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This story happened a while ago but is worth mentioning. It happened the week after our move. We decided to get some furniture in Macau since it is significantly cheaper than in Hong Kong. One of the main reasons being that it is closer to the factories on mainland China.
I had planned to go by myself on a Thursday really early. When I got to the Ferry Terminal I discovered I had not brought my passport. Normally you only need a HK Identity Card but since they ask for a passport sometimes I decided not to take a risk. Carl sent his assistant over with my passport and I was on my way. A lot later than planned but I thought that wouldn't be such a problem. Funny enough this incident made a big difference in what happened afterwards. Would I have gotten on an earlier ferry the following incident would not have happened (to me)......
The ride over was smooth. We had good weather and an hour later we arrived at the Terminal in Macau. People started getting up around me and were moving towards the exits. I couldn't get out of my seat because my seat exit was blocked. (By the way did I mention that I was one of the only two non-Asians on board?!) Anyhow we saw the pier in front of us and everybody was waiting in the aisles when we suddenly heard a loud bang! The boat had hit the pier! The impact was quite hard and all I could see was all these Chinese falling over like domino stones. All the same length and the same color hair...One on top of the other. It was actually quite funny.
After what seemed a very long wait there was an announcement made in Chinese. People started talking left and right and when they finally got to the English part I could not hear a word. I started asking around but nobody spoke English. Slowly I realized there was a hole in the boat....Apparently they had sent for a welding boat and were waiting for them to arrive to fix the hole. The strange thing was that we were not let off of the boat. We could see all the crew on the dock looking at us from every angle and land seemed so close.....The welders worked on the hole for quite a while but we were still not allowed to get off. Every time one of the ferry men opened the door to look out at the process everybody else moved towards him with bags and all. I started getting nervous since I had no idea how big the hole was and I wondered if we could sink it with all these people on one side (the hole side!). Not being able to communicate didn't make it easier on my fruitful imagination. I was very thankful though for the fact that it was just me that day. I knew I would be able to swim to the dock by myself without having to worry about kids and all. People around me started getting really restless and fearful. One Chinese man who was talking to the only other non-Asian kept saying it was irresponsible and dangerous etc. So after more than an hour things were getting a bit nerve wracking. We had a few more announcements but I missed each English translation due to the loud exclamations of the Chinese. The only information I got was from the conversation I overheard and one time where I found an English speaking crew member....Finally they released us after 1 1/2 hour! It turned out that the boat had been stuck on the pier. The welders had actually made the hole bigger in order for the boat to be able to pull away from the dock. It could have otherwise ripped the haul. What a relief to leave that densely 'populated' boat behind after 1 1/2 hour of tension! I quickly got a taxi and made it to the stores. At the end of the day I missed my return trip and made it to the Terminal about 1 1/2 hours late. I explained to them that I was on that particular boat and that I was not going to pay for another ticket. After much hand and footwork (talking) they finally let me on.....Pffffff what a day!
I had planned to go by myself on a Thursday really early. When I got to the Ferry Terminal I discovered I had not brought my passport. Normally you only need a HK Identity Card but since they ask for a passport sometimes I decided not to take a risk. Carl sent his assistant over with my passport and I was on my way. A lot later than planned but I thought that wouldn't be such a problem. Funny enough this incident made a big difference in what happened afterwards. Would I have gotten on an earlier ferry the following incident would not have happened (to me)......
The ride over was smooth. We had good weather and an hour later we arrived at the Terminal in Macau. People started getting up around me and were moving towards the exits. I couldn't get out of my seat because my seat exit was blocked. (By the way did I mention that I was one of the only two non-Asians on board?!) Anyhow we saw the pier in front of us and everybody was waiting in the aisles when we suddenly heard a loud bang! The boat had hit the pier! The impact was quite hard and all I could see was all these Chinese falling over like domino stones. All the same length and the same color hair...One on top of the other. It was actually quite funny.
After what seemed a very long wait there was an announcement made in Chinese. People started talking left and right and when they finally got to the English part I could not hear a word. I started asking around but nobody spoke English. Slowly I realized there was a hole in the boat....Apparently they had sent for a welding boat and were waiting for them to arrive to fix the hole. The strange thing was that we were not let off of the boat. We could see all the crew on the dock looking at us from every angle and land seemed so close.....The welders worked on the hole for quite a while but we were still not allowed to get off. Every time one of the ferry men opened the door to look out at the process everybody else moved towards him with bags and all. I started getting nervous since I had no idea how big the hole was and I wondered if we could sink it with all these people on one side (the hole side!). Not being able to communicate didn't make it easier on my fruitful imagination. I was very thankful though for the fact that it was just me that day. I knew I would be able to swim to the dock by myself without having to worry about kids and all. People around me started getting really restless and fearful. One Chinese man who was talking to the only other non-Asian kept saying it was irresponsible and dangerous etc. So after more than an hour things were getting a bit nerve wracking. We had a few more announcements but I missed each English translation due to the loud exclamations of the Chinese. The only information I got was from the conversation I overheard and one time where I found an English speaking crew member....Finally they released us after 1 1/2 hour! It turned out that the boat had been stuck on the pier. The welders had actually made the hole bigger in order for the boat to be able to pull away from the dock. It could have otherwise ripped the haul. What a relief to leave that densely 'populated' boat behind after 1 1/2 hour of tension! I quickly got a taxi and made it to the stores. At the end of the day I missed my return trip and made it to the Terminal about 1 1/2 hours late. I explained to them that I was on that particular boat and that I was not going to pay for another ticket. After much hand and footwork (talking) they finally let me on.....Pffffff what a day!
