David, the Irishman, woke up first because he needed to go to Hong Kong that day. I woke up second and started packing my things. The staff seemed quite sad to see me leave, but wished me luck with my travels and said I should come back again. I knew I would.

I took the subway to Lo Hu station again, on a mission to call home. I walked and walked, trying to use my calling card on various telephones, but alas, it simply wouldn’t work. I went to an internet cafe, bought an access card, and got online. Still, no outside websites would load. They tried to connect, but the delay was simply too long. I returned the card, without a refund, which was frustrating, and finally learned why: “It was most likely the earthquake in Taiwan that damaged all the lines.” “The WHAT?!” “A huge earthquake hit Taiwan.”

People in Taiwan could be in danger, and I didn’t have a single way to make contact back home. I knew what I had to do: I went to a China Mobile shop, spent 100 yuan (about US$12), and bought a one-time phone card. I put it in my phone, entered the special VoIP number, and called home. Thankfully, the call finally connected. “Oh, I know why your phone card doesn’t work.” “I know, too!” We talked for a few moments, then arranged where to meet and what to do. My stress finally eased.

I immediately searched for food and ate some curry. I love curry. Sadly, the curry had bones in it, as I knew it would. In my opinion, curry with bones certainly isn’t as good as curry without bones. Oh well.

Afterward, I went to a little square where what appeared to be “China Idol” was being performed. They even made the “T” gesture for “timeout.” Feeling a little sleepy, I went into one of the buildings, found a chair upstairs, and took a short nap.

Then, alas, I waited.

The border between Shenzhen and Hong Kong had apparently been developed significantly, as it was the gateway to the Economic Zone. There were still plenty of people lingering around. I waited among them for about an hour for my companion to pass through the border. It was quite late, perhaps ten o’clock, and I decided to return to the hostel where I had stayed for the previous few nights. A quick subway ride later, I was there. After leaving the station, I heard a familiar voice: “Hey, Kelvin!” On the same train was a guy named Nick, whom I had met at the hostel the night before. Once I arrived, I was treated as a pseudo-celebrity. I had made friends with most of the guests, and many of them knew about my companion, so everything worked out well.

I checked in, went up to my room, and quickly fell asleep.