Crossing the Waters

Not ten minutes ago, Keith asks if I have my passport to hand because ...

.... Yayyyyy! We're off again!

I was resigned to spending Easter in HK because Keith is currently house-hunting for some little place in an obscure fishing village on one of the lesser known outer islands - he wants a tinsy holiday home for the rest of his post-retirement life - so going anywhere at all is an unexpected surprise.

But not as much of a surprise as our destination.  It's some place I'd never heard of called Zhuhai.  It's in Mainland China someplace on the sea, heavens only knows where, but apparently only two hours from here by ferry.

We leave early tomorrow morning.

I don't like going to places I know nothing about.  Let me dig out my Lonely Planet Guide to Southern China.

Fifteen minutes later:  so far have only come across a single reference, a paragraph that says Zhuhai is the only city of the South China Guangdong SEZ which hasn't financially benefited from it's designated SEZ-status. (A SEZ, as you undoubtedly already know, is one of the little pockets of Mainland China that doesn't practice Communism.)  Every other SEZ city has become filthy rich, but not Zhuhai, which is most likely why Keith got tickets ... because he's a cheapskate and this will unquestionably be cheap.

Let me ask Keith why he wants to go:

"It's famous for food and beauty therapies."  he says "so we'll both be happy."

Mmmm, works for me!

Still, I'll have some new place to tell you about when I get back on Thursday night.

Until then, Happy Easter everyone.