Hong Kong - Shenzhen - Guangzhou - Macau Backpacking Trip at a Glance

Something new.

I was traveling with fresh faces. Some new to the term backpacking but has traveled before and I had relied wholly on my new backpacking buddies to create an itinerary and research for accommodations. My only part in it was to be with them from starting to end, allowing me to observe and improve as a traveler.  :)

The Anak Gajah Gang - From  left, Wan, Dayah, Aiman and then me. :)

There were way too many hiccups on this trip. The one who planned the itinerary ended up not going. Accommodations booked weren't researched with routes on how to get there. Haha. And our timing was pretty bad as traveling in China was full of unexpected surprises.Thus leading us limited time to enjoy Macau and too much time spent in Guang Zhou. We actually missed a lot of attractions on our wishlist.

Our route for the trip in 8 days from 29th March until  6th of April 2014

• 3 nights in Hong Kong
• 1 night in Shen Zhen
• 3 nights in Guang Zhou (too longgggggg)
• 1 night in Macau (too shortttttttt)

Key Attractions that we managed to cover during this trip:

• Hong Kong Disneyland (Hong Kong)

Lips to die for. Ahakz!

• The Peak and Skyterrace + Maddam Tussaud (Hong Kong)

OMG! He's just my type! *loves tall men*

• Ladies Market (Hong Kong)
• Window of the World (Shen Zhen)

This was suppose to be the miniature Grand Canyon of USA. hehe

• Sun Yat Memorial Hall (Guangzhou)

Inside the Sun Yat Memorial Hall. The staircase was huge!

• Shamian Island (Guangzhou)
• Haizhu square (Guangzhou)
• Canton Tower from Flower City Square (Guangzhou)
• Beijing Lu Pedestrian street (Guangzhou)

A shopping heaven for some. 

• Ruins of St Paul (Macau)

Key lessons that I learnt traveling in China

• Train tickets in China are easily sold out. We experienced this when trying to book, on the spot for train tickets from Shen Zhen to Guangzhou and Guangzhou to Zhuhai, failing miserably. Thankfully, a bus station was nearby and we only had to divert ourselves there. We wasted valuable time in doing so. hehe. 

           Situation on a bus from Shen Zhen to Guangzhou.

           Travelmate : So what time are we gonna reach Guangzhou?

           Me : I have no idea. Both the ticket seller and driver doesn't speak English. Haha

• Cheap hotel rooms are aplenty but the ones we booked for Shen Zhen was dreadfully far away from public transport. Like SO FAR AWAY! We had to rely on a taxi to get around. Thankfully there were four of us to share the taxi fees. And there was free transport from the hotel to the nearest metro station during our last day. 
• Online negative reviews on hotels/hostels are there for a reason. Failing to read reviews beforehand led us to a very dodgy, horrifically dirty, unkempt hostel in Guangzhou.  It was near to a metro station yet so hard to find! It was actually an apartment on the 8th floor with rooms turned into a dormitory! Gahh!!
• Facebook, Instagram and twitter are banned in China. To solve this problem... do install the Spotflux application on your mobile device. Hehe.
• When traveling in China, always print out your hotel reservations especially if it has a Chinese name. Sometimes, you can't find the location because the locals doesn't know the English name of it. This also goes to the key attractions you plan to visit. 
• Crossing borders out from the China border into another country is tedious and may take hours! Nothing can avoid this except flying out instead of crossing overland. Be wary of your time spent crossing the China-Macau border. You've been warned. :)
• Chinese men are hot! (OK, ignore this. It's only my personal observation. Kbye!)

Hong Kong and Macau are easy countries. No problems here. :)

All photos that has all us four in them were taken by Wan. Thanks for the pics!

In the end, I must admit I've enjoyed the comradeship shown by my new friends (even-though I secretly wished I was traveling alone during some moments. Ngahaha! *maaf* ). We have endured much together, repetitive fish burgers, complaints, tiredness, bad weather and learnt a lot about ourselves in the process. But despite of all that, not soon after, we are already planning our second trip together.

Only this time, I'll be planning the route and hotels! Huh! :P

Happy traveling! May we always be open to new friends and new adventures!