Finding my way around Shenzhen
Geek Trails on Sat 16th February 2013
Shenzhen doesn’t have a London-like A-Z that I could find. And since it’s a relatively new city growing in leaps and bound, maps are very quickly going to be out-of-date, inaccurate, or missing useful travelling information (e.g. Metro stops). So I looked out for a few alternatives. Static digital maps At the most primitive, the [...]
Shenzhen to Hong Kong International Airport (HKIA)
Geek Trails on Sat 16th February 2013
I spent Thursday trying to figure out how to get from my hotel in Shenzhen to Hong Kong International Airport. Again, the ferry was a tempting route, but still too much uncertainty, and I didn’t have the time to get to Shekou and scout around and recon, nor was I confident about my knowledge about [...]
Shenzhen Convention & Exhibition Centre
Geek Trails on Wed 13th February 2013
I spent this afternoon walking around the Shenzhen Convention and Exhibition Center. It is one of the most recognisable buildings in Shenzhen, and is the heart of Shenzhen. It’s about five or six blocks from my hotel, but with the ongoing construction work there isn’t a straightforward route to it. At least the Exhibition Tube [...]
Splendid China Village
Geek Trails on Wed 13th February 2013
Yesterday’s successful Metro venture meant that today I could do the touristy thing. I opted to visit Splendid China Folk Village, which is part of the massive Overseas Chinese Town (OCT) segment of Shenzhen (Window of the World is also part of OCT). Splendid China Folk Village used to be two separate theme parks, one [...]
Walking around Luoho, Shenzhen
Geek Trails on Tue 12th February 2013
Luoho is known as the shopping district of Shenzhen. So densely packed with shopping malls, and hotels. It’s a perennial favourite for Hong Kong weekenders. MixC Shopping Mall MixC is one of the largest shopping center in Shenzhen, it’s 6 floors spread over three city blocks. It’s another spotless shopping mall, with famous brands, Gucci, [...]
Using the Shenzhen Metro system
Geek Trails on Tue 12th February 2013
The Shenzhen Metro is surprisingly easy to use. The ticket machine offers the choice of Chinese, pinyin and English and is touchscreen-driven. Which means selecting a station (optionally filtering by metro-line first, and then picking a station from it), then selecting the number of tickets. At this stage the default option is one adult ticket, [...]
Introverts: communicating and adapting
Geek Trails on Mon 11th February 2013
Conversationally, I’m well aware I’m in the deep-end here in China, and the people here are very helpful despite my obvious short-comings. Certainly that limits what I can do here, what I can express and talk about, but I have moderate ambitions and expectations. But intentions don’t always need words. A nod and a smile [...]
Morning walk around Futian, Shenzhen
Geek Trails on Mon 11th February 2013
As I slowly feel my way around a brand new city, I find it better to take little steps, get to know the area, get to know what’s available and just build a small comfortable zone. A comfort zone in Shenzhen, a base to start really exploring what the city has to offer. The first [...]
Hong Kong Airport to Marco Polo Shenzhen
Geek Trails on Mon 11th February 2013
My trip to Shenzhen involves flying to Hong Kong and making my way through to mainland China. Arriving in Hong Kong Disembarking in Hong Kong International Airport is very similar to Heathrow, walk off the plane, wander down a few long passages. Then passport control, and then baggage retrieval. Passport control was fairly empty. I [...]
Flying from Heathrow to Hong Kong
Geek Trails on Sun 10th February 2013
My week in Shenzhen starts with a Cathay Pacific flight from Heathrow Terminal 3 to Hong Kong, and then hopefully a bus to take me to the mainland Chinese border and then through to the hotel. Comparing Cathay Pacific to British Airways I have been flying British Airways for almost all of my South Africa [...]