Close Call in Macao

What’s up, everyone back home. Our trip to China is winding down, and this week, I had a pretty strange and scary situation come up.

Ater practice was over on Thursday, a couple of us were planning on going to Hong Kong. So we were looking at prices for the helicopter to see how fast it would get us over and get us back. Then, Coach pulled me over and said, “I’ve got some bad news.” And, at first, I thought he was joking. But he wasn’t. He said, “They lost your passport.”

I got angry at first, but I kind of loosened up when they told me I had to go to Hong Kong to get the passport, because I figured while I’m over there I’ll just stay for a while. (It’s about a 45-minute boat ride and a 15-minute helicopter ride.)

Marvin (Barnes) – the Cavaliers head of security – was telling me to hurry up, that we have to get over there because it’s a national holiday in Hong Kong on Friday. They have it twice a year – I think it’s called National Grave Cleaning Day, where you go to the cemetery and clean your loved one’s or ancestor’s graves. They have picnics there and everything. The whole city shuts down. So if I didn’t get my passport on Thursday, I wouldn’t have gotten it at all.

I had to fill out paperwork in the NBA offices. After that I had to go to the police station in Macao. I was in the police station for three hours and they wouldn’t let me leave the country. They’re telling me there’s a procedure I have to follow, and it’s going to take a couple days. Of course, we’re leaving Saturday and I don’t have “a couple days.”

The Consulate called and told them to release me. We got the paper work done so I could get out of the country. When I got to Hong Kong, immigration was there with the Consulate so I can get into the country. The woman at the Consulate agreed to stay a little longer, and I got my passport about 7:30 at night.

I flew over to Hong Kong on a helicopter. It was my first time on a helicopter and I was actually kind of scared at first. But once we got up in the air, it was pretty cool. It was a twelve-seater, not one of those “bubble” helicopters that you see on TV. It was a good experience – you have a lot of little islands and boats and like 300 big cargo ships in the bay near Hong Kong.

Hong Kong’s a beautiful city, too. There’s buildings on top of buildings. It’s way different than Shanghai. They say it’s like New York, and it is like New York. I actually made a little trip out of it. And I took the 10:30 helicopter back.

I know a lot of guys are going to Hong Kong right after Friday’s practice. Even if you only get over there for a couple hours, you can say you’ve been in that city. And I was glad I got a chance to do that.

Even with the problems on Thursday, the whole trip has been a cool experience. The people have been great – very receptive.

I think I’ve lost about five or six pounds since I’ve been here. I know a lot of the guys have talked about losing weight, as well. It’s not that the food is bad; it’s just different. And we haven’t eaten as much as we normally do. We’ve been practicing hard and just not eating normally.

But when people from other countries come to the States, I’m sure they find our food really different as well. And you know, you’re scared to try stuff at first. If I wasn’t sneaking in a McDonald’s here and there, I probably would have lost more than the five pounds.

The fans here are really incredible. Preseason games back home, yeah they’re necessary. But they can be kind of boring. Here, people are cheering. They’re really into it. The fans here make everybody feel like they’re a superstar. If you do something well – no matter who it is – they cheer for you and they have a good time.

I feel big here. I feel real good. I love it – for real. They had a big billboard of me in Shanghai. People around see me and they say, “Marshall! Marshall!” It’s great. I’m surprised at how well people know me over here. They’re calling LeBron “The Little Emperor” on this trip. Maybe I can be “The Mini Emperor.”

This trip has really made me appreciate where I’m at. You take basketball for granted sometimes. When we landed in Shanghai, I turned to my wife and smiled because I look back at what basketball has brought me. I don’t have to struggle. My kids don’t have to struggle. Maybe it took coming to China to show me what basketball has brought me.

It’s been great. I’m really glad we came.