Post Holiday Blues

Trip Start Jun 03, 2006

106

132

Trip End Jun 03, 2009

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Flag of China Shenzhen, China
Monday, July 30, 2007

The journey back from Hong Kong airport to mainland China was incredibly smooth last night and we were in bed in Shenzhen within an hour and a half of landing in Hong Kong. Being picked up by your own private Mercedes was a very pleasant way to return home and if you're putting a price on your time and effort then it's worth the cost of RMB800 too.

Waking up 7 hours later I felt happy and relaxed and was looking forward to going into work. 5 minutes outside the door was enough to tell me I'd got a dose of the post-holiday blues. I was sticky and uncomfortable, and for 10 minutes I couldn't face getting on the buses which all seemed absurdly busy. Worst of all, I was mad at the dour faces around me and craving the laughing, smiling faces of the Philippines and their pleasant civilities which we'd left behind yesterday evening.

It sounds a bit daft, but we're entitled to idealise the experiences of a relaxing holiday. I knew I'd got the blues bad as I found myself thinking that the Chinese women through the bus window were scrawny and ugly. That is really not a common thought in this part of the world.

By evening, the feeling had gone and I was back in tune with my surroundings, but for an hour, things felt really weird. I guess there's sometimes no escaping the blues.