Macau--ow oww!

Greetings Loved Ones and strangers ;),

Yesterday was National Day in China. That means that all of China was celebrating China's "61st Birthday." AKA 61 years of Communism. It's funny, though, because in Hong Kong you don't see many traces of Communism beyond kitschy Mao trading cards and jokes about Mao and Obama. As a Special Administrative Region (SAR), Hong Kong is still under it's own government, not that of the People's Republic of China. It seems that people here basically celebrate the national holiday as a day off from work. In Hong Kong you don't hear many references to government, just to prosperity. Rob and I thought it may be a great day to grab our Passports, stretch our sea legs and head over to Macau, which happens to be the only other Special Administrative Region in China. If you aren't familiar with Macau, it is an island on the Pearl River Delta, and it was settled by the Portuguese in 1503--338 years before the British settled Hong Kong. Macau blew my mind. It is is a hidden gem to this part of the world, and I urge all of you who have not been to go.

There are two contradictory sides of Macau. One is the old, historical side, which demonstrates a beautiful combination of Eastern and Western cultures that has been developing since the 1500s. Macau was once a trading post on the water route of The Silk Road, and it was open to many different cultures and peoples. A fort was built on the solitary peak of the small island in order to defend the settlement from other European colonists who were jealous of the settlement's successes (the Dutch attacked repeatedly). You can go visit this tropical fort today. In many ways, it reminded of St. Augustine, Florida, but with strong Asian flare. Just below the fort stand the remains of St. Paul's Church, which was burned in a fire 200 years ago. Only the grand staircase and the facade of the Church remain. It is striking. As you wander down the staircase into the old town, you see the streets, which are paved with smooth, wavy-tiled mosaics and lined by Portuguese-style buildings. Vendors fill the buildings and urge you to sample goods--pork and beef jerky as well as Macanese egg tarts! The island is famous for its egg tarts...Mmm. Words cannot describe how good these little desserts are. Anyway, that is one side of Macau. The other side feels like the antithesis of this historical place. If you walk about 200 yards down the road, you will reach the pumping, neon side of the island. Bright lights, big city casinos line the avenues. Fountains explode. You are in Vegas, baby, at the MGM Grand. You are in Paris, cherie, when you walk through the Arc de Triomphe Hotel and Casino. You are everywhere you want to be at once. As a matter of hearsay, the Macanese prostitution industry is a booming industry. You see fancy women lingering on the corners of the brand new Louis Vuitton/Gucci/whatever stores. It is fascinating that this new wealth is part of the other place down the road, where the old, Church and fortress rest.

There are many reasons for this dichotomy, and one of them happens to be Hong Kong. When the British came and settled Hong Kong (just 40 miles from Macau) in 1841, much of the trading industry migrated from Macau to Hong Kong. Macau, once a major trading post, became just a blip on the region's radar. Not to mention, by the 1800s, Portugal was not as powerful as Britain, especially when it came to colonial powers in far away lands. Hong Kong, with its deep waters for large sea vessels, stole the show from Macau. Macau's main industry became the match-making industry, which lasted into the 1920s...no, literally, Macau made matches and match books. Perhaps this is how it got the idea to advance its prostitution industry, by matchmaking in another way, but that's another story, and probably not the right one. In more recent years, as Macau has ceded from the Portuguese back to the Chinese, Macau has undergone more change. While it still values its historical past, it sees dollar signs in its future by way of the casinos.

Needless to say, Rob and I had a great time exploring the many sides of Macau on National Day. The visit was made complete by a farewell firework competition between Italy and China. Not surprisingly, China won.

It was spectacular. Pictures below.

The Hydro-planing, high-speed boat we took to Macau. Takes 1 hour to go 40 miles. I thought the boat was awesome on the smooth ride over there. Our ride back was the opposite. Really rough. I'll spare you the details, but thankfully Rob and have strong-ish stomachs. Many others did not.

But...we arrived and were fast exploring the city by foot! Here: Old Macau on National Day in daylight. Beautiful architecture and wavy mosaic streets. Notice McDonalds in the background. Asians LOVE McDiesels.

The pork and beef jerkey. Vendors give out samples of any flavor you would like to try.  I liked the sweet and spicy.

