Guangzhou, Macau, Hong Kong, Shenzhen

Our last major stop before leaving China was Guangzhou - an all around decent city that likely had more to offer than we managed to see in the short time we spent there. Formerly known as Canton, this region is responsible for much of the Chinese cuisine the Western world would recognize. Dus and I took a local's advice and sought a specific restaurant to try their famous "pigs feet" - prepared in a sweet and sour sauce. The portion that arrived looked massive - but upon further inspection, we could not find a single morsel of meat hiding within the fat and skin. I hadn't expected much, but the absolute lack of meat was quite a surprise. To be fair, the sauce was quite delicious - so we mixed that with our rice and called it dinner. I still miss the food and spices of Sichuan. From Guangzhou we crossed into Macau via a land border that more resembled a shopping mall. We exercised restraint in not stuffing our packs with the cheap electronics and knock-off iPods for sale, which would very possibly have been confiscated by the friendly customs agents waiting anxiously a few hundred yards away.

Macau was surprisingly decent. The newest casinos looked remarkably similar to those found in Vegas, particularly the Wynn & Venetian. We had some great Portuguese influenced meals - and of course hot Portuguese egg tarts for breakfast. We stayed with a new friend named Patricia who went out of her way to show us the local culture. Hong Kong was the next stop - only an hour away via hydrofoil. We stayed in Kowloon, a choice I might not repeat the next time in the area. Hong Kong seems to me to be an excellent mix of East and West - not in the awkward way many Asian destinations seem to exemplify when their only expressions of the West are banana pancakes, ice cream shakes and television episodes of Friends tirelessly shown within the backpacker cafes. I'm always glad when my trips include a few days in HK.

We apparently missed China at this point - so we crossed back over the border to Shenzhen for one last gander. Dus rode on his train - or on a railroad owned by a company owned partially by him (though shortly after which he sold the stock)... I spent my time looking for random Chinese electronics and spare batteries, then ate an average pizza before returning back to Hong Kong. After more than two months, we finally abandoned overland travel for a flight to Japan - though we had considered taking a boat more than once.