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Shenzhen Bay Boarder – Shenzhen Wan KouAn

Andy — Sun, 24 Jul 2011 11:02:40 +0000

One of my very first posts was about the different boarders between Shenzhen and Hong Kong. That information is still accurate and you can view that original post here, but I want to update a little more about the Shenzhen Bay or Shenzhen Wan. Since that original post I spent a lot of time going between Shenzhen and Hong Kong before moving across the boarder and then moving back and now its usually the boarder I take when going back to visit/work in Hong Kong.

The time you go makes a big difference

In my original post I mentioned that this boarder was fairly new and quick. It’s still the fastest way to get across if you go at the right time. The longest its taken me was about an hour on a Saturday about 1 PM going to Hong Kong from Shenzhen. Since then I have tried to learn when to go and when not to go. Here is what I’ve found about the time to go:

Lines should be short:

The best time to go from is early in the morning, around 8 AM or early. On the weekdays you maybe OK till 8:45 AM but then it start to get busy, on the weekends better be there at or before 8. Then the best time to go is in the evening after 9 PM, though on Sunday it may still be busy, and the later you get there the better. Note on the Shenzhen side though that if you come back late you may have problems getting a taxi.

Other then that on the weekdays in the afternoon is can sometimes be OK and even Saturday afternoon has been OK, but there is no telling and sometimes it can be really busy.

Lines will probably be long:

It can actually happen anytime during the day if you’re not there early or late as above. However, it defiantly will be busy Saturday after 9 AM and then Sunday evening. The reason is most of the people are taking a tour bus to Hong Kong and all the tour buses go through this border now so it can get full when all the buses arrive.

Also a special note that with the 2011 Universidad in August it will take a long time.

Closing comments and notes

The times above are mostly related to the China side as I have been going through the e-channel on the Hong Kong side, but from what I see it is almost the same since if you get stuck on one side you will get stuck on the other.

Have you had a different experience? Did you get stuck at some of the times I have? Leave a comments and let me know.

Vacation in Coron (Philippines)

Andy — Wed, 02 Feb 2011 02:36:53 +0000

I haven’t been posting much as I’ve been busy working but figured now that I’m on vacation I can go ahead and spend some time writing about our travels. Rica and I spent the last few days in relaxing in Coron and are now waiting to leave as I write this.

We arrived 3 days ago and had 2 full days here along with the one to get here and one flying back. We stayed at the Coron Village Lodge right in town, about 40 min by car from the airport. The first day we arrived we spent exploring the town, though after a little you see everything and there isn’t much to do.

The second day was the best part of the trip. The helpful staff at the lodge arranged a boat for us to do island hopping. We went from place to place on our private boat (Rica and I with the captain and helper) swimming and taking some great pictures. I won’t go into details but this made the trip worth it, you can take a look at some of the great pictures we got. Really a great time but exhausting from all the swimming and sun.

The 3rd day was not very good as I got too much sun and heat the day before and felt sick all day! We spent most of the day on out air conditioned room getting some rest. Since we where in the city and there is not much to unless you take a boat it was too late to do anything, but at least we felt rested and better for the trip back.

Overall it was great to see and thanks to Mike for suggesting it and arranging the accommodations. The only bad part is there really isn’t much in the town so you need to be ready to get a boat everyday to enjoy it. We did one set of island hopping but there is more to see if you are here longer. You can also choose to stay at another location or on the island which maybe better.

On the way to the airport now and will post more from Boracay.

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Lamma Island in Hong Kong (with pics)

Andy — Sat, 15 May 2010 07:27:24 +0000

Rica and I headed to Lamma Island a few weeks ago to visit and see whats out there. We headed down to Central Pier 6 on Hong Kong Island. For there we went to Sok Kwu Wan and planned to do the walk over to Yung Shue Wan. You can actually go the other way around but the ferries to Sok Kwu Wan come a little less often so we decided to go there first.

Once you get to the island it really feels like you’ve left Hong Kong, no more sky scrapers or even roads for that matter. Just a few little houses and a few restaurants. If you’re ever in Hong Kong and have an afternoon on a nice day I would defiantly recommend it. We just did the walk and then had food down in Yung Shue Wan although the restaurants we saw Sok Kwu Wan looked a little better so when we go back next time we’ll have to try there.

Here are some pictures from our visit!

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