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'Ola' everyone - that's hello in Portugese! No, I'm not in Portugal but in Macau, an odd peninsular off the the south coast of China, an hour's ferry ride west from Hong Kong. It was once a Portugese colony but now like HK, is a Special Administrative Region of China, and is totally Chinese in culture but Portugese in style - cobbled streets, beautiful churches and plazas, gardens and ancient stone fortresses, with a blast of Chinese temples and Vegas casinos - what a bizarre place to visit!
I took a chaotic ferry over this morning with about a zillion Chinese tour groups, got some nice stamps in my passport and set off on a walking tour of the main peninsular. It took a while to grow on me - I explored the casinos first - wow, some amazingly ugly monstrosities like the Grand Lisboa - a huge striking gold tower in the shape of bulb. I discovered that Macau is the Vegas of the East and actually surpasses Vegas when it comes to casinos and gambling income. Beyond the casinos I picked up the Mediterranean charm of the historic centre and it was a beautiful place - churches, cathedrals, cafes and peculiar shops hidden down backstreets, ruins, forts, barracks and a lovely central square. I couldn't quite get over where I was. It was awesome to see and a nice break from temples. I caught the ferry back over this evening. It wasn't a fun ride, a typhoon warning has been issued and there was a storm - the Turbojet bounced over the waves so fast and lurched in horrid directions that I actually located the lifejacket under my seat! But all good and I'm back in HK! I caught the Star Ferry back over to Kowloon and I've fought my way through the torrential rain - relief!
I have been all over HK in the past few days. I took buses around South HK Island on Wednesday, zooming through the busy streets of Central, then winding up and over the island to some nice beaches, the Stanley markets, more colourful temples and statues, and then to Aberdeen. I don't know exactly what possessed me to go there but it was a real, off the beaten track experience. It was a working class, chaotic town with streets full of fish stalls and a fascinating harbour. It was lined with junks/large rundown fishing boats, small piers and floating homes. It was the remnants of a maritime era and amazing to watch people going about their daily life. Over the water loomed some enormous housing estates on an island that is one of the most densely populated in the world - it was a real eye-opener. I escaped early afternoon and shot up the HSBC building and Bank of China in Central for some awesome views, then a quick peer along the promenade and whizz around the HK Art Gallery - some nice Chinese stuff!
I went north yesterday, into Kowloon, visiting a temple in the early morning - it was my best yet, full of people from all walks of life praying with burning incense stricks and throwing small bamboo sticks on the ground to predict their fate. The sticks were bellowing and people carrying them could barely see where they were going, some were on fire even - I stunk after! I went west a bit further to a nunnery and some cool gardens, I didn't see any nuns but lots of orange monks taking photos. The complex was beautiful - an explosion of colourful roofs, pavilions, bridges, a lotus pond with colourful carp and immaculate bonsai trees.
I've explored the rest of my home territory too and also tried 'congee' for breakfast - a watery rice porridge with egg - not bad. I've also done my first and last stint at street food. I wandered about the Temple Street Night markets in Ya Ma Tei last night, not far from my hostel - tiny alleyways heaving with people and stalls selling all sorts of fake stuff. I ssummoned up the guts to sit down at a random cafe in the street but after scouring the menu, the only option that didn't include some form of pigs guts was noodles with 'sauce'. Well I don't know what was in it but some meaty something and with my awful chopstick technique I couldn't separate the nasty stuff from the noodles so gobbled some down too - aahh (but I'm still alive!).
Finally, I've got my visa for China - yippee! I'll be setting off tomorrow to Guangzhou, a city not far in. I've had a brilliant week in HK, my first taste of Asia - wow! Fingers crossed the typhoon won't be too bad and it's China here I come!
Grace xx
- comments
Richard Thanks for the card, Seems like a lot more frantic in the streets of Hong Kong to the likes of Stewart Island. Good luck as you travel further into China. Richard