destination = ruins of a 17th century church

[continuation of last Macau post]

We lug our belongings around again...through downtown, still not having a clue where we'd be staying. My dad is so spontaneous and never plans anything. While being spontaneous is good and all, but not really when you're in a foreign place just following your dad and he assures you that he knows where he's going. Hah. It's blazing hot, and we're just zigzagging our way through the tourist crowds on the narrow sidewalks. Again, luckily, we happen to pass by a travel agency...and finally dad books a night at Metropark hotel. It's only a couple blocks away, in the heart of downtown. The hotel is really nice and looks like it belongs in Times Square. There are 25 floors. We get placed on the 23rd. So, yes, a nice view is to be expected. The view is of Grand Lisboa hotel (the 52-floor $2 billion casino/hotel) and of the rooftops of apartment buildings... There is advanced technology integrated throughout the hotel/room. The AC, lights, TV power and volume, and even the do not disturb (which displays a red light at the doorbell outside) are controlled by a touchpad. There are four elevators within the hotel. Two of them have a glass panel, so you can see how fast up you're traveling and all the cool lights at night. In dad's words, this hotel is "special."

After settling in, Dad passes out for 20 minutes when I'm starving and trying to cool down after walking around in sauna weather. We go eat lunch at a Taiwanese dimsum place Dad spotted earlier. The dimsum here is pretty different from Chinese/Cantonese dimsum dishes. But it's good, nonetheless. We ask the waitress if there are non-smoking zones in the restaurant because ew who wants to have tobacco flavored fish. I notice the 3 guys seated next to us, who were just finishing their cigs as we sat down, listen to our question. Ugh, no manners these people. After they finish their meal, each of them pull out another cig to smoke at their table while we're still in the middle of eating. I eat til my stomach is about to burst, so no dinner for us later.

Towards evening, we take the public bus to get to this beautiful facade of a church I saw on the "Welcome to Macau" billboard in the airport. Ever since I saw that picture, I knew I had to pay a visit. And, I have a deep appreciation for old architecture. This church was built in 1601 and originally called Church of Mater Dei. In 1835 it, along with St. Paul's College which was adjacent to the church, was burned down--hence the name of the place. We miss the bus stop, but the next is only a couple blocks away. The stop we were supposed to get off at is called Senado Square (see first image). It is a gorgeous outdoor shopping and gathering place with old Portugese buildings. And, it's where Ji Hoo (from the Korean drama) sang to make money [thanks to Carla for pointing that out]! Anyhow, the buildings here have Portuguese and Chinese writing. I think it's so cool that Macau is the only place in the world where Chinese + Portuguese culture meet. So, we walking somewhat aimlessly through the plaza. I stop by a couple stores, pull out my map, and point to the picture of St. Paul to get exact directions. Despite the heat and my lungs polluted with second-hand smoke and my very tired sore feet (wish I had brought good walking shoes I was wearing my nice J. Crew flats) I was so determined to go. Finally we were there. There were quite a few steps to climb...kinda like Machu Pichu stairs but of course not as narrow or steep. I sat down on a ledge and just looked upon the facade. All of sudden I felt so at ease. I don't know what it was.


One brief, negative, but very true note: Macau has the worst public transportation ever. We ended up getting on the wrong bus to get back to downtown and end up in a suburb/dead area. The bus route maps aren't very helpful. The drivers are rude and could care less to help out a lost tourist. Dad got on a bus to ask the driver whether the bus goes to Grand Lisboa (the hotel everyone in Macau knows), and the driver---he shooes dad off the bus flicking his hand like when you try to swat a fly away from your food. I dunno how a non-Chinese/Cantonese-speaking tourist would not get lost here.

