Most interesting was a random traveler I met as I walked away from the
closed train station in Shenzen ( = within-China border town next to
Hong Kong), unnaturally awake at 2 in the morning. Renda does
operations in Johannesburg for South Africa Air. Taking a notably
different approach to travel than me, she's here for 3 days to buy
clothes. Said she gave a traveler she met all her cash and deposit of
payback was delayed; this sounds fishy as all hell, but I'm not
sketched enough to let it bother me.
We kill a few hours at some 24-hour place that serves, appropriately
enough, Chinese food. I'm amazed by her description of South African
courting rituals, which include but are not limited to 4+
celebrations, a dowry, negotiating uncles, and a "5-year warranty:"
you can return a bride to her family and get your dowry back if she
doesn't pop one out within 5 years! In Renda's case, her fiancee's
uncles have sent a letter to her parents naming the date when they'll
come, without her fiancee, to negotiate. So involved are the families
that Renda doesn't even know when the date is. A world of difference
from a Vegas weekend, but not necessarily any less sketchy.
So, having taken 3 flights, at least as many buses, a train, and a
cab, we'll call the day at an end with me snoozing on a train en route
from Shenzen to Guangzhou.