Yesterday was another day in Hong Kong.  I met up with a classmate whom I hadn’t seen for years, browsed the English book selection, and then made my decision about how I would get back to Shenzhen that night.  The opportunity to 坐船 (ride a boat) won out over the other choices, and I made my way to the ferry terminal in 中环 (Central).  The price difference between the regular class seats and those in 头等舱 (first class) was negligible- $30HKD ($3.87 USD by today’s rates), in other words, 差不了多少钱 (no major difference between the prices).  I had the cabin to myself and even was offered a drink.  Being in Hong Kong, I opted for 奶茶 (milk tea) and asked how much it was (my instincts of ‘everything costs something’ had kicked in).  To my surprise, it was 送的 (complimentary).  However, I may need to conduct some 美白 (whitening – this term is usually used in cosmetics) for my 牙齿 (teeth) after the amount of tea I’ve been drinking since moving to near Hong Kong.  The boat arrived in 蛇口 (Shekou, a port in Shenzhen), and the border control had additional security as was mentioned in a previous entry.  I stood in line (with my valid documents) and remained 沉默 (silent) as my passport was stamped.  All in all, a very 顺利 (smooth) experience- until I had to get from western Shenzhen back to where I live, that is.

坐船 zuo4chuan2 – ride a boat
中环 zhong1huan2 – Central, a district on the western part of Hong Kong Island
头等舱 – tou2deng3cang1 – First Class (lit. head level cabin)
差不了多少钱 – cha4bu4liao3duo1shao3qian2 – not a large difference between the two amounts
奶茶 – nai3cha2 – Milk Tea
送的 – song4de – given (complimentary in this sense)
美白 mei3bai2 – whitening (lit. beauty white- mostly used in skin-whitening products)
牙齿 ya2chi3 – teeth
蛇口 she2kou3 – Shekou (lit. snake mouth), a port in Shenzhen
沉默 chen2mo4 – silent/silence
顺利 shun4li4 – smooth (used to refer to a process, not to the texture of an object)