Nov. 13, 2019
I felt like, when I was in Shenzhen, that I was watching something on TV about China. Just a surreal feeling.
Passing through customs made me nervous.
My dad had just sent me a package with some of my clothes and a bunch of Hawaiian goodies, namely coffee and macadamia nuts. I was sure I would lose something. And don’t get me started on the fact that I had just bought the iPhone 11 Pro, and had my two old models, the 8 and the 6, with me as well.
I was a walking customs declaration form.
Luckily nothing happened, not even after my bags passed through the X-ray machine at the Hong Kong-Shenzhen border. I don’t understand why the agents had no questions, but I wasn’t gonna inquire into why that was.
All I could think was, this is a weird way to start my first foray into China.
It only got weirder as I noticed the bright lights of the buildings downtown. The only other country I had visited with such stringent communism was Cuba. No glitz or glamor there. (Funny how the U.S. loves its embargo with the island nation, but doesn’t mind doing business with China.)
Eventually I got comfortable in Shenzhen. I went sightseeing, ate some great duck and dim sum, and captured as much of it as I could.
Then came a friendly (unfriendly?) reminder. The VPN at my buddy’s apartment went down. Or should I say it was shut down. I’m pretty sure the government found his provider, and put an end to the free flow of information that China so strongly opposes.
The next morning, when I woke up, with Google still a wistful commodity, I decided it was time to return to Hong Kong.
I wanted my freedom of information back, so I headed to the bus station to cross back into open-minded territory.
The show was over.