We're heading to China. Spoiler Alert: I adore Zhuhai. The following day, we were leaving Macau for Zhuhai, and I was still anxious about whether our data and apps would function properly. Despite having four phones between us, only one was getting data. Peter suddenly asked if I had packed an adapter for China. I realized I hadn't, having focused so much on ensuring I had the right apps. We hoped we could borrow an adapter at the hotel, or else our phones would run out of power. Peter suggested that perhaps I could refrain from taking photos on my phone to save battery. What?! I also regretted not having any Chinese money, thinking that if worse came to worst, someone might accept it, even if it's mostly obsolete now.
We had breakfast at The Mistral Restaurant. I was too anxious to go sightseeing, even though we weren't departing Macau until the afternoon. Peter advised, "Why don't you go for a swim or something to calm your nerves?" Though it wasn't particularly warm, I did swim a lot of my worries away while Peter declined to join me, citing the coldness of the water.
After swimming, I gazed across the river towards Zhuhai, watching the little ferry we would take later make its trips back and forth. That's our destination - right over there. The little blue boat is indeed the ferry.
Back in our room, I finished packing and we returned to The Mistral Restaurant for our complimentary drink. I had white wine while Peter chose a Tsingtao. It was almost departure time. Just as we were preparing to leave, Peter panicked, saying, "Download a VPN. You'll need it. Nothing will work there." I’d never used a VPN in my life and didn’t fully understand what it was; I'd read that while some people use them in China, they aren't entirely legal. Nevertheless, I complied.
We checked out on the ground floor before making our way to the ferry terminal. We only intended to travel across to Zhuhai on the ferry and then later return to Hong Kong by bus, but I insisted on purchasing return tickets for the ferry in case we couldn't access anything in China and needed to get back to our hotel and leave the country. Peter agreed, likely hoping to quiet me down.
We had entered Macau using our Hong Kong IDs but would enter China with our UK passports. Naturally, I got confused and tried to exit Macau with our passports, which didn't work. Eventually, I got it right. The ferry terminal was accessible with a lift, though pushing Peter onto the ferry was somewhat challenging. Fortunately, a very kind gentleman assisted me repeatedly when I encountered obstacles, and the ferry staff were also exceptionally helpful.
The actual journey took only about two minutes. In one of my more frantic moments, worrying about how to exit Zhuhai if all our apps failed, I jokingly suggested we could abandon our luggage and swim back. We probably could have! Throughout the journey, I often looked back at The Sofitel from the water, noting that we had been sitting there having a drink just moments ago. It provided amusement during the trip.
The same kind man who had helped me board also assisted me disembarking. He was truly an angel. When we arrived at immigration, I realized we might face a challenge. I needed to complete an immigration form accessible via Alipay, which I couldn't do that morning as there was no option for British nationality. I searched for UK, United Kingdom, Great Britain, and British, but none were listed. Instead, I found an option for The Gaby Islands. I was certain this was a mistranslation of Great Britain from a translation app, though later, when discussing this with someone, they found that such islands do exist, part of the Kerguelen Islands, a French territory in the southern Indian Ocean with a population of zero.
The immigration officers inquired if we had completed our forms. I answered no. They reassured me: "Don't worry, scan this QR code and complete it now." I attempted to scan but couldn't. Thankfully, we had return tickets, as images of being deported upon arrival flashed through my mind. The immigration officer examined my phone and noted, "Your scanner is blocked by your VPN." It hit me that VPNs might be illegal in China, and I almost denied having one until I noted a message on my screen stating, "Your VPN is preventing your scanner from functioning." Somehow, with the officer’s help, we resolved the issue. We also managed to complete Peter's form. That was hurdle number one cleared.
Next, I needed my photo taken and fingerprints scanned at immigration. This was straightforward for me, but with Peter's Dupuytren’s disease, he struggled to see the camera and open his fingers. The immigration officers were incredibly patient and kind, doing everything possible to facilitate our entry. They also wished us a wonderful holiday. We
We're headed to China.