Just an hour by ferry from Hongkong is Macau. It's worth a visit. I never really spent so much time looking around Hongkong. You know how it feels when you wake up one morning and there's an impulse to go out and you tell yourself "I'm going there" like, now? That's me. Works for me.

So, from the hotel, we went to the ferry terminal and bought tickets to Macau. Upon reaching Macau, as in most cases, you'll find a lot of agents offering places to stay. I am a traveller on a budget, and cheap (but please clean toilet and bath haha) is always appealing to me haha. A chinese agent offered this cheap hotel. Looked good on the picture. Yes, yes I know, pictures can be deceiving. So upon getting to where the hotel is, I almost didn't want to get off the cab. The location was dark and it didn't look safe. It looked scary even from the outside. I immediately called back the agent because it was already past 6 PM and was worried that their booth would be closing soon. I looked for the person whose name appeared on the card. I almost felt like crying because she couldn't really understand and speak english that well, so I tried my best to tell her that we wanna change the hotel. "Me don't like hotel, me change hotel" and she goes "yah, yah, come back". Ok, so we ended up paying more and stayed at the Mandarin Oriental hotel. Nice.

We only stayed for a day (and a night) in Macau. With no clear itinerary, we just thought to see as much as we could. We were able to see some places like the Ruins of St. Paul, the Macau Museum, and Our Lady of Penha Church, built on Penha Hill.

My flight to Saigon was at 7:45 A.M.  So, I went to Macau International Airport on Taipa Island at 4 A.M., too early as I was hoping I could get some info about my flight, like if there was a flight cancellation or something since I was not able to check my mails for two days while in Macau.  But when I got there, offices were closed and I could not find a single airport employee, except for the guards.  So every now and then, I had to check the board info for the status of flights.  I wanted to take a nap since I only had two straight hours of sleep, but as I closed my eyes, I kept thinking of my solo travel to Saigon.  My anxiety level rose again.

I wished it was already check-in time so that I would be able to browse the Duty Free shops to keep my mind off of what was about to happen to me in Saigon, thus reducing my rising anxiety levels.  Come 5:45 A.M., I went to the Viva Macau check-in counter but there was no one there.  Check-in time should be three hours before the scheduled time of travel, right?  This got me worried.  Maybe my flight was cancelled after all.  But there was no way of finding out as there was anyone there to talk to and all I had to do was wait till someone shows up.  Every so often, I was checking my watch and looking over the check-in counter.  Then, someone showed up, and I immediately grabbed my backpack and made my way to the counter.  I was the first one to check in.  :)  Not too excited.  :)

Eating at Dom Galo in Wong Shu Macau is great. Meals are large and the steak is great. $95 MOP which is $13 aud.

Day 2 in Macau, woke up early to, hopefully, finish all the sights as listed in my IT.  When we got out of the hotel, it rained.  :( OMG, puhleez.

Though raining, we walked to the Historic Centre of Macau, the Senado Square, which includes the oldest western architectural heritage on Chinese soil.  When we got there, it stopped raining, an answered prayer.  :)

I love Senado Square with its pastel-colored classic East-meets-West buildings.  The Square is like a living testimony of the eastern and western cultures.

Climbing up the slope alongside the Holy House of Mercy, we reached the Cathedral Square where the Cathedral is located, went inside the Cathedral for some prayers (mostly for good weather and safe travels :))  Going back down, we passed by the Lou Kau Mansion, a typical Chinese courtyard house.  Then we proceeded to the St. Dominic’s Square to take a picture outside of the yellow-colored St. Dominic’ Church, as the church was closed.  Then, ascending the mosaic streets, we reached the Company of Jesus Square, the foot of the Ruins of St. Paul, and to be able to reach the magnificent façade, we had to climb a flight of steps.

At the back of the church, there was something like a museum where we saw the relics of the Japanese and Vietnamese martyrs, the remains of the former Church of the Mother of God, and paintings and liturgical objects from churches of the city.

