Those living in Zhuhai have the great advantage of being within easy reach of two of great weekend-break spots on the Pearl River Delta: Macau and Hong Kong. A few weeks ago we had a guest post about our neighbour Macau and now the lovely Pearl of the Orient, is due for a bit of a polish.
HOW TO GET THERE
Everyone knows you can take the ferries from Jiu Zhou Port in Zhuhai to either the airport port (provided you have a airticket) or the Hong Kong China Ferry Terminal at the Tsim Sha Tsui MTR station, Kowloon.
For those low-ballers amongst us, try the Sky Shuttle helicopter option which takes a smooth 15min to Macau at a even cooler $2,900.Ā For those of you sticking around until or returning in 2016 youāll be able to use the long awaited Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macau bridge (hopefully by 2016 the name will be shorter than the bridge itself).
GETTING AROUND
Take your pick of the labyrinth MTR (subway), double decker trams and buses, pricey taxi’s and when the weather’s not mimicking a sauna, talk a walk. Public transport is made very convenient to use with the Octopus card (see below.)



ACCEPTED EVERYWHERE
While VISA is accepted everywhere, in Hong Kong at least, the Octopus card (å «éé,Ā Bat Dat ToongĀ in Cantonese)Ā is genuinely testing this notion!

This handy card stores credit for not only all public transport on the island, but extends to paying for goods (McMeals, clothes, books) and services (racecourse bets, car park spaces, movie theaters, photocopies) at various stores and even acts as a school attendance checker and an access control mechanism at some commercial buildings. This ID-less credit token makes life in Hong Kong infinitely easier ā especially since some wet markets even accept it!
THE HONG KONG MENU
While the Brits have ātea timeā, the Cantonese have āyum chaā (飲č¶) which means ādrink teaā which ACTUALLY means youāll be going out to eat “dim sum”.
Possibly the most famous of Hong Kong specialities “dim sum” refers to a style of Cantonese food. Itās traditionally prepared as small bite-sized portions served in small steamer baskets or on small plates.
Dai pai dong refers to the once very popular open air street-food stalls. It literally means “restaurant with a big license plate”, referring to its size of license which is bigger than other licensed street vendors and presently there are all but 28 left in Hong Kong.

Cha chaan teng are found in Hong Kong and some parts of Guangdong. Typicall warm, weak tea is offered upon being seated and sometimes the utensils are washed/rinsed with the tea too. They offer a range of budget meals ranging from western versions of cafe snacks (like the overly sweet version of french toast) to very traditional staples like wonton soup. Both fast food and a la cart menus are available.

