23 September 2019 – Shenzhen: Pools, Perks and Post-Security Confessions

After a long-haul flight from Madrid, we landed in Shenzhen ready for rest—and thankfully, we’d booked into the Hyatt at the airport, so it was just a short stroll from baggage claim to bliss. No taxis. No fuss. Just a very welcome bed and the promise of doing absolutely nothing for a while.

Naturally, “doing nothing” didn’t last long. We decided to hit the hotel pool, but not before making a surprise discovery: swimming caps were compulsory. Cue an unexpected detour to buy one. Let’s just say it’s not a look either of us will be debuting on Instagram any time soon.

After a splash and a laugh, we treated ourselves to a massage—just the thing after a 13-hour flight. It was all going well until the end, when I was quietly offered a "massage tip" option that was… shall we say, off the official menu. I politely declined and backed out of there quicker than I climbed into that swimming cap.

Later, we checked in for our flight to Cairns—but of course, nothing’s ever that smooth. Ros had already gone through security, but I was stopped. Apparently, the security team had some very serious questions about items in my bag. Unfortunately, Ros had the keys to the locks on the bags… and wasn’t answering her phone. (Let’s just say there were about 10 increasingly frantic calls while she casually browsed shops like we weren’t on the clock.)

Eventually, she realised I was not behind her, came back, and we opened the mystery bag together—only to discover the issue was... fridge magnets. Yep. Souvenir magnets nearly got me locked up.

With all that drama behind us and bags finally cleared, I figured it was the right time to drop another small truth: I only told Ros about the massage tip offer once we were through security. Some stories are best shared after the metal detectors.