Behind the church front were the Na Tcha Temple and a section of the Old City Walls, a remnant of the Portuguese-style defensive walls. 

On the walk back down the hill, we stopped at several small shops selling souvenirs and antiques and tasted Macau’s delicacy, cured pork.

Further down hill, we passed along St. Anthony’s Church, one of the oldest churches in Macau, and went inside the Camoes Square and Casa Garden.

We were supposed to go to the highest hill of Macau, the Guia Hill with its chapel and lighthouse, but it rained again, so we went inside some mall near the area, had our brunch, and waited till the rain stopped.

We boarded a bus that leads to the Barrier Gate, the border between Macau and Mainland China �" Zhuhai, China -- hoping that I would be able to take a glimpse of Mainland China.  I did see some tall buildings from afar, although I am not sure if that is still part of Macau or its already Zhuhai, China as I am very poor with geography.

From there, we hopped on the free shuttle bus that leads to The Venetian, making my mom excited again as we were heading to another casino, while me already bored to the idea of casinos.

When we were nearing the hotel, I was shocked with its size.  It’s so huge!  When we got in, I was speechless.  The decor of the hotel was just luxurious with its countless huge crystal chandeliers and shiny marble floors �" elegance to the next level.  When we reached The Grand Canal Shoppes, I was already mute, my jaw dropped.  It was like an indoor town, with an artificial sky, with water canals, with gondolas!  At first, I did not notice that it was just an artificial sky.  I was wondering why all of a sudden I saw some clear blue bright sky while just outside, it was still raining.  Then it hit me!  It was just some painting.  My mom thanked me as she was about to open her umbrella when she heard me comment on the artificial sky.  She nearly made a fool out of herself.

The Grand Canal Shoppes has 350 international shops and restaurants, and again, I controlled myself from entering the well-known shops, although most of them have SALE signs on their windows and I just received a GO sign from TitoMel.  But shopping or no shopping, I enjoyed my visit by simply watching the gondoliers on their authentic Venetian gondolas, singing opera songs.

So, what can I say about The Venetian?  It was a magnificent feast of the senses, truly a Venetian experience.

We left my mom to play some slots there while TitoMel and I went to Macau Tower, one of the world’s tallest towers.  I did not go there to skywalk, bungee jump, sky jump, or do the other scary exhilarating adventures that they offer, not for the faint-hearted, but merely to have the highest view of Macau.  Besides, I cannot afford it (the entrance ticket alone was quite expensive) and I certainly don’t have what it takes to do such acts.

Anyways, when he reached the 58^th floor, the Observation Lounge, the 360-degree panoramic view was breathtaking.  The bright lights from the casinos are impressive, the neon signs changing colors and patterns every now and then, just a magnificent rainbow of vibrant colors.  I also got to see the whole of Macau cityscape.

BTW, on the 58^th floor, some parts of the floors are made of glass that you get to look down through the glass floors (a tingling experience), so as I walked around the floor, I was holding tightly around the bars as I was afraid that anytime the glass might break.  For me, it was a thrilling experience.  Yeah, I know, I am such a lame person.

So then we moved up to Floor 61, an outdoor observation deck where you can feel the wind.

After nearly having a seizure from all the flashing lights of rainbow colors, we decided to go back to the hostel as I have an early flight to catch the following day.  We took a cab and passed along the major casinos in Macau �" MGM Grand, Sands, Wynn, and Grand Lisboa.

Goodbye Hong Kong and Hello Macau!!!

Come 12 o’clock noon, we went to Hong Kong-Macau Ferry Terminal at Sheung Wan, bought tickets for HK$134 each, passed through the Immigration desks, and later, comfortably seated at TurboJet’s Catamaran.  Travel time was about one hour.  I slept for the entire ride.  I woke up with my mom’s cheers as she saw the Sands casino.

