worry, we're going out tonight).

First, my cell phone is officially gone. I'm pretty sure it got snagged out of my bag in the flurry of festivities last night, probably when I joined a huge group of locals parading with signs for some photos. I hadn't used it for many days, but I don't know when I last had it. I've emptied my bags twice and have had no luck. For those of you that remember, I went through hell to get that phone, one of only two Sprint has ever made that works worldwide, although I found it only worked in a few countries. I had to drive to a warehouse in Rocklin after days of calling around hunting it down. But the worst part is, I've lost 400 phone numbers! I'll definitely be needing people's numbers again!

Second, we've discovered that no place dealing with US passports is open today or tomorrow for getting visas to China! So far, we've only found places that can get us a visa by late the 28th, but our flight to Shanghai is at 7.15p and 3 hours away in the Chinese city of Guangzhou. We're checking now about going directly to the embassy, but we may likely have to stay in Hong Kong an extra night and take an afternoon flight to Shanghai the next day. :(

Lastly, and most annoyingly, about 2 minutes off the plane in Hong Kong, a man bowled me over with his roller luggage. It hurt my toe like hell, but I thought it was just a stub. My toenail was broken back and sticking up, and I was definitely limping. But, by the time I was checked into the hotel, my toe had turned bright red, and 2 hours later was dark purple. I'm afraid it might be broken, and it definitely rules out walking tours!

Despite all the problems, we're still in good spirits. At least this happened on week 9 and not week 2, right?!

Anyway, time to get dressed and see the night light show!

Merry Christmas From Saigon!

Hi everyone! I think I may have just had the most surreal Christmas ever! They really celebrate here in Vietnam! I'll work on posting pics and vids soon, but the streets are filled with people and motorcycles and scooters, like every night, except this night, everyone is shouting and laughing and throwing confetti (my beard is still sparkly!) and having a great time. All the kids are dressed in Santa costumes and it's so cute!

I'm now sitting in the airport, it's 6a and I'm flying to Hong Kong in a few minutes. As soon as we land, we'll work on Chinese visas and then nap. I've been crossing my fingers on all the resent customs stops that the agents will see how full my passport is and stamp small on a busy page instead of stamping the one clear page, since I'll need it for the visa! It's a gamble each stop, and I'll need a new passport when I get home!

So, my Christmas gift for you all will have to be that I've added a new tab to the navigation - "Music" - where I've linked up to all my Mixed From Bed full-length mash-up mix albums, all available for free download! As an added bonus, I've unlocked some hidden goodies, like Mixed From Bed VOLUME 7 and one of my favorite mash-ups I've ever done, Pearl Jam's "Daughter" vs. Radiohead's "Thinking About You". It's been floating around to a few people now for a while, but now it's available for everyone! Hope you enjoy it!

Now, I've got a plane to catch and one final week of travel!

New Video - Malaysian Monkey Attack!

Short video this time, but I think it captures the moment...

Check out this video: Malaysian Monkey Attack!