Walking up the tiled, vendor-lined streets. St. Paul's Church remains in the distance.

The staircase adds a powerful effect.

The area leading up to the fort is a park. Many Chinese bring their dogs.  Golden Retrievers seem to be the dog of choice in Macau. I met some super cute ones and their proud owners. There is even a dog W.C! There are also public elliptical machines for their masters. The dogs can take a load off while the master works it. Kinda funny.

The entrance to the fort is now a European style concession stand with Coca-Cola products. The inside looks like a Bavarian Hansel and Gretle house.

The top of the fort is now the Musea De Macau. Rob and I did a quick run-through of the museum. Many of the facts I mentioned above came from here. Neat place. I <3 museums.

Read this how you will. East-West style cannon once aimed at attacking Dutch ships now aims at casinos.

Rob and I ventured back down to the facade of St. Paul's Church and climbed to the top of the facade! This was one of the views looking down--a Chinese temple. Neat how the two religious structures coexist.

Proud owner with his beautiful retriever.

Historic Macau on National Day at night.

Historic Macau on National Day at night.

Casino Land! Hotel Lisboa and it's ENORMOUS casino. Robert Stephens standing in front for scale :).

Wynn Hotel and Casino

The real Arc de Triomphe. Ask anyone inside!

Macanese cuisine is unique because it is a fine melding of various ethnic cuisines. Here Rob and I are at Dom Galo with African Chicken, a dish of potatoes, chorizo, shrimp and olives, as well as mussels with bacon and garlic. Definitely was not a light meal, but it was pretty good. Rob and I first had Macanese food in New York at a great, great restaurant called Macau Trading Company. Macau Trading Company is cool, and you should go if you are in New York. It's owned by the Employees Only people, and they serve great cocktails and food!

Grand Finale!
Chinese finale of the fireworks competition. It was out of this world. In Macau they do it big, especially when it comes to competition and fireworks!

Per Pope's Request...A Typical Day In Hong Kong

Hello to you all! Happy Wednesday; I hope you're having a great week. Not too much to report here except that I'm continuing the job search and am increasingly spending time with new friends. I do miss my old friends, believe me, I think of you all often.

I recently received a request from a fellow blogger friend to photo document a typical day in Hong Kong. Because I love hearing from you all and listening to your blog advice, I was happy to fulfill the request. The request even involved specifics like "brushing your teeth," etc. I thought this was a great idea and could be fun, so I documented each step of my day yesterday. Here is a photo documentary of a typical Tuesday:

Sleepy, truly just woke up. Tried to make this photo as small as possible :)

Brushing my teeth...This experience is SO different when you do it in Hong Kong ;)

 Agonizingly small ironing board debate: made for tiny apartments or made for tiny Asians?
It's just an awkward height for tall people.
Anywho...
Dressed in workout clothes and doing some morning chores: an augmented and scrambled version of Jersey Shore's GTL. Preparing for the gym, tanning, laundry....and working on a few job e-mails!

Gearing up for a run!

Snapped this on my way out the door. This is my sweet doorman, who does not speak a word of English. We seem to get along well with waves, hand gestures and smiles. He was slightly taken aback that I wanted to photograph him. He is wonderful. 

Just outside my apartment building on Wo On Lane is one of the many temples that exists in Hong Kong. The temple always smells of incense and usually has a worshiper at its entrance. A coffee shop and several bars surround the temple. Temples are very much a part of everyday life here. (Notice the dude on his blackberry to the right)

Various icons and coils of incense fill the temple. Sometimes you'll see little bowls of food that people have left beside the temple.

Contraband material: After stopping at 7-Eleven to buy some water, I arrived at the gym, where I force myself to run and take a steam. I was scolded for taking this picture--cameras are not allowed here.

After taking care of my morning errands, it was time to embark on the fun stuff of the day: shopping. My sister is turning 10 on October 4, so the goal of the day was to venture over to the authentic shopping district and buy some fun Chinese gifts for her. Since I was documenting the day, I included a few photos of the sites while on my walk. This is another temple I passed. I have posted photos of it before, but here it is again. It is quite large and beautiful. Everyone is quiet here except the fortune tellers. One of the fortune tellers speaks English. One day I may venture in and ask for my fortune...but fortune cookies are enough for me right now.