After my passport got its entry stamp and walked out of the immigration desks, we were swarmed by the hotel reps of the 5-star hotels in Macau, holding up their placards, and touts offering tour rides to the city.  After passing that crowd, I went inside the tourist information office and gathered maps and other touristy crap pamphlets.  After learning that there is a bus going to the Centro, we headed to the bus terminal, hopped in bus 3, hoping that this was the right bus.

Later, I realized that we have been traveling for about an hour already and the pamphlets says that we should be in the city center by mere 15 to 30 minutes coming from the ferry terminal.  I figured we have missed our bus stop so we immediately got off the bus.  I started asking around for help, but the only replied I got was a head shake.  We were officially lost.  Hungry and lost.  And no cab in sight.  So we hopped in again to bus 3 so that we can go back to the terminal and get a cab from there.  Then, I heard some Tagalog words from a couple of ladies sitting in front of us.  What a relief!  They told us where the bus stop was and even shared tips about Macau.

Finally, we were at Avenida de Almeida Ribeiro, the main avenue of Macau.  Starving and tired, we immediately went inside the first fast food chain that we knew and saw, Pizza Hut.  I was surprised when we were already inside.  I never knew Pizza Hut would be this posh looking!

After some pizza and pasta, we started walking to Rua da Felicidade, where budget hostels lined up.  We had trouble looking for a place to stay as most hostels that we passed by where either fully booked or charging us way over our budget.  Finally realizing that we cannot find a cheap hostel, we got ourselves a room at Hou Kong Hotel.

Tired of all the walking, mom and TitoMel slept.  As for me, wide awake and excited, did my itinerary as I wanted to cover all the must-see sights and attractions as much as possible with little time that I’ve got in Macau.

First stop on my list was A-Ma Temple.  As I was beginning to prepare myself for all the walking again, my mom woke up and decided to come with me as she won’t allow me to do it on my own.  Temples and ruins are not her thing, and I informed her that, but she insisted.  So, OK.  I waited for her to dress up and it was like taking her forever.  I wanted her to hurry up as the temple closes at 6 P.M. and it was already 5 in the afternoon.  I also told her about that and it was as if she did not hear me.  Hmmmm.  I figured she may be doing it intentionally so that I will miss it and go to other places instead, the ones that she likes.  When she was all ready, it was already 5:30 P.M., impossible to get to the temple.  She won.

So, we did it her way -- went to the gold-plated Sands Casino.  I did not go to Macau to gamble as I do not gamble.  Although I know how to play some cards -- poker…blackjack...baccarat -- but usually no money involve (as I do not have one).  Anyways, so when my mom was all busy playing the slots, I left and went to this nearby Fisherman's Wharf, a sort of shopping center and theme park "village," which was just across the street, not my type really but I had nowhere else to go.

So about this massive supposedly entrainment complex, well, I was not entertained at all!  It was all fancy and artificial -- lots of replicas like a fake volcano, historical architectures like Tang Dynasty Fortress, Roman amphitheatre and other Roman-themed buildings, and a variety of shops/resto themed on famous landmarks from Cape Town, Miami, Amsterdam, Spain and other cities.

For me, it was such a boring place.  So, when visiting Macau, skip this place, as there are so many REAL historical sights to see.

After spending some time there, I decided to go the REAL sights; hailed a bus and off to Largo do Senado.  When I got there, it was full of Pinoys and Pinays.  I got to talk to some of them and I learned that if in HK, Pinoys have HSBC, in Macau, Senado Square is their spot.

Then following the signs, I reached Macau’s most famous landmark and one of UNESCO’s World Heritage Site, The Ruins of St. Paul.  Without a doubt, it was a beautiful sight.

Acordamos e vamos tomar o nosso pequeno almoço no Délifrance novamente. Seguimos numa viagem de 1 hora de Turbojet para Macau. Chegamos ainda de manhã e apanhamos o bus do Hotel Sintra. Fazemos o check-in e seguimos para a Praça do Leal Senado, Rua S. Domingos e Runias de Sao Paulo. Nesta zona apreciamos o Comercio Tradicional de Macau. O Abrantes oferece-nos almoço no Restaurante do Casino Lisboa, onde experimentamos pela primeira vez comida cantonesa. Todos comem com pauzinhos excepto eu que decido pedir um garfo e faca à empregada.

