And we're at Day 4 of our trip. And finally we're travelling out of HK!!!
If you were to ask if for my favourite highlight for the trip, it would have to be Shunde 顺德. We didn't get much done in a day but the whole feel of the city is one that I like. Their pace is not as rushed as Hong Kong and it seems that the people appreciate life better.
How to get tickets to Shunde 顺德?
We bought our tickets from China Travel Services, but I believe you may be able to get the tickets
online too. We had to pay an admin fee of 12 HKD when we purchase our tickets through China Travel Services. One way ticket to Shunde will cost HKD 240 each (~SGD41).
The ferry timings are
8.30am,
9.30am,
11.00am,
3.00pm and
6.00pm.
We departed our hotel at about
7.15am, took the cab to China HK City, which took us just 15 mins ride from our hotel. And since we had time, we headed over to MacDonald's for breakfast before we boarded the ferry.
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| China Ferry Terminal Entrance |
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| Entrance |
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| Take to 1/F for the Departure Hall |
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| McDonald's on Level 1/F |
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| My breakfast |
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| HY's breakfast |
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| Scrambled Eggs & Ham burger |
There is just something about the scrambled eggs in Hong Kong - irresistibly nice and soft!
And once we were done with breakfast, we headed to our ferry. To buffer some time to clear the customs, as you will be "leaving" Hong Kong.
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| Our ferry was at Berth 10 |
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| Our ferry tickets! |
They have assigned seats in the ferry but generally the ferry isn't usually packed (at least not as packed as the ferries to Macau). That also explains because Shunde 顺德 isn't one of those places that are frequently visited by tourists (visiting Hong Kong).
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| Our seat |
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| Arrival Form |
HY took a while at the customs and while I was waiting for her anxiously, a man in uniform shirt approached and asked in Cantonese if I needed a free transfer. My first response was no because I wasn't sure where it would be bringing us. Not long after, another man in uniform shirt joined him too. He asked us where we were aiming to go and I said Qinghui Garden (清晖园). They said that they have free transfer to the hotel opposite of Qinghui Garden (清晖园). Felt the peace to go along so we agreed to take the shuttle. Of course I was also cautious that if we saw a dodgy vehicle that we wouldn't board either.
And when we walked out of the terminal, we realised that there were signs leading to the buses that says "Free Shuttle" for those with ferry tickets. However, they didn't check our tickets before boarding.
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| Free Shuttle Bus Stop |
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| Inside of the shuttle bus |
Besides HY and I, there was just 2 other passengers on the bus. So we sat on 2 separate sides of the bus to enjoy the beautiful scenery.
And after about 25 mins ride, we arrived at New World Shunde Hotel, which was directly opposite Qinghui Garden (清晖园).
Cross to the opposite side of the hotel and you will find yourself at Qinghui Garden (清晖园).
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| Entrance |
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| Ticketing Counter |
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| Ticket Office |
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| Our tickets |
We bought our tickets, which cost us 15 RMB (~$3 SGD) each.
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| This is where you enter with the tickets |
There are many (and when I say "many" it is quite an understatement) photo spots in Qinghui Garden (清晖园). We spent about 2 hours there (and we could have probably gone on for longer) except we were conscious of time and I was getting hungry. With that we exit and left.
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| Exit |
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| Exit |
Based on research, one of the popular local specialty in Shunde 顺德 is 双皮奶 (Double skin milk). And there was one shop selling just that opposite Qinghui Garden (清晖园) named 民信老铺. When you come out of Qinghui Garden, turn right and cross the traffic light. You should find yourself at this shop.
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| 民信老铺 |
Right at the doorstep of this restaurant, there sat a man, shirtless and looking like any other beggar you will find. But as I walked nearer to him, I realised he wasn't just a beggar, but that his skin has been badly burned and disfigured.
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| 民信老铺 |
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| 民信老铺 |
With that, we walked into the restaurant, like many others would, but the man that was sitting at the entrance of the restaurant left an impression in me.
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| Inside of the restaurant |
So after we ordered our food, I took out a piece of paper from my bag and wrote these, "Jesus loves you, you're not alone" in Mandarin. I wasn't even sure if he was able to read, but I still wrote it anyway.
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| Note for the uncle at the door |
Well since it was meant to be lunch for us, we ordered the "sides" that they have.
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| Chicken Wings |
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| Fried Milk |
HY found the Fried Milk pretty interesting as it was her first time having it. I personally feel that the Taiwan types tasted better.
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| Looks like our dessert is our mains! |
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| Prawn Cake |
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| All the food we ordered - we also ordered the carrot cake |
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| I ordered the steamed 双皮奶 (Double skin milk) with Red Bean. |
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| The steamed milk was so smooth and it melted in my mouth straightaway |
I have to say I really enjoyed the Steamed Milk, the texture is so nice (comparable to Panna Cotta) and it melts in your mouth right away.
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| Cold version of the Steam Milk with Sago |
HY ordered the cold version instead. My personal preference, the warm version taste nicer!
Verdict of the place. I'll only come here for the dessert. I think their mains are just "okay", enough to fill the hungry but there are probably better food around the area. Our lunch cost us about 170 RMB (~$34 SGD).