Last backtracking post tomorrow--->Hong Kong!!

half-post of june 6, Saturday

Dad woke me up at freaking 5:30am to go jogging with him around the hotel's neighborhood. Uh, hello, I'm on vacation!!! Two hours later, I'm up and ready to sitesee, but by then it was flaming hot outside. Mind you, it is 10x's hotter in Macau than it is in Taiwan! The area around our hotel has a couple 17th century temples and churches. The neighborhood is very hilly, and my thighs burned as we walked up those steep hills ...hyperventilate...catch my breath...gulp down coconut popsicle..ah, relief. We arrive at the A-ma temple, which in the brochure that our hotel gave us does not note when it was built but it seemed pretty old anyway. The temple is beautiful with vibrantly colored details along the roof. There are a lot of people here, praying to the gods, leaving their footsteps in this possibly 2+ century old temple. Ah, more steep steps. I am about to give up, but I give in because my dad snarls, and well I push myself to go up one more flight--the last thank god--as a punishment for not waking up at 5:30am when it's not 80% humid. From the top is a view of the bay. There are huge incense sticks, that are maybe four feet tall and six inches thick. [CLICK TO VIEW DETAIL, I resized them to be bigger than what I usually size them to]

We check out by 1pm (extension) and take the shuttle to downtown Macau. And again, today we have no idea where we're staying, although I suggested that we stay at Metropark--another 5-star hotel that seemed pretty popular...when we waited for the Riviera shuttle bus at the Macau ferry terminal, I saw the Metropark shuttle bus coming back and forth every 10 minutes with a full bus.

Downtown is so cool. There are modern skyscrapers next to old Portuguese banks that are bright coral. At this time, we are still lugging our belongings around, and we get odd stares from people as if we were homeless. Good god, there is a huge Epcot center like building in front of my eyes. It belongs to a $2 billion casino/deluxe hotel called Grand Lisboa. The old hotel and casino are directly across the street from the new one. Can you be wasting anymore money?? I find it sad that Macau is reigned by casinos. Basically, these casinos and tourism are their only sources of a somewhat steady economy. Macau is a beautiful nation with a lot of ancient (okay, more like a couple centuries-old) ruins--most of which are churches, and Portuguese culture. Anyway, Dad has to go to the bank so we go inside one of the casinos. There is a line wrapping around the small bank because it is a Saturday, and this is one of the few banks still open at this time. I'm standing in line, and there are these girls wearing super tight minidresses and stilettos walking back and forth. The old geezers in front of me can't keep their eyes off them. I kinda can't too, not because I'm checking them out, but because I'm confused a little. They continue to walk back and forth, striding from one end of the hall to the other. Is this some kind of runway show? Then I realize that they are hookers, as Dad confirms. Aha. At this time of the day, it's only noontime? I guess they have nothing better to do anyway. We get out of the line because it'd probably be an hour til we get to the teller, and a guy in front of me just pulled out a cig to smoke in my face. Yes, people in Macau smoke everywhere you can imagine. There is no such existence of non-smoking zones here.

Okay, time to sleep, tomorrow is Monday and I have to wake up at 6:26am--will be updating the rest tomorrow, including more for June 6...!

spontaneity at its best

[backtracking]
Friday: I'm in Macau!!!! I didn't know I'd be here til today at 11am. Dad shoots me an email while I'm at the museum asking whether I could take off early. Cheng boshi encouraged me to go and "see the world" :) So I quickly pack up my things, powerwalk to the subway, and get home. I've never felt so rushed. The moment I got home my dad was busily packing away as our flight was at 4pm. I was starving so I was stuffing my face with burning hot noodles (ouch).


Arrival: Macau's tiny airport is adjacent to the South China Sea. As we landed, the plane's wings were skimming above the sea. It's located on a man-made island called Taipa. This island is where Venetian casino/hotel is....where Boys Over Flowers (Korean drama) was filmed!!! When I stepped inside I felt as if I were reliving Jandi's life. It sort of felt surreal. The hotel is beautiful inside, but it reaks of tobacco as all casinos, or rather Macau, do. My dad is so spontaneous that we didn't even know where we'd be staying. Venetian was too expensive so we took their shuttle bus to the Macau harbor, where lucky for us, there are travel agencies located inside the terminal. We scored a 5-star hotel, Hotel Riviera, by the bay for 550MOP (~$70).