Depois do almoço seguimos para o templo de A-Ma-Gau ou Baía de A-Ma, deusa protectora dos pescadores e que dá o nome a Macau. De seguida subimos à Torre de Macau com os seus 338 metros de altura. Subimos até ao piso panorãmico (a 223 metros de altura) onde tiramos mais umas belas fotos de Macau e onde testamos os limites do receio das alturas ao caminhar pelo chão envidraçado deste piso!

Seguidamente deslocamo-nos para o jardim Lou Lim Ieoc, característico pela sua ponte em curvas e contracurvas sobre um belo lago de nenúfares (reza a lenda que a ponte é assim para podermos fugir aos dragões que não se conseguem deslocar entre tantas curvas). No regresso, enfiamo-nos em todas as lojas de electrónica que encontramos na tentativa de comprar máquinas fotográficas, i-pods, cartões de memória e tudo o mais que o dinheiro possa comprar neste paraíso livre de impostos!

Vamos jantar ao restaurante Nga Tim em Coloane e seguimos para a zona dos Casinos e bares onde entramos no Sands, o único Casino que não pertence ao Stanley Ho. Na entrada para o Sands somos revistados por seguranças. Fico surpreendido quando ao descobrirem uma garrafa de água na minha mochila pedem para eu a beber. Percebo que devem querer comprovar se é ácido, veneno ou qualquer coisa semelhante. Na brincadeira bebo um pouco simulando que estou quase a cair para o lado. Um dos seguranças fica muito sério a olhar para mim enquanto que o outro começa a rir. Não faria isto em Singapura de certeza! Eu e o Miguel trocamos uns HKD para jogar. As coisas não correm muito bem com a introdução de dinheiro nas máquinas e decidimos sair antes que a Susana ponha fogo ao casino :)

For the weekend we decided to take a trip over to Macau, another SAR region an hours ferry ride away from HK. Macau had become infamous for its gambling establishments over the years and is now very much the vegas of the East. It is the only place in China were it is possible and legal to gamble. There is much more to Macau than just gambling though and this ex portugese colony does offer a lot more than just one arm bandits and gaming tables. Although its raison d'etre is it has to be said the gambling.

Starting out from HK the ferry ride across to Macau is $150 HK. We actually made the trip across on the Turbo Jet Jetfoils, which are the fastest way to get to Macau other than taking the more expensive option of using a Helicopter. These hovercraft like vessels simply skim the water as they plough across the surface.

Make sure you take your passport though as you are leaving HK, therefore you do go through immigration on the way out and upon the way back.

Once in Macau we got a cab to the Hotel  where we had booked in for the night, the Fortuna Hotel. This is pretty much smack in the middle of where you need to be, especially if gambling is why you are here.

Before we went out for an evening meal, we made a trip over to the Macau tower. (See piccies) As high as the Eiffel Tower, but more than a century newer, the tower is the city's latest tourist attraction. It isnt much to look at, but once you go up to the observation decks via the glass elevator, the views are simply spellbinding. It costs $70 to go up to the top of the tower. Or there are a few rather more interesting alternative entry fees, but these are not for the faint hearted. A rather industrious adventure company have set up shope at the very top of the tower and depending on your nerve and wallet, you can either leap off the top in what is touted as the world's highest sky jump, or you can climb the outer rim of the tower or climb to the very top of the mast. Unfortunately we didnt do any of this as the weather was attrocious for our whole stay in Macau. However it looked exciting and exhilerating and would be definately worth checking out if in Macau.

For our evening meal Jeremy had found a nice place out of the Time Out guide called, Restaurante Litoral. This is Macanese food at its best. We stayed in the place all evening. The food was excellent and the wine even better. Its a bit of a way out from the centre of Macau, but well worth getting a cab there. Make sure you book if you do though.

