Our Oct 11 Chung Yeung Holiday Festivities

We went to Shenzhen for the public holiday on Oct 11! On one of the busiest border crossings of the year, doh.  We went with Rachel and her two daughters, who crossed in a car, so Lola and Al went with them. To reward his amazing behavior, Teo got to stay with me - but I felt so bad because it was due to staying with me that he had to stand in crazy long lines and wait forever, because we were braving the crossing via MTR on foot. He was a complete and utter champ throughout and in those moments I couldn't have been more proud, more grateful, or loved this little guy more.

When we got to Shenzhen, we enjoyed an epic feast at the restaurant, then went to play at the mall. 

Dinner was an amazing affair at a delicious lamb restaurant, with endless options. The lamb skewers were an insane hit, with each kid downing 2 skewers each!  Those skewers go for US$0.84 cents a pop, while in HK they go for US$3.50 a pop. Just to give you an idea of price differences and why people prefer Shenzhen right now for spending.

It was a very late night so we decided to stay the night.  In the morning, the boys went for an early breakfast, went to Starbucks to pick up a coffee for me, and then I took both of them back across the border via MTR.  The return crossing was super fast and easy - we crossed in a matter of minutes.  As soon as we got to the Hong Kong side and the familiar sights and sounds of the Luo Wu station, I felt much more comfortable. No offense Shenzhen, you're exciting and way cheaper but I still feel so much better in Hong Kong.  The quality, style and general atmosphere of the environment just feels so much more refined. From Shan Shui MTR station, our driver came to pick us up (oh in that moment I couldn't have loved our beautiful Mercedes van more) and then it was a straight shot to Victoria Park for rugby and a birthday party.

Lola stayed behind with Rachel and her daughters and had a great day, starting with Chinese style breakfast, then a movie where they were the only patrons, then a full day at the spa including soaking in warm and hot pools and buffet dinner. Apparently Lola really didn't want to come home!

The beauty of Shenzhen is that you really could wake up in mainland China at 7 am in the morning, and then be in Hong Kong for a kids rugby class at 10:30 am.  Border crossings take on a somewhat surreal dimension when you are so close.  I am sure every border feels like this somewhat, but here it is unusual because both sides are massively built up and developed (as opposed to where it is just hinterland for miles) and also because of the singular situation of Hong Kong as a special administrative region of China - both China and yet not.

After the dense city scape of Shenzhen and the (what felt to me) much worse air quality of Shenzhen, just standing on the grassy lawn in Victoria Park felt like stepping into a pair of giant, verdant green lungs. It felt like such a respite.  I got to enjoy some quality time with the boys also, as we then went to their former classmate's birthday party where they invited Jurassic Garage to show the kids animals. I touched a tarantula! And I was really briefly contemplating a bearded dragon for a pet (until they told me it requires live insects). Al was keen to touch and hold every animal. Teo didn't have any interest in touching or holding any!