Shenzhen part 1 of 4

Along with two other families, we have plans to visit an orphanage over spring break. One of the other dad’s is our elementary school principal Tim Wong a.k.a. Mr. Hong Kong. Tim was born and raised in Toronto but has since immigrated back to Hong Kong where he learned to speak fluent Cantonese. To say that Tim can wheel and deal with the locals is an understatement.

Tim has always got something cooking –he was the one who suggested and then put together the orphanage visit. I have learned that when Tim invites you along on whatever he’s got going, you don't take a pass. You say yes, lace up your sneakers, and then make sure you’re in the car park on time ready to go.

So in the middle of last week, when Tim said that he was running up to Shenzhen in China after Saturday’s Academic Fair in order to buy games for the orphanage, you can imagine how quickly I said yes. Annika and I each have one entry visa remaining on our passports leftover from our trip to Yangshou in November. So Saturday after the Academic Fair, Tim, his wife, Annika, myself and four others got on the local train and headed north toward the boarder.

Even though I have been through this drill before, it was just as exciting as the first time–all those uniformed guards everywhere and those immigration officers looking so serious. It gives me a little tingle in my spine. (Note: If I come back from my two years in China and haven’t spent several hours being detained by The Regime, I will have considered my time is Asia an abject failure. Just kidding. Well, mostly kidding.)

Once we had crossed over the border and were in the huge train/bus/taxi depot on the other side, Tim started haggling with a van driver over price. Tim of course got the price reduced. Turns out that wasn’t the driver; that was a broker who hustles business and then walks the customers over to the waiting van and driver.

We were on our way to some serious shopping Shenzhen-style.