And so onto the Casino, one of the main reason why anyone comes to Macau.

I'm currently sitting in an internet cafe behind Jusco 'cause the computers at school are being screwy. Only one is working and Michelle's using that one (and didn't look to be hurrying up any time soon if her turning around to have a big discussion with Tammy was anything to go by. Besides I didn't feel like listening to them speak 'American' at the time. No offence to my American friends, but the swearing and slang gets to me after a few minutes)

Well, I've been on holidays for the past week so that's why you haven't heard from me for a while. The school's been locked up and I've had no way of contacting anyone (I only just found this cafe).

Day one:

Saturday. Well, we went out partying on Friday night. I didn't walk in the door until about 4am. Didn't get to bed until about 5:30 by the time I'd showered and let my hair dry. We went bar hopping and then ended the night at the Red Bar. It's a dance club on Bar street. We danced there until it closed and then made our way home.

I slept litereally all day on Saturday. We didn't really do much that day. Went for dinner somewhere that night, but that's about it.

Day two:

Sunday saw us (Michelle and I) both up bright and early to get to the border. We were going to go to Macau. Michelle wanted to go to a service of her church and I was tagging along 'cause I wanted to see Macau. That day I got to see a temple that was older than Australia's been considered a country (about 800 years old), I clambered all over a hill that held the oldest lighthouse in Asia (which is still in use incidentally), a fort and a really old chapel. The chapel was gorgeous. We weren't allowed to walk on the floor, touch the walls, or anything like that. We were on walkways about a foot off the ground. The place was airconditioned (a blessing as it was about 30C with 90% humidity VERY uncomfortable). We also walked around one end of Macau exploring (I discovered that out of the two of us, I'm the calm voice of reason. It's kinda scary)

Day 3:

Monday, We didn't really do much at all.

Day 4:

Tuesday, we went to the Yuanming Xinyuan (New Yuan Ming Palace). It's this replication of the Ming Palace in Beijing that was destroyed during the Boxer revolution by french and british forces. The place was amazing. You felt like you'd actually stepped into an old chinese palace. We were watching the first show of the day, the ascension of the emperor to the throne, when I got dragged out of the audience to participate in one of the shows.

There I was minding my own business, watching the guys in the armour riding the pretty horsies, when this guy's voice comes booming out of nowhere. Then there's this answering voice and this guy carrying a yellow scroll thing comes flying out of the audience. They chatter for a while (and I didn't have a freakin' clue what they were saying, I've only had four mandarin lessons) and then the ladies of the court (dressed in gorgeous dresses, funky hats, and the weirdest shoes I've ever seen) started pulling men out of the crowd.

Then the two guys come down and start scanning the crowd. Did I know what was going on? Nope. Not a clue, stoopid language barrier. Before I know it I'm being dragged out of the crowd, having this big heavy crown stuck on my head (did I mention it was big and heavy?) and stuffed into a yellow gown. I was aparently the person they'd chosen to be the Empress of the show. I got the best spot in the place to watch the show. The guy who'd pulled me out of the audience turned out to speak a bit of English so I wasn't completely in the dark about what was going on. I got to see my first ever demonstration of Kung-fu, my GOD those guys can leap!!!

After the show I was lead to the throne room and up the dias. I had my pictures taken (and the next time I go there I wouldn't be surprised if they were using my picture on the advertisment billboard that they put the photo's up on). It cost Y120 to get the three different poses that they took of me, but it was worth it for the memories.

Day 5:

Wednesday, we went back to Macau. I saw far too many cathedrals and it was kind of boring. I discovered that Michelle's not really into the same sort of sights that I want to see and therefore I didn't really get to see half of what I wanted. She was very 'me, me, me' that day and when I eventuallly did get to the fort that I wanted to see she was like "Yeah, it's a fort" and wanted to leave immediately. Next time I explore by myself.

