New Year’s Eve – A Day of Transition

All of the Mengoni crew, with the exception of Pollo and me, had flights around noon today from Hong Kong, so they left by 6 a.m. to board the ferry from Macau to H.K. We had a more leisurely start, intending to catch the 10 a.m. ferry with the Bici Racing guys, including Fassi. However, I ended up in a rush nonetheless, as I had the last-minute idea of rearranging our luggage to lighten the load. We both brought lots of stuff we haven’t needed at all (due to the weather being cooler, and washing machines less plentiful, than we’d imagined). So we packed our duffel bags with stuff we don’t need, intending to leave these bags with Fassi (to be stored with our bike bags). We’re really lucky that Champion System and Bici have been so kind to us. It’s a lot easier to travel light here.

Anyway, the ferry trip from Macau involved a lot of waiting in a huddle of bikes, bags, and sleepy Bici racers. We shared what breakfast supplies we happened to have (my contribution was Pocari Sweat and some fruit). I tasted the most delicious custard tart I’ve ever had, compliments of one of the riders – browned to blackened on top, and amazingly flaky-crusted. Yum! Apparently there wasn’t enough space for all the bikes on one ferry, so a couple of the guys (plus Pollo and I) were booted to the next sailing (just 15 min later). The trip was only about an hour, but then we had to stand in line for customs/immigration into HK for another half hour at least.

When we finally got through to the hustle and bustle of Hong Kong’s ferry terminus, the Bici truck was outside, and we were able to leave our duffel bags in there. However, my bike (which I’d left with Fassi back in Sha Tin at the start of the race) wasn’t there, so I’ll just have to find a way to get it later.

Since Pollo and I would be on our own from this point forth now that the race is over, we needed to find a place to stay in Hong Kong. Trouble was, being New Year’s Eve (a factor I foolishly hadn’t even considered), lodging would probably be scarce. Fassi had recommended staying on one of the outlying islands such as Lantau, which was crowded only in the summer, and at this time of the year should have plentiful and cheap vacancies. However, he wouldn’t dream of just letting us wander off and try to find our own way there. Poor guy, he was so used to being responsible for our clueless team, that he couldn’t just send us off!

So he planted us at the ferry building’s McDonald’s, and went to pick up some stuff (from his house nearby) for another rider. An hour later he returned for us, and led us blinking outside into the sunny, chilly day. He walked us about 15 minutes along the harbor edge to the piers for ferries to the outlying islands. There he found the ferry to Mui Wo (Lantau Island), and was about to buy 3 tickets when I stopped him. “Really, Fassi, it’s OK. Thank you so much for bringing us here, but you don’t need to come with us. We’ll be fine! I’ll call you later today to confirm that we found a room.” So, with some obvious misgivings but with some relief as well, Fassi said goodbye to his charges.

The ferry provided the 45 minute trip for less than $1.50 USD, but we had to pay extra for our “freight” (Pollo’s bike) – a little more than a regular adult fare! When we alighted on the pier at Mui Wo, Lantau Island, we stood around uncertainly for a while. I noticed a woman in a booth quite near to the ferry’s ticket office with boards showing photos of residences. I approached, and she immediately pulled out some picture albums and started showing me photos. “This one, $500 two night,” she said rapidly. “No kitchen. OK?” Whoa…I thought. Maybe I should do a little research first. I’d seen something in my guide book about a youth hostel on the island, and that had to be cheaper.

I saw a sign that said “WiFi” on the side of a phone booth, so I went to check it out. PCCW, the public phone system, offers WiFi internet on a pay-as-you-go or subscription basis. The rates were incredibly cheap ($20 HK, or $2.50 USD, per 24-hour period) – yippee! So I paid and opened my browser, searching for “Youth Hostel Lantau Hong Kong.” The right page came right up, but when I called (using Skype from my computer!), I was informed that all 168 beds were full for the night. Yikes. So I went back to the woman with the photo albums at the booth, and tried to ask if there was anything cheaper available. Her English wasn’t good enough to communicate these finer details, so she called over a friend of hers who could translate between us. With this friendly woman’s assistance, I bargained the broker down to $400 for 2 nights at the kitchenless room. She asked me to pay her directly, which I did, wondering all the time if it was some big scam. In return, she gave me a slip of paper as a receipt, as well as a crude photocopied map with arrows showing how to get to this guest house.

Pollo and I set off from the pier along the quiet road. Nosing our way across a small bridge and behind the hotel at Silvermine Bay Beach, we found ourselves on a narrow concrete path above a canal. 15 or 20 minutes later, more by luck than thanks to the “map,” we eventually found our way to Winners Holiday Guest House. The receipt I’d been given was indeed good, and we were shown by the proprietress to a small room. The bed pretty much filled the space, but there was a private bathroom and it looked very clean.

However, the thought of spending the evening in that tiny space was totally depressing me, so I convinced Pollo to go back to Hong Kong Central for New Year’s Eve. Unfortunately, we both got a bit seasick during the half hour trip (this time we were on the “fast ferry,” which costs twice as much and takes 15 minutes less for the crossing). We walked around the glitzy mall at the International Finance Center for an hour or so, trying to get rid of the woozy feeling, but to no avail. We did get to watch a brass band perform from the top of a double decker bus, which was festive and put me in a party mood; however, the mood didn’t last as our seasickness wore on. By 9 p.m. we realized there was no way we were going to be able to last until midnight, so we headed back to the ferry. I was looking everywhere for ginger candy (ubiquitous in Chinatowns I have known), thinking it would quell our queasiness. However, I couldn’t find any, and settled for some “White Flower Embrocation” – a small vial of menthol and eucalyptus-scented spirits to sniff.

We trailed tiredly back to our room after arriving in Mui Wo, and fell exhausted into bed. Even the New Year’s Eve revelers in nearby rooms and outside didn’t keep us from falling sound asleep. What party-poopers, I know – here we are in Hong Kong, and we couldn’t even watch fireworks over the harbor!