Today was the commissioning ceremony where we would be 'commissioned'. Still didn't know what that meant. Had breakfast with this guy from the USA, had the weirdest name I've ever heard of: Sirui (See-rew-i). Said he was from Salt Lake City, Utah. Had a lot of breakfast, lots of oil. Oh dear, any chance of me keeping fit throughout the trip was pretty much gone. Sausages? Yes, please. Bacon? Yes, please. Eggs? Yes, please. Noodles drenched in soy saunce? Yes, please.
A quick bus ride took us to another part of the university, where the ceremony would take place. Formed up in the lines. Filed into the auditorium. Ready to clap.
So the ceremony starts. Lots of VIPs we don't know the names of filter in. Then the official party comes in. We clap for this lot. A few cheers here and there. Donald Tsang, the 'mayor' of sorts for Hong Kong walks in. We clap louder for him. Walter's on stage, MCing. A few speeches. Then it's time for the group photos. Group 1, group 2, and group 3. Then it's us. File onto stage. Smile. Flash. File off stage. Ceremony ends shortly after.
I get pulled to the front of the auditorium. A few other people from other groups are there. They don't know what's going on either. One of the leading organisers tells us we'll be interviewed by the press. Cool. I'm paired up with this guy called Nicky. A member of the press starts us asking us questions. 'Where are you from?'. 'What do you study?'. 'Why did you apply for this program?'. Camera guys film us. Guys with cameras take photos of us and our tags. The press thanks us and leaves.
Head back into the auditorium. An elderly man, still clearly with the vigour of his younger years, is in the middle of giving a presentation about Hong Kong's hosting of the Olympic equestrian events. Swear that I learnt more at this lecture than at any other lecture. Questions. Answers. Applause.
So we have lunch, then pack up and leave the BU. Hop on the bus and drive to the Shenzhen border. Compare passports. American. Australian. British. Malaysian. Canadian. Hop off the bus and pass through customs into the Mainland. No photography allowed. Get back on the bus. Rumours. Someone didn't make it. Who? Sirui. Who? Sirui. DAMMIT! We wait for an hour. Sirui doesn't make it on the bus. Where is he? Stuck in Hong Kong. Why are we leaving him behind? He could catch up with us later. Bus hurtles on.
Look out the window. See lots of fields. Reminds me of rural Taiwan. Cross the Pearl River. Huge buildings start to appear around us. Huge, modern buildings. Huge highways connecting the various parts of the city. This is China.
Arrive at our hotel. It's nice. Best room I've ever been in.
We decide to explore Guangzhou. Ladies ready for a night out on the town.
Chunping says he knows where he's going. He leads the group off. I stay behind and wait for Karen. We head off after them. Our phones don't work in China. Explore the area. Appalled that sex shops blatantly advertise themselves during the night. No curtained windows. I can see EVERYTHING from about five metres away from the store. Fascinating. We walk around the area. Humid. Sweaty. Very dark, hardly any lighting. A lot of people selling wares on the streets on little mats. Their hands never stray from the corners, ready to lift and disappear at any time. One word for it all - dodgy (or sketchy, depending which part of the world you're from, as the backseat crew have discussed). We head back to the hotel. We can't find them.
I ask around for a hotel bar. We find one, it's nice. Kristina and Monica walk in. Apparently Chunping didn't know where he was going. Decide to chill for the rest of the night here. A few more people from our group join us, and it's a bit of a party. Drinks menu. See beer. San Miguel. Tsing Tao. Carlsberg. The first two are nice. Kristina was right about the Carlsberg. We call it a night.
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