travelling solo

day 29: hong kong / shenzhen / guangzhou
9:00 - alarm rings, press snooze
9:09 - alarm rings again, press snooze again
9:18 - alarm rings for the third time, finally get up
9:30 - brush teeth, eat breakfast
10:00 - start packing
11:30 - take the subway from my parents' place to the hk/china border
12:30 - register to cross the border into china using my thumbprint, future border crossings should take only minutes
13:00 - lunch in shenzhen mall
13:45 - exchange HK dollars to RMB
14:30 - take train from shenzhen to guangzhou
16:00 - arrive in guangzhou, take subway (which is an imitation of the hk subway) to bus train to buy ticket
17:00 - take subway to yuexin park to enjoy some rare greenery in this dirty & polluted city
17:02 - pay 20 miao (equivalent to 3 cents canadian) to use the public washroom
18:00 - take subway to shaomian island, wander around, shop for a souvenir
19:00 - dinner at Lucy's (recommended by Lonely Planet)
20:30 - walk by the river, enjoying the guangzhou night skyline, watching groups of chinese people practising tai chi
21:30 i'm in the biggest internet cafe in guangzhou now, blogging, killing time before my 9 hour express bus ride to guilin departing at 23:30

i'm travelling solo this time. partly because there's no one available to come with me, but partly because i want to challenge myself. people say that china isn't the safest place to travel alone, there's stories of people being pickpocketed, robbed, cheated, etc. although i'm nervous to go alone, part of me wants to test myself.

but come to think of it, it's like i'm taking a trip with the Lord. just the two of us. i find that without anyone else to talk to, i spend more time chatting with God. it's nice. most of the time it's me talking, pausing for a reply, then guessing what He's saying. what a reassurance it is to know that i am never alone, but that God walks with me wherever i go.

"..be content with what you have, because God has said, "Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you."
~Hebrews 13:5~

edit: as i tried to search for this verse on biblegateway.com, china's firewall prevented me from accessing the page. interesting.