With that, I ordered the Mango Milkshake and the Chicken Wings for the man that was sitting at the entrance of the restaurant. As I approached him to give him the drink and the food, I first asked if he understood Cantonese. Thank God he only understands Mandarin. I was more comfortable conversing in Mandarin than Cantonese. So I passed him the food and drink and asked him politely how he ended up with the burns. He shared that he used to be a teacher. However, the pay of the teacher wasn't sustainable and he went for a higher risk job and one day, an explosion happened at the factory and he ended up with the burns he has. Being a Christian, I asked if he was okay for me to pray for him, and to my surprise, he said he is a believer too (and that he could tell I was a believer). Then I prayed for him, with my broken Mandarin, that God shall be his shelter and that his needs shall be satisfied. I also passed him the note that I wrote and thankfully, as he was a teacher previously, he can actually read (wished I wrote more)! We had a light hearted conversation and suddenly I felt like I've known him for the longest time! Maybe also because he shared that he has 3 children, and I was probably the age of his eldest daughter!
With that I left the conversation, heart FULL. So filled. So grateful that I was able to be a vessel to bless this man. The journey to Shunde 顺德 wasn't quite what we expected, and even when the uncle found out that we came from Singapore, he exclaimed at the distance. It was a 4 hours plane ride to HK, 2 hours ferry ride from HK, followed by 0.5hrs bus ride. According to Google Maps, the distance between Singapore and Shunde 顺德 is 2,594 km!!! When I met this man, I kind of finally understood why God wanted to direct our steps to Shunde 顺德. He wanted to love on him, and I was honoured to be that vessel to deliver His love to him! But most of all, in order for me to love on him, I had to first remember how Jesus loves me! This reminded me of the story of the Samaritan woman at the well.
John 4:4
Now he had to go through Samaria.
The Bible says Jesus had to go through Samaria. But in actual fact, it was an indirect way to get from Galilee to Jerusalem. And the only reason was because, Jesus was going for the woman (whom He foreknew) was going to be at the well at noon.
That really stuck in me. Having taking the physical journey from Singapore to Shunde 顺德, it felt deliberate, yet it also felt like it made sense. All in all, because I met this man, I could call this the HIGHLIGHT of my trip. One of the things that I was secretly praying for this trip was the opportunity to outreach (or volunteering at an orphanage etc) and here it was, "on the way" was how the Lord led me to reach out to this man so that He can reach out to me too!
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| Our wefie together |
With my heart filled and joy doubled, we left the restaurant and headed left. It was about 2.30pm when we left the restaurant. We had actually wanted to get to 李小龍紀念館. We managed to find the street where it was located after about 20 mins walk.
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| 东康三街 |
We asked for directions from the shophouses on the street since we couldn't find it and was then informed that it isn't usually opened. So with that, we didn't manage to visit the 李小龍紀念館.
Then we took a cab from that vicinity to Shunfenshan 顺峰山公园. The ride was about 10 mins and cost us about 11 RMB (~SGD$2).
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| Entrance is FOC |
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| The other side of the entrance |
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| Because the weather was too hot, we decided to seek shelter here and chilled |
They have many infrastructure similar to that of Qinghui Garden.
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| Friendly for nursing mothers |
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After spending about an hour plus there, we decided it was time to find our way to the Harbour. On the same street as Shunfengshan, you would also find a Decathlon. However, we didn't go in to see if the prices are cheaper there. Cross the traffic from Decathlon and you will find yourself at Marriott. Since we were disconnected from the world, no data and all, we headed to Marriott to seek help to call a cab.
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| The reception at the Marriott helped us to call for cab |
Address of Marriott: 388 Nanguo E Rd, Shunde Qu, Foshan Shi, Guangdong Sheng, China, 528300
So the cab ride from Marriott took less than 15 mins, and cost us 30 RMB (~$6 SGD).
We had to wait outside the departure hall before they called us in to clear customs. While waiting, we got ourselves a drink (since we were so thirsty and have exhausted all our water).
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| 36 RMB (18 RMB each) |
This drink was probably the most expensive.
All in all, we spent about $50 SGD for a day in Shunde. Personally felt that there are still many areas yet to be explored and there are probably a lot more gem in Shunde than what we have seen in a day. This is probably a city I'll return to again and maybe I'll do a 2D1N stay in future.
With that, we cleared customs and boarded our ferry back to Hong Kong. The ride was also 2hrs 10 mins back to China Ferry Terminal.
From China Ferry Terminal, it's walking distance to Tsim Sha Tsui station and we took a station away to Jordan... to eat our favourite congee!
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| This time round I tried the pig liver fish porridge. |
The congee for the pig liver and fish porridge tasted even nicer than the previous try we had (probably because of the pot they used), but I personally still preferred the century egg porridge.
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| Sliced fish |
The man on the same table as us ordered the sliced fish which we wanted to order in the first place, and I asked him how to order this because it wasn't on the menu. He was really nice to let us try.
After our congee, of course we headed back to Jia Jia Dessert. This time I ordered something different.
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| 粒粒红豆并凉粉 - Red bean with grass jelly |
This tasted nice too! And having had a long day, we headed back to the hotel to rest, in preparation of our Macau trip the next day!
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