no photos
In the
morning, I went again to the Shenzhen Port Hospital. To be more exact, first I didn’t,
because I had told Mr.G that I want to go to the hospital and took his first
suggestion, but this was the wrong hospital. It is easier to find a line (my
correct route) than a point (a location, like the hospital), so I could soon come
to the right way. Still, things like that are in a way stressful for me and
today, I could feel that all that imponderables and uncertainties that are a
part of such a trip (Can I cross that road? This rad is not passable – what to
do now? What does Mr.G mean? Is the location correct? Can I reach the ferry in
time? Where should I enter? What does this sign mean? The phone is empty! Mr.G
and phone should connect but bluetooth doesn’t work! etc) are exhausting for
me, because I am always concerned a bit or more than a bit.
That’s why I went to the Hongkong border today to be prepared for Saturday when
I go there. Of course, everything looked different than on the maps that I
consulted, and I am glad that I saw it. Still, I don’t know how long everything
will take and which problems could occur, so I will be there early, because it
is 42km to the meeting point with CS friend Anna and we agreed to meet at 10.
At the hospital, they made a kind of full service, because one nurse brought me
from room to room for the health check. It was a quite austere check, including
blood, urine sample, X-ray and ultrasound. They even tested my eyes and it
would be “funny” if I would not pass their test, because my left eye is not
that of an eagle, more that of a mole. The test has not much to do with what
the cargo ship company wants to know, but Chinese schemes are strict, they only
can do it in one way. I will be relieved when I have my certificate, tomorrow
afternoon I can come to get it (or not to get it….).
After that, I wanted to go to a big shop, Walmart, because I had lost or
forgotten my bike gloves in Zhuhai and even after only 10km, my palms are
nearly wounded by the rough surface of the handlebar. There are some bike shops
in Shenzhen, but all more than 20km away, so I hoped to find something nearer.
And there was: nothing, not even the playground that was marked at maps.me at
the same place. In this regard, China is mainly annoying, and I have no problem
to leave again. There are some other negative things, too, and it would be of
course easier with some language or even writing skills.
By the way, it happened more than once that someone, even after it was obvious that
I don’t understand any word, not only talked on as if Chinese could be understood
by intuition or with a little more efforts, but they even wrote something in
Chinese to explain things that I hadn’t understood by talking.
On the way home, I found another big shop, Vanguard. But they had mainly food,
especially nuts, seeds and sweets. You find nuts and seeds in endless rows without
any obvious system, here nut near drinks, there nuts again near chocolate, then
again near cereals, and so on. And every time seeds from different brands, from
50-500g or more and on different places presented open, as well as beans,
lenses, dried fruits etc. People like to touch the open food and if you see
what they else do with their hands, you like packed food a bit more. Still, I like
visiting supermarkets! I know them from Austria and so, the differences and
similarities are interesting.
But I could tear myself away and cycled
home.
The rest of the day was again planning, this time around the Hongkong trip on Saturday
and a bit Taiwan and Indonesia. And I finished sewing my bike bag and washed
some cloths, that’s it.