Today I walked around the central area of the city on Hong Kong Island. To get there, I take a ferry across the harbor for 22 cents. Here you can walk for blocks through elevated walkways and bridges connecting skyscrapers, which is good for escaping the rain and heat.
As my train departure neared, I had to get to the travel office to pick up my Passport. It was kind of a tight schedule because the travel agency said they would have them in only just before my train, so I picked up the Passport just 30 minutes before I was supposed to be at the train station. Good thing they were close together, just another elevated walkway separating everything. There is a big sticker in my Passport now that says Chinese Visa. Too bad US citizens have to pay a lot more than everyone else (I think something about the Chinese being mad about the US fingerprinting all Chinese visitors there).
Today I used up all my Hong Kong Dollars in preparation of a new currency in Mainland China (although they are valued exactly the same right now). I then boarded the train at 3PM, where I climbed to the top bed in a six bed compartment, the cheapest place on the train. There is only about two feet of space above the top bed, maybe three feet on the middle, and four feet on the bottom. There are also tiny seats in the hallway next to windows.
After an hour or so, the train crossed the border from the HK Special Administration Region to China proper. I noticed right away the loss of English on most of the signs around. After all, English is one of the official languages of Hong Kong. I said, “What am I thinking?” as the 20 hour train ride continued.