RECOMMENDED SOURCES FOR YOUR TRIP
- Not feeling the pull of Honkers yet? Take a look at these very persuasive photos.
- If you couldn’t be bothered to set up an itinerary – try these sample ones
- Ferry times to and from Zhuhai and Macau
- For those going specifically to get a visa extension try our recommended agency
- The MTR website will help you calculate your route and journey time
- Tips on how to shop in Hong Kong like a seasoned pro.
- Must-try foods when you’re in Hong Kong and where to go!
- Survival Cantonese phrases – print them out and take them with!
Hey guys,Here is what the three of us, Leo, David and I, did last saturday. We went to the sport center āTi Yu Zhong Xinā in Zhuhai to try something new we never tried before – shooting! The sports center is a big complex where you can do different kinds of sports. There you can find the sports hall for shooting. You can see it on the picture above! My very first impression was: āIs this really the right place for this activity?ā But it was the right place and it was amazing. š
After we entered the hall, a co-worker accompanied us to the room for the “beginners”. We went through other halls with different kinds of targets; I think some of themĀ were also moving targets. Our ātargetsā were empty bottles which were located on three long, iron racks. First of all we tried the small gun. (See pictures! :)) A magazine of 8 bulletsĀ was 22 Yuan. It was the same price for the rifle which we tried afterwards. Both guns were nice, but all of us had more problems with the small gun because you have to target at the bottles more accurately and calculate some centimeters lower or higher. With the rifle it was much easier to hit the bottles but therefore less interesting. After few magazines were empty, we took some pictures and asked the two guys, who helped us with the guns, whether there are alsoĀ other guns. Suddenly they opened a big, old closet with different other guns. Unfortunately our knowledge of guns is poor so I cannot say which guns those were. š
But we recognized the big shotgun and we immediately asked the co-workers whether we can try it and what the price for one bullet is. One bullet was 12 Yuan. Not that cheap.
But we just wanted to try the shotgun, at least 2 bullets. It really was worth it because the feeling was incredible. It is like you experience a kickback after you shoot and it is so fā¦g loud. š
To all guys who want to try it I can just recommend it to you. For us it was the first time and I can honestly say that we really enjoined it although it was just some minutes of fun! š
Ciao i miei tesorini!
So this weekend, despite the fact that I did not go to Bangkok, I managed to have a ball in Chengdu!
Getting there was a bit rough, my flight was supposed to leave Guangzhou at 20.30 on Friday so I left work a bit early but by the time I had gone through security and waited a bit, the status of the flight was changed to delayed. Jamie had forewarned me about domestic Chinese flights being infamous for delays so I couldnāt say that I was too surprised. A delay of about 5 hours, however, was not expected. The mixture of frustration along with the propensity to complain by Chinese people was something to see – the poor airline employee was surrounded by an angry mob of flyers yelling at him. Donāt kill the messenger, guys! But never fear! McDonalds and bottled water quickly arrived and placated most of the crowd, although a few of the angrier ones went over to the Air China counter and demanded that we fly out on time, only to no avail. For me, it was a good 5 hours actually, I made the acquaintance of three Hong Kongers who were going to Tibet via Chengdu and we changed contact info and I plan to meet up with them in August when I am in HK!
I arrived in Chengdu and got to my hostel at about 5.00, much later than I was expecting! I slept for about 4 hours and then woke up and headed over to the āPeopleās Gardenā which is a massive park in Chengdu with many tea houses where you can just sip on some longjing tea and read/chat/play mah-jong for hours. I opted for reading and thoroughly enjoyed Italo Calvinoās Eremita a Parigi.
The rest of the first day I wandered quite a bit ā saw some nice temples, a science museum, the main shopping area/pedestrian street where I people-watched for quite a bit but actually found that people were often so interested in me that theyād ask for some photos and make small talk, often limited by a combination of my bad Putonghua and their limited command of English.
A note about the food: AMAZING. SPICES AND PEPPERS GALORE. I can truly only hope to hire my own personal chef from Sichuan when I am older š
Saturday night was a bit crazy and I met up with some people in the Couch Surfing community ā thanks for the suggestion, Jamie! Went to a chill Jamaican-esque bar called āHemp Houseā and played the illustrious dice-game and then went to the most ridiculous club I have ever been in my life! The only option was table service with either brandy or cognac ā luckily one of my new acquaintances knew people and we didnāt have to pay! š ā The night went into morning and I didnāt get to sleep until 5.30, which normally isnāt a problem, but I had to wake up at 7 to go see the famous PANDAS. I managed and although I was suffering ā the visit to the panda centre was well worth it. The pandas are so lively and playful ā even watching them munch on bamboo is interesting!!
The rest of Sunday is a mix of eating, napping, wandering and reading.
Had to wake up at 5 this morning to catch my flight back to Guangzhou and then a bus back to Zhuhai and here I am.
I ADORED Chengdu and plan to go back there ASAP ā the dichotomy of the āmost relaxed cityā in China along with the energy of the people leads to such a chill yet happening place.
This upcoming weekend, white water river rafting with my host mother and her colleagues is on the agenda so expect another good blog post then!!
Bacioni
MichƦl
åŖä¹å„½ļ¼
So, despite my āCrocodile Parkā blog post saying that I was heading off to Macao this past weekend, I ended up going to ę”å±±å² ā Guishan Island, or āTurtle Islandā with some friends. The island is home to (I am guessing hereā¦) 500 or so people. It definitely has a small island/fishing village vibe to it. The beach was OK ā it was no Sanya but it was definitely better than whatās here in Zhuhai! The beach on Saturday was bumping but Sunday we were the only ones there! A thunderstorm was rolling in late afternoon on Saturday but luckily the local police gave us a ride back to our hotel from the beach right before the storm hit! Now thatās rendering service to the public!! āŗ
Saturday night was filled with delicious, fresh seafood ā the best shrimp that Iāve ever had the pleasure to sink my teeth into along with some mildly inebriated karaoke. Although a Japanese import, Chinese girls have an insatiable hunger for karaoke that leaves you drunk and with ringing ears come last call.
Sunday we woke up, had breakfast, bought some random foodstuffs at the local general store and headed over to the beach. I lost my goggles. āTwas beyond heartbreaking.
At about 16.30 we had to depart from the illustrious Turtle Island and head back to Zhuhai.
Looking for cheap flights to go somewhere next weekend so expect something good come next Monday!
ęē±ä½ 们ļ¼
MichƦl
Ello ello everyone,
I went to a certain “Crocodile park” with my host family on Saturday. It was definitely interesting, although the novelty admittedly wore off after about an hour. There were monkeys, pigs and crocodiles. Quite the combination.
Afterwards, they took me to the periphery of Zhuhai and we visited a traditional Guangdong village along with a war memorial commemorating the British defeat at Zhuhai. Mind you, the Brits did end up with the Pearl of the Orient, i.e. Hong Kong.
Overall it was a very nice Saturday. The mountain was so peaceful and had wonderful fresh air. It is actually a nature reserve so any development is not allowed in the area. It was a nice departure from the hustle and bustle of the city! And peculiarly enough, on top of this mountain, I had Hong Kong cell phone service…rather strange!
Can’t wait to fill you all in on my MACAO adventures next weekend! š
bisous
MichƦl