Today I went through passport control six times without leaving the country. Such is China.
I took the 10:15 ferry from Tuen Mun (!!!) to Zhuhai. This company wants to go to Macau, but Stanley HO doesn’t like the idea of not controlling part of each ferry company landing in Macau (in addition to the ferry terminal and the vast majority of the casinos), so regulatory approval has not been forthcoming. Instead, it makes two round-trips daily between the humble Tuen Mun Ferry Pier (spiffed up with immigration and customs facilities) and Zhuhai’s Jiuzhou harbor. In Zhuhai, I had the option of a free shuttle bus down to Gongbei, at the border with Macau. Too easy, and I wanted to see the one big attraction of Zhuhai: the fisher girl. There’s a legend, go look it up if you’re interested.
So, I walked around (for about an hour) and up the coast until I found it. Took pictures, walked back… all the way down to Gongbei, maybe another two or three hours there. In Gongbei, I was able to muddle through ordering lunch in Mandarin. Gongbei is the Lo Wu Commercial Center equivalent in Zhuhai, but much more underground and much less seedy. I have friends who would have wept to see so many shoes in one place.
I walked over to Macau (this took maybe 30 or 45 minutes with all the standing in line for passport controls) and… kept walking. I actually walked all the way from the border to the central square, Lgo. do Senado, which is south of center. I’m not sure of the distance, but I walked a lot longer since I wasn’t navigating very well. There I broke down and took a bus down to the tip of Coloane where I stuffed myself at the semi-famous Fernando’s.
Took the bus back onto the peninsula, walked another hour or so to the ferry terminal… overall, I probably gained weight. Well worth it.
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