Hustle-Bustle Hong kong and China – 2015
When we arrived on 28th March 2015 morning after a very long and delayed confirmation, I always had in mind that I would fully utilize the layover of Cathay Pacific on our way to Hangzhou, China. We had a layover of 8 hrs; we had enough time to take a free 14-day transit visa on arrival and a bus to the city center, be there for some hours, and then take a ride back to the airport.
But the guy whom I was traveling with, who had been to China multiple times before, never ever took the benefit of layovers, as he was anxious and too afraid that he might miss the flight, so basically he didn’t have the adventure genes, which I fortunately and thankfully have in my body since the day I came to this beautiful world.
After cajoling and begging him the easy way and then the hard way, I finally made him realize that I won’t quit, so he agreed. We landed at around 10 am on the morning of the 28th; straight away I went to the transit counter, took the 14-day token, and ran into the bus, which was about to depart to the city center. I planned initially to visit Victoria Peak and Victoria Harbor during the very calculated time during our layover; first we went to Victoria Harbor.
We strolled there for half an hour and took some photos, and then I told my travel partner to go to Victoria Peak, but as I told you earlier, he was not in the mood; he just wanted to have some lunch and ran back to the airport. In all the photos, he never smiled, so I told him we have enough time to have lunch, visit Victoria Peak, and then go back to the airport, but he wouldn’t budge; he became silent. I was so angry at that time, but I never knew that I would become mad at him soon. Then the hunt for the vegetarian food began, as he was vegetarian and very choosy when it comes to the food.
I had no choice; I googled the location of HIS choice of restaurant and started speed-walking towards the marked location, but it was so confusing and chaotic that we got lost. After an hour of walking and abusing (him, of course), we finally reached the restaurant, which was tucked away in a small street on the second floor with a very small entrance that was hardly visible (Hong Kong is very costly). We ordered the food after thoroughly checking the rates on the menu. We were tired and hungry; as soon as the food arrived, we chomped on it.
Even after wasting time here, we had enough time to visit Victoria Peak, but you know the reason. Then I decided to quit, or actually decided to kick him out, actually not literally. I told him, There is a small temple here; you go visit the temple, and I will visit the mosque., Out of Aastha, he agreed, so now I dropped the idea of visiting the Peak; instead, I went to the mosque and prayed and thanked the almighty for everything. The mosque was beautiful, Masha Allah, and it was in the very center of Hong Kong. I stayed there for a while, then we caught the bus from the corner and went straight to the airport without talking to each other and flew away to our next destination.
Arrival in China for the First time
It’s been more than 8 years; I have lost photographs and am unable to locate them. But I will write what I remember from the very first trip to China. Actually, by looking at the old photographs, it’s easier to recall the memory of the place you visit. I will try my best. As We landed in Shanghai from Hong kong , we took a Bullet train and went straight to Yiwu—the small commodity capital of the world. As I was a newbie, from tickets to booking, everything was handled by the person whom I don’t like. We stayed at Chengbie Lu, a road in Yiwu where all the Indians stay; it has so many Indian veg restaurants. Most of the hotels and restaurants in a stretch of 200 meters are occupied by Indians.
We arrived there in the afternoon, so we stayed at the hotel, as the market closes early around 5 pm. The next day we woke up early, had breakfast included in the package (mostly watermelons), and then went to one of the largest markets I had ever seen. Multiple floors, different sections, and thousands of shops—it was just unbelievable. I had never ever seen such a large number of shops under one roof, selling millions of products. We used to walk around 15 km per day; that was exhausting. The person I went with was into craft items; he booked goods in millions as if he got some kind of ‘Khazana.” I was in awe, but once we came back to India, everything faded away, as he was unable to provide payment on time to the vendors. He purchased only 40% of the amount he booked, mostly craft items.
We had a deal that he would purchase for US and we will sell online. I told him about the quantity required and requested for the same, but he ordered almost triple the quantity, not because I needed it but as he wanted to sell that as well offline, of course. I told him, though, that I can only sell the quantity that I requested as per our monthly sales estimate, but he always says the same “thing—”Koi Waanda nahi,” dont worry, pay me when you sell. Iskay isi Waanday say iska Waanda lag gaya — He purchased, without any proper planning, so many craft items. I warned him, but he didn’t budge, and as we came back to India, he couldn’t allocate the funds and became a defaulter. Baaqi ki story bahut lambi hai, Kisi aur din
