First off, apologies for not posting in the last few days - it feels like the last week has been a whirlwind of char siu bao, opening bank accounts, fighting off the last of jet lag, working, and trying to enjoy our new home.
Last Sunday (Dorit's first full day in the East Hempisphere!), we had to go on a quick trip over to Macau - my work visa was not available before leaving New York so I had to leave Hong Kong and re-enter to activate the visa. Macau is the other special administrative region of China. Under the "one country, two systems" policy, both Hong Kong and Macau are permitted to maintain pseudo-democratic governments while still being considered part of the People's Republic - the closest parallel in the U.S. would be Puerto Rico (or Canada) which has its own elected government but is simultaneously considered part of America.
The trip over to Macau was, itself, pretty cool. We opted for the Turbojet ferry given that the Sky Shuttle was a teeny bit out of our price range. The Turbojet is one of those times that you realize (again) how much better Chinese infrastructure is than American infrastructure - it's a basic ferry boat, except that it goes so fast it flies above the water:
Macau was formerly a Portuguese colony so we checked out some of the colonial sights - pretty jarring to see 16th century churches dropped in the middle of hordes of Chinese tourists. I'm not sure that I could hear the "sermon in stone" at the Ruinas de Sao Paulo, you be the judge:
Aside from the Portuguese ruins, the other highlight of any trip to Macau is (and please know that I am not kidding one iota) a nice portion of fresh jerky. Macanese jerky comes from all manner of beast including beef, chicken, pork, and...
The trip over to Macau was, itself, pretty cool. We opted for the Turbojet ferry given that the Sky Shuttle was a teeny bit out of our price range. The Turbojet is one of those times that you realize (again) how much better Chinese infrastructure is than American infrastructure - it's a basic ferry boat, except that it goes so fast it flies above the water:
Macau was formerly a Portuguese colony so we checked out some of the colonial sights - pretty jarring to see 16th century churches dropped in the middle of hordes of Chinese tourists. I'm not sure that I could hear the "sermon in stone" at the Ruinas de Sao Paulo, you be the judge:
Aside from the Portuguese ruins, the other highlight of any trip to Macau is (and please know that I am not kidding one iota) a nice portion of fresh jerky. Macanese jerky comes from all manner of beast including beef, chicken, pork, and...
My condolences to Christopher Robin, Eyore, and the crew down at Pooh Corner.
Let's be clear here...condolences are solely on behalf of the Chinese tourists who were chowing down on the flavored jerky. We, on the other hand, were uninterested and therefore didn't try it. Meat in the heat of the Macau sun - gross! Instead, we opted for Chinese food at the Wynn Restaurant.
Poor piglet and all his friends and relations....glad that you exercised good judgement and opted for Vegas style eating and most of all, we are happy that Michael did not end up in jail in HK for being an illegal worker. Keep up the great writing and the fabulous photos! MOM