manic macau monday

Susie and I did end up making it to Macau yesterday and had a great time! And contrary to my prediction, we even had wonderful weather! Here is a photographic account of our trip to Macau. (Unfortunately, I don't have any photos of our first hydrofoil voyage, mainly because, due to choppy seas, a number of passengers (including yours-truly) experienced motion-sickness.)

I felt much better after putting my feet on solid ground, and was even able to completely gorge myself at Fernando's for lunch. Here we are with some salad, 1/4 chicken, and the ever-delectable garlic prawns.

After lunch we made our way to Senada Square, which is the start of a nice cobblestone pedestrian street that leads to Macau's most famous landmark, the ruins of Sao Paulo (that's "Saint Paul" for those who aren't fluent in Portuguese). I think they need to do a better job marking the path to the ruins though, because I consistently get lost on side streets every time I try to go up there. And obviously, that's no fault of mine... Thankfully, Susie, like myself, was happy to wander the streets of Macau in search of interesting architectural finds. Here are some buildings we found on our way (or out of our way) to the ruins.

Our wanderings did finally lead us up to the hill where the ruins and Monte Fort stand. Here's the view from the fort.

Me with one of the fort's old cannons. Yes, I felt like a huge tourist while taking this picture...

The fort also had some beautiful lotus flowers which reminded me of Sal.

I found this shop sign amusing.

Just down from the ruins I noticed this lovely statue of a girl with her dog, a statue that I don't remember ever seeing before, though I'm sure it's been there a while. How could I have missed such a work of art? Just in case you're questioning the statue's decency, I should tell you that after some close scrutiny, Susie and I came to the conclusion that the statue is in fact fully-clothed... Anyway, I couldn't resist striking a pose with my new friend and her little canine. And what a natural pose it is...

More wandering, more street scenes.

I thought this was an interesting view of the facade of Sao Paulo. And actually, this is the only photo I took of the ruins on this trip, because I knew I already had a lot of photos from previous visits. It was a challenge not to retake the exact same shots.

Some beautiful old buildings near by.

This is a cross outside of one of the churches that we visited, Santo Antonio. Guess it's been there since 1638. Wow, Macau has quite a history.

This was one of the largest banyan trees I've ever seen. It's growing on a wall outside of the Military Club, one of the last places our wanderings took us.

Maybe we're just immature, but Susie and I found this sign quite funny. I guess I've just never seen a sign for a doctor specializing in sexual health.

I was pleased to find that my good friends from Beijing, Bei Bei, Jing Jing, Huan Huan, Ying Ying and Ni Ni, have made it to Macau!

Here's one of the more popular snacks/souvenirs sold in Macau -- jerky! I thought that some of the drawings and English labels were interesting. "Wild Pork" and then of course, "King of Pork," which apparently has reached "lucky special" status.

I tried out my camera's night settings while waiting for the bus that would take us back to the ferry.

And here's a shot from the hydrofoil ride back to HK. I'm not sure how clearly it will turn out, or how appropriate it was for me to take this picture in the first place, but I'll just say that I think this must be one of the worst jobs imagineable -- cleaning up other peoples' vomit on a ferry. Luckily I was not counted among the motion-sick on our way back.