A Night In Shenzhen
The border area, between China and Hong Kong, in Lo Wu feels shady. Once away, things get a lot better.
Going through the border between Hong Kong and Shenzhen via Lo Wu is an experience. What is striking is the number of people. It feels like hundreds, if not thousands, of people are just walking through the border control point. Most of them are carrying big bags full of goods from Hong Kong for personal use or to be sold in the Mainland.
After going through the border control area, there is the area which I like to call “Crazy town.” It is the same feeling as when you are landing in any place where no one speaks English or the language you know. There are lots of private money changers, mobile phone shops selling SIM cards and phones, whose names I have never heard of. There are a lot of guys waiting to guide you to their overpriced taxis.
After getting out of this area, the city is a lot better. I went over on Monday with some friends for some dinner and a day at the spa. The dinner was at a local lamb place run by some Uyghurs, people from the most western parts of China. The food is great and cheap. We share food with the people behind us.
Going to a spa is a popular thing to do in Shenzhen. I have not been to a full spa but to a massage place. We went to the Queen Spa, popular with foreigners because a few of the staff can speak English. The spa is about 6 floors with saunas, hot tubs, Jacuzzis, steam rooms, along with big, comfortable chairs for foot massages and private rooms for full-body massages. The traditional Chinese massage we had reminded me of a Thai massage, where we are bent and twisted all over the place. There was pain, and I felt good afterwards. Everyone was asking for tips. The whole thing cost us about $20-$30 CDN.
We slipped back across the border and home. Shenzhen is a nice place to visit beyond the Lo Wu Border area.