The view is GORGEOUS from our hotel window. We can see the Macau tower, the bay, and lit up bridge.The hotel is rather nice too. It's not fancy smancy, but the bed is oh-so-comfortable that it was hard for me to get up the next morning.

Tidbits about Macau:
1. Macanese food is a mish mash of Portuguese and Chinese food. They use spices from Africa and the Middle East--such as tumeric and cinnamon--in addition to coconut milk and basil leaves mmmm. Unfortunately, we didn't find any Macanese restaurants :(
2. Mandarin and Portuguese are official languages of Macau while Cantonese is the most widely spoken.
3. Every street name is Portuguese. They are usually Rua de _____. Restaurants and store fronts all have Chinese characters, Portuguese, and sometimes English.
4. They drive on the other side of the road here, and the driver seat is on the right side. This was my first time experiencing this, so I always got confused when entering a bus because the doors are on the other side too.

vegas in asia

I'm in Macau right now!!!! updates and pics later because i only have 4 minutes left of free internet. for an hour of internet at our hotel, actually most hotels here, costs $4+ an hour!

Basically it's a lot like Vegas. People blow smoke in your face and there are casinos everywhere...there is one that is shaped like Epcot's sphere!

I hate buying clothes in Taiwan

yet I do love buying clothes in Taiwan. The clothes are incredibly cheap...every top I've been buying are around 420-500NT ~ $12-15.

I hate shopping here. I'd stop at a street market station...browse through the clothes and pick out a really cute blouse. The saleslady comes by to see what I'm looking at and says "Oh, that won't fit you." or "It's way too small for you." Then they point at this ugly top that looks like a hacky sack and say "This will definitely fit you." Um thanks. Then I shoot them my WTF face and walk away to browse the station directly across (and buy something). Boo yah.

Dui bu qi

I am sorry. I haven't been keeping up with my posts...at all. First the iphone fiasco, and now it's because I've been so lazy. And yeah, laziness is frowned down upon in Taiwan. I get home about 6pm, plop down on the couch, watch a little Taiwanese drama with my dad and cousin, eat a home-cooked vegetarian dinner, walk to the park to burn all the calories I consumed and have my heart broken from seeing too many homeless dogs, head back home after an hour, shower, and pass out by 11pm. So, really, it's because I don't have much time and well, because I'm lazy too.

I will try to have the blog updated by tonight. Not a promise, but I will try!

what i'm trying to say

Monday: Um great, I accidentally deleted all the notes I wrote for today on my iPhone. Apple should add a trash bin like a normal computer has. Note to self: sync phone or pay attention to what I’m actually deleting. Oh wells.

REWRITE: Ruckus at 5am this morning. The building shakes, ear deafening squeals, sounds like someone is moving heavy furniture down the four flights of stairs, echoes…earthquake?? No, just roadwork so damn early in the morning. They are paving the road. Riding subway alone today with dad for the first time. Fight my way to the entrance because some business guy is shoving people out of his way…must be nearly late for work. Crazy old lady blabbing away in Taiyu and Chinese to herself and to those sitting down—pretending to sleep because they don’t want to give up their seat. She comes to stand next to be and is now shouting. She looks at me. Don’t make eye contact with her. If people didn’t know the situation they’d think she was yelling at me.

Lunch outside as always behind the museum. Something smells like poo and blows in my direction. Maybe someone is chowing down on choudofu nearby.

Today I learned that Taipei 101 was designed to resemble a bamboo. Cool!

It breaks my heart to see all these homeless dogs at the park. Dad says to just ignore them and move on because there’s nothing Taiwan government can do about them :( Sorry, can’t do that. Sigh.

Happier note—jiejie (my cousin) took us to a shaved ice shop down the street from where I’m staying. For a huge size—35NT/$1.10!!! Ah, eating baobing at Cha or other places will never be the same!