Day 6:

Friday, a slow day. We took a sightseeing bus around one area of Zhuhai and saw some stuff that was really cool (and wouldn't've known it was there otherwise).

Day 7:

Saturday (today). Not much I'm sitting in the internet cafe at the moment writing this etc. Nothing really planned for today.

Day 8:

Going to Macau again with Michelle and Leah. Michelle wants to go to church again and I'm going to go and explore Macau with Leah (she actually wants to see the forts etc.). There's also a portugese festival going on there at the moment so we're going to go and check that out.

After that my holiday is officially over. I start teaching again on Wednesday (joy).

After 3 days in HK, it was time for us to go back to Singapore. We have our ticket to Singapore departing from Macau. We had hours to explore the Macau before taking off. So from ferry termnal, alot of touts are waiting for tourist like for a tour around the Potugese city of Macau. We settled for a tour that would end us being dropped in the airport.

Some highlights in our Macau trip would be the Largo do Senado, St Paul's Ruins, Macau Tower and the casino district. The sun was so intense during our trip there. This fueled some heated arguments amongst us. Hungry, the heat and we were basically tired for all the 4-days travelling.

As we got dropped in the airport, we freshen up on the first toilet that we saw. We cooled down and had our lunch in the airport.  During lunch, I realized that everyone was already cool as if nothing bad happened during the trip.

I ended up my day tour in Macau by having the famous egg tart the city could offer. It was good. =)

An hour´s ferry ride from Hong Kong will take you to Macau,

My main aim while in Macau was to achieve one thing - to sample portugese cuisine. This was accomplished via sampling Portugese egg tart in front of St.Paul´s Cathedral, Portugese Chicken in a ritzy restaurant in Sands Casino and Water Buffalo milk custard dessert in Senado Square.

I was impressed with alot of the architectural work which was in Macau, which is pretty prevalant within Senado Square - the hub of the shopping district & its surrounds. Also, the pavement includes many artistic designs, not your run of the mill red bricks and mortar.

However, Macau is most famous for its Casino´s and along the way, I think I saw 6 casinos near the port (I don´t know how many there are in total in Macau). We ended up going to Sands Casino, the largest one out of them all & I managed to take a snap of one section of the gaming floor. It is absolutely massive!

Shopping is extremely similar to the stores which one would find in Hong Kong,

Went to Macau today. I ended up buying myself 2 pairs of long Cordoroy jeans (mmmm... warm... good for winter) and a fleece jacket that's also nice and warm. I'll be heading back there again when it starts to get even cooler and getting some more winter clothes. I'm at least lucky enough that I can find clothes here in china. I just slide into the sizings over here for both clothes and shoes as opposed to my flatmate who's... to put it nicely a big girl (shopping with her is NOT fun 'cause she's got absolutely NO patience. I end up throwing apologetic looks at the sales girls when she throws down the merchandise and storms out of the shop glarring daggers at whoever gets in her way).

I've been doing a bit of grocey shopping as well so I don't have to eat out as much... Okay, I'll admit that most of what I've bought is instant noodles, coffee, tea, hot chocolate (can't have winter without hot chocolate), cornflakes, milk, and random things that I think might be okay to eat. It means that I'm not spending quite as much money eating out as what I have been which is good. I still have one meal out a day and I try to make sure that it's a decent one.

coming back through the border today and got accosted by some sales girls in the duty free area. They wanted me to fill out a survey on the service of the shop. Of course it was all in Chinese. So they got me to sign my name, put in the date, and randomly start ticking boxes (of course, she was covering up all the 'Not good' boxes and going, "Not these, Not these!"). Michelle got asked to do one as well, only they just got her to write in her name and the date. They then filled it in for her. Kind of defeats the purpose of a survey, but oh well.

Most jarring image I've seen since coming to china: 3 buddhist monks in full get up crowded around the microwave in Jusco and arguing over how to operate it. My mind just did not want to compute what it was seeing.

