Train Ride

Due to a need to save costs on this trip we opted to travel as do the locals.  We obtained a taxi from the Regal Airport hotel.  We had a large amount of luggage and seeing the small taxis we were thinking we would need two.  Well never underestimate the Asian people.  They put it all in the trunk, left the trunk open, took numerous bungee cords and strapped it down.  I could just see all of our luggage falling out and landed in the middle of the road somewhere!  A new cultural experience for us! Hong Kong drives as do the Brits! I had never experienced riding on the opposite side of the road before. It was somewhat disorienting.  Hong Kong looked much as does Mainland China.  I took a few photos on the way.  The cost for the taxi was around $40 US .  It was around a 45 minute drive. There was an extra charge for each piece of luggage carried so this raised our cost somewhat.

The train ride was also definitely a cultural experience.  The Hung Hom train station was very crowded.  There were only a handful of people other than the locals. There was an information desk and we were easily directed to the line where we needed to be.  It gave me a true sense of being in the minority especially when others are staring at you and you do not know the language.  Unlike the "steerage" section of the airplane we had FIRST CLASS train tickets.  The train was very clean and the ride was a wonderful experience.  There is space between train cars where you can stow your luggage or you can check it.  If checked you pay by weight.  We paid around $30 for our six bags.  We each had a large backpack that we carried on.  We knew how fast the people in Asia move and we were fearful of someone grabbing one of our bags if we had tried to get them on the train.  We felt safer checking the bags and each of us having our hand on the girls. We had seats facing each other with a fold out table in between.  We were given a bottle of water prior to the departure.  A cart passed down the aisle to purchase noodles if you wished.  They may have had other offerings but this was what I observed. The train had large windows so we had a wonderful means to view the landscape as we traveled through.  The mountains in Hong Kong are breath-taking.  The girls had never seen mountains as vast.  We saw sparkling new apartment buildings and literally houses that were shacks.  We passed vegetable gardens and saw people working in them.  We saw so much more than we would have seen by air or by van.  A sweet moment on the train occurred on the train when a beautiful little Chinese baby on the train became very fussy.  A young mom started singing "You are my Sunshine" to him in English in an angelic voice.  The loud cry slowly diminished.  There was another family near us.  It appeared to be a young couple and a grandmother with a baby boy.  The baby was adorable and all bundled.  They were preparing a bottle for him.  The young mom kept going to the restroom filling a cup with hot water to warm the bottle.  She had some sort of gadget to check the temperature.  All three adults kept making efforts to insure the bottle was warm enough for the baby.  The Dad kept rubbing it between his hands.  This act of human love was so touching as they were jointly insuring the milk entering this baby's bottle would be warm and soothing to his little soul.  The train restroom was much larger than the one on the plane and was very clean.  The cost for the train ride was $24.52 per adult and $12.26 per child in US currency.  When we entered China my heart was happy.  My baby girls were back on the land which gave them life.  They were home.  Passing through immigration was easy.  WHOOPS on Mommy again! I had a banana in my backpack from breakfast.  As we left customs and walking toward the exit a police "dog" started sniffing my bag.  I was asked if I had any produce.  How the dog sniffed must have told the officer exactly what contraband I had! I admitted to the banana. I had to fill out a form and show my passport to rid myself of the offending banana.  Our guide was there waiting for us.  More later.