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by gonzochicago_Archive
singularity by John Yingling, on FlickrHow NOT to enter Mainland China: I flew into Hong Kong, and luckily jumped a bus straight away to the land entrance of Huanggang checkpoint. I talked with a lady from Russia who lived in Harbin for 5 years, as her kid slept on her lap. That was nice and easy. This is where things went wrong. As I rolled past the second customs border, I swapped my SIM card, assuming it would still work, as there was a good chunk of money left on it. Mistake number one. It didn't work. I also did not, for once, save my hotel address, due to hectic nature of the day, also assuming my SIM would work. Mistake number two. I got to the train station and had about 10 minutes to board the last one. I went to the ATM, and boom, it didn't work with, much to my surprise, any of the three card options I had. Wew, lad... Welp, I thought. I was pretty well fucked at that point. No money. No SIM. No Wifi. The last train leaves the station. What to do, but just jump in. I got into a taxi, and I knew this hotel was near the Shenzhen North station, so I just told him to go there. I asked him to stop at an ATM, and after a few attempts, we got one that worked. A good start. The next thing was finding this 7 Days Inn chain hotel. Even if I picked the wrong one, as long as it was close, I could use their Wifi to find the right one, and now having cash, I could just get into another taxi. Luckily, after some crude language moments, we picked the correct place on the first try. We arrived! However, their lobby and rooms had Wifi, but in a cruel twist of fate, only if you had a phone number to get your access code! Hilarious. So, I said screw it, and just called the day over, determined to just let it all go and start again the next morning. I left the hotel in search of food. The first outdoor restaurant I came across, a man with a group of friends said, Hello! Come! Sit! and pointed for me to join. Fuck it. I was all in at that point, sitting down, immediately cracking cold beers and ordering food with them. I told them the story of what just happened over translator, we drank, ate, and they treated me to my meal and beer. Of course they did. I sat in that moment, marinated, hand on a cold bottle, and missed China intensely. I don't know what it is, maybe the length of time I've spent in the Mainland. Maybe it just suits me best, but the ease at which I traverse through what, to anyone else, would be very stressful times here, makes me really happy. So that was the night. I've just arrived in Guangzhou, where Tony Cheung and a crew of others will hold œSingularity Fest , a mess of art and creativity, over the next few days. Howie will also host a gig on August 4th. It's a perfect time for a visa run to Guangdong, and a good opportunity for me to continue and try to get my shit together. There's a lot to unpack from the last few months. Compiling photos, organizing things, and beginning to edit this first round should be well under way, but my brains been scrambled. I'm exhausted, and must try to take it easy. It's time to try and mix relaxation with moving forward, and this is a good place to do it. In the end, I entitled this story how not to enter somewhere. Reflecting back, a few hours of uncertainty, an ability to just put my hands up, laugh, and roll with it. Drinking with strangers who show unbridled kindness. It's really made me think about just how lucky I am. Forever grateful. Cheers.