May 2

This morning, as I was getting ready to wash up, I realized I didn’t have a towel. Feeling a bit stuck, I asked a guy who was coming out of the washroom. He kindly lent me an unused towel. He’s from Singapore and still working. He’s staying here temporarily because housing in Hong Kong is too expensive. He plans to return to Hong Kong today—partly because WhatsApp doesn’t work here.

His roommate below is a Brazilian guy who was kicked out of a hotel when his stay ended. Since he can’t speak Chinese, this Singaporean gentleman introduced him to stay here for one night. That Brazilian bro looked a bit down.

We exchanged simple greetings. He told me this hostel is very safe—people leave their phones lying around without worry. He said it feels like a place for food delivery workers to stay, and at night, he saw a group of young people who looked like an influencer team filming content.

He wasn’t sure what fun or historic places Shenzhen has. I recommended Nantou and Guanlan. He said real historic sites are better found in Guangzhou or Fujian, but encouraged me to try the self-driving experience in Nanshan District.

Today was full of firsts for me:

• First time eating authentic rice rolls, both Cantonese and Chaoshan styles;
• First time tasting a special hot pot dipping sauce made by Will (a friend of mine);
• First time visiting an anime culture center and wandering through a “Guzi” store, seeing so many cosplayers (I was too shy to ask for photos and signatures);
• I saw the sea for the first time. During the day, I glimpsed it through the subway window in the fog, so no skyline was visible; but we had a lot of fun at Shenzhen Bay Park at night with a few local friends, and Will took many photos for all of us.

May 3

Some random thoughts:

I started learning Cantonese at 16, but today was the first time I heard someone speak it right behind my ear, and in a Hong Kong accent.
First time having a face-to-face chat with an adult—talking about work, education, and life, rather than texting.
First time using a fork and knife (pretending to be calm about it).

On the way back at night, I passed a street full of handsome and beautiful people, right next to another street lined with food delivery scooters.

Later, I randomly opened a local job site, and suddenly felt a bit overwhelmed (hit hard by reality). While wandering around Coco Park in the afternoon, I saw a few good brands and thought, “It would be great if I knew about branding and marketing for fashion or cosmetics someday.”

Tonight was my last night at the hostle. I couldn’t sleep and just stared at the wall .

PS: There weren’t too many photos at the day.

May 4

The day brought more firsts:

• First time seeing a wax figure of Deng Xiaoping and one of the old inspection vehicles. His pioneering spirit still moves me.
• First time seeing so many animal specimens and ancient ceramics from all over the world. I’m no art expert, so I just skimmed through.
• First time adding a TikTok friend face-to-face: I met a TikTok influencer Ms. Sophie Homes with her son in the ceramics exhibit during her break, said hi, and followed her. She loves ceramics, travel and does business about luxury china and porcelain. Those huge ceramic vases… I can only imagine the shipping cost.

We visited Shenzhen Library, for the first time I went to a library in 2025 and found many updated textbooks now in Chinese.
Also sang for the first time this year at a ktv—though my breath was shorter than before, I was happy.
Moved to a slightly better hotel and spent time zoning out to the background noise of Peppa Pig.

During the day, I chatted with friends about language, culture, economy, and even things from a few years back. I’m not sure if it’s “good” or not, since I haven’t had such deep talks in a long time, but I learned a lot.

There are too many small details to mention here…

Postscript

Late at night, I stumbled upon another version of a Shenzhen travel log on Douyin (It might load slowly in some places). Watching it felt like a strange overlap with my own memories:

“I don’t know when I’ll come back to Shenzhen, maybe with a different mindset. This time, I came to really let go and spend freely, experiencing many firsts. It’s a far more relaxed feeling than trips reimbursed by work.”

I also met two other new friends from Will’s chatroom, tried silkworm pupae and extra-long shrimp for the first time. Now I’m okay with shrimp, but I’d rather not remember the pupae.

PS: I didn’t have photos of pupaes, but I would never forget the taste.

On the next day, we will go to visit Nantou Ancient Town.