Doors of the temple. 

The main drag of the antique shopping district: Hollywood Road. If you keep going far enough, you'll reach some great (and LESS expensive) shopping markets. The more centrally located shops are fine antique furniture stores and art galleries. I wish I were in the market for a 300-year-old urn, but I'm just not...and I don't think Carolyn wants that for her birthday.

You know you've arrived (at the markets) when you see things like this: Communist cards, LeBron James Cards, vintage pin-up cards, etc. You can find plenty of Communist paraphernalia here in Hong Kong. They like to sell Obama and Mao knick-knacks together. I wish I could speak Cantonese so I could understand their reasoning for this. (Don't worry Carolyn, this is NOT what you're getting for your birthday)

I liked these items. Porcelain bowls, chopsticks and spoons. I love using Chinese spoons!

Tweety. I'm not really sure why he was hanging here, on the side of the road.
I like looking at the scrolls behind him; the craftsmanship on the paintings can be really beautiful. The styles range from simple and minimalist to very ornate and painterly.

You see these medicinal tea shops around town. Locals seem to frequent them, as there is often a line of people at the window. This particular tea shop had English translations on the menu. Close-up below:

Turtle shell tea, anyone? As an aside, I learned later that jelly, which comes from chicken's feet (and is a common ingredient in beauty products), is the best conditioner a girl can use for her hair. I'll let you know when I (knowingly) try it... 

On my way to the post office with the day's loot! Carolyn, your birthday package is on it's way. I had no idea, but shipping here is shockingly affordable! I shipped this to Virginia using Hong Kong's fastest shipping option for about $7 USD. Ok, EDIT: that's not true, Rob just corrected me. It was $17.50 USD. Still okay, but not that great.

Rob had been looking for a place to get a hair cut, and as we walked past this barber shop, he decided time was nigh and walked in. Here he is pre-cut. Did you know that they washed his hair 3 times before cutting it? Neither of us could figure that out. Rob had to wash it a 4th time after the haircut, as he is not used to the amount of hair gel men commonly use in Hong Kong. I wish he would let me post a picture. His hair really does look great!

Pope (my creative, design genius friend), this pic is for you. This little shop next to the barber had tons of cool leggings I thought you'd like. Generally speaking, everyone in Hong Kong seems to take pride in his or her appearance, as most people are fashionable and very well groomed.

After exploring the Western side of Hong Kong proper, I was pooped and went home to take a nap. I don't usually take naps here, but I did on Tuesday from 4 to 6:30 p.m.. Sorry--didn't photograph that. By the time I awoke, it was time for dinner. Rob and I met up and went to the video rental store around the corner and rented a movie. We also grabbed food for dinner.

Here is a picture of my TV--this is what the cable TV system looks like in Hong Kong. It's called NowTV. The Learning Channel here is really great. It's a combination of Discovery Chanel, Travel Channel and Food Network :)

Here I am about to eat red curry chicken with sauteed onions.

After dinner and a movie, I was exhausted again and fell fast asleep. Zzzzzzz

A few photos

Good Evening to the Eastern world, Good Morning to the Western world....it's always 5 o'clock somewhere!
Today's post will not be very long, as I am working on a longer one that will be posted in the next few days.

My friend Anne, whom I met on a junk boat trip, recently sent me some photos. So that you all could see what we do on these boat rides, I thought I would post a few of them:

Liz (about to be sunburned), Anne and Thayer. Anne went to UNC and graduated a few years before I did. She and her husband recently transferred to Hong Kong from New York. Thayer is from Boston.

A fisherman, as you might see while sailing on the south side of Hong Kong Island, near Aberdeen.

Rob and I standing on the side of the boat, about to jump into the water.

SPLASH!

Our junk boat for the day. A junk boat is basically a large boat that anyone can charter. Usually between 15 and 30 people rent it for the day. When you board everyone decides on a destination. This particular day we left from the south side of Hong Kong Island and sailed to a small fishing village for lunch. Must watch out where you stop to swim! Certain areas can be quite polluted.

Where we had lunch.

Lunch! Yum. I try to use chopsticks, and I feel like a baby flinging food everywhere. I must work on my manners!

The coast

Swimming around. Frog legs.