First of all, happy new year everyone! Hope you had a good time, I know I did. Here's how my new year went.

Saturday: Slept until ridiculously late (but hey, I knew I was going to be getting to bed late that night and it was my first weekend off in about 4 months!). Got up, pottered about the house doing pretty much nothing for the whole day. Oh, yeah, watched the rest of Arabian nights (anybody remember that teleseries that was on tv a few years back? I found the dvd, you find some really RANDOM stuff over here) which took most of the rest of the day. Went to Angel's (it's probably not called that, but it's beneath Angel's hair salon so that's what we've dubbed it) and had this absolutely DIVINE eggplant dish and sweet and sour pork ribs (sooooooo good). High point was Michelle finding an eyeball in her soup (and no, she didn't eat it. We took a picture thought ^_^).

After that we went home and got ready for our night out. The teachers of TPR had an invite to the biggest party in China (I'm not kidding. They move it around every year. There were about 20, 000 people there and we're not counting the roughly 10, 000, 000 viewers from around the world!). Anyway, half the teacher didn't go saying that it'd be stupid (one even said that there was no way he was going somewhere where he wouldn't be able to drink. My respect for said teacher keeps dropping every time I talk to him), but some of us went because a) we had nothing better to do and b) because it's new years in china, how many opportunities like this would come up?

So we were standing around near the gate of the sports arena waiting for Susanna (one of the Chinese office ladies) to come back with the tickets when over runs the shows director with a translator. They needed some foreigners for one segment of the show. We all looked at eachother, shrugged, and said why not. So, I ended up being part of a show that was probably seen by about 10, 000, 000ish people. I had an absolute ball! About one minute before we were due to go on they bought out a handful of small children and shoved them at some of us (I got one, cute little girl with a curly haired wig. I think they were trying to match us up somehow). Anyway, it was a really good show even if I didn't know who over half the famous people were LOL. I'm glad I went.

I didn't get to bed until 4:30am that night though. I was sooooo tired when the family called the next day at 11. After that call (and it was soooo good to hear everybody), Michelle and I got our butts in gear (very slowly) and headed over to Macau. That was the most interesting bus ride I've ever had. I spent half of it standing up squashed between a window and a decent looking guy. The bus was absolutely PACKED. Everyone had the same idea: get on the bus, go to Macau. It was a good afternoon. I managed to buy myself an around the house jumper ('cause I didn't have anything remotely warm to wear around the apartment and that place can get FREEZING even on a warm day in winter 'cause it's all tile). We went out for dinner to that Nepalese restaurant that we like with one of the other teachers, her boyfriend, and their friend that's out from Sweden. After that we came back to Zhuhai.

Mirador Mansions (The building where I was staying in Hong Kong) is a huge block of dirty flats with about 16 floors of small cramped guest houses. The lifts take forever and the area is not the best due to people hanging around outside trying to sell you fake Rolex's or hash for the hundredth time. I also saw a huge rat sprinting along a pipe in one of the corridors near to my room.

The thought of another night in a tiny dorm plus a snoring man at the Cosmic Guesthouse was enough to send a shiver down my spine, so I decided a trip to Macau and a change of scenery would be in order. As it happens Yumi was heading to Macau to sort out her Chinese visa. So we decided to head out early and we caught the First Ferry to Macau. Once we got to the other side of passport control (and another stamp in the passport - pls note Gina and Rachel) we jumped on a bus to check out hotels and guest houses in the area. After viewing a couple we managed to get a deal on a nice hotel a million miles from the standard set by Mirador Mansions and Cosmic Guesthouse.

After checking in we found a small local restaurant to try some dumplings. They were very cheap but also a bit cold, I managed to eat a lot and left full holding my belly. In the afternoon we took a bus to the Grand Prix and Wine museum, the wine museum was Yumi's idea but unfortunately we only got to sample one glass.

In the evening we had a few beers, toasted my last night in Macau and Yumi leaving busy Hong Kong whilst watching some bizarre Chinese game show on TV.