January 19, 2020
Day P2A: Hong Kong Bank Success
In the past few recent months, all my offshore bank cards were either deactivated, lost, or blocked. This made withdrawing RMB cash from an ATM very difficult. The only way to get RMB cash was to either tutor part-time or borrow money from friends. So it was paramount that I replaced the first card that I could which was from my Hong Kong bank account. This is the main account where they pay my full-time salary. I had managed to pre-arrange a new card and security device at a Hong Kong branch in HSBC. But first, I had to get there.
Feeling hungover as could be, this wasn't off to a good start. I woke up too late and realized that an hour was not going to be enough time to get from the hotel to the Guangzhou South Railway Station where the high-speed train would depart to Hong Kong. On top of thta, it was the Chinese New Year rush. It simply wasn't going to happen, but I had to at least try.
First order of business was to dump my luggage at the hotel as I ould be back later tonight anyway. That done I made tracks for the subway and arrived at the high speed rail station with about 15 minutes to spare. I figured I might actually make it!
But the problem was trying to figure out where to go. There were automated facial recognition scanners everywhere for locals to enter the gates and board trains, but foreigners had to use the manual channels and these were not marked. They were extremely difficult to find.
When I eventually found the manual channels, the super long queue to check in meant I'd be late for sure. I did eventually get into the station and tried to get onto any train bound for Hong Kong. That didn't work because they insisted I had to print out a ticket. It turns out this requirement was only for Hong Kong bound trains. I could see the train I had booked was empty but they refused to let me on and said I'd have to buy a new ticket and print one out. Damnit! Trying to do that online, the only option was first class that cost $60 and I was mad as hell, but there was no other choice because the bank would close at 1pm and I had to get there on time.
The train itself was fast and bliss and I got into Hong Kong just before the bank closed at 1pm. They issued me the brand new card and security device, and I felt elated because now this particular cashflow option was back. With time to spare, I did a little shopping, managed a fitness class, then made tracks back to the train station.
But something seemed off. Earlier, while crossing into Hong Kong there were temperature checks and some elaborate paraphenalia that reminded me of the earlier SARS outbreak many years ago. Was what my colleague said true about this pneumonia outbreak going around China? When crossing back into China there were no indications of anything unusual. Still, the vibe felt off.
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