Day Trip to Macau

This Saturday I took a trip over to Macau; first, some of the basics - Macau, like Hong Kong, is a Special Administrative Region of China, which means it still has its own legislative council as well as customs / immigration etc (which means I got another stamp in my passport!). Macau was previously a Portuguese territory and was handed back to China not long after the British left Hong Kong.

Macau has is most famous for the fact that gambling is legal there, and consequently has long been popular with residents of HK and China. Literally, thousands of Chinese / Hongkongers head to Macau every weekend to go to the Casinos. To give you an idea of numbers - there is at least one jetfoil or helicopter service every 15 mins during the day from Hong Kong to Macau (even every 30 mins during the night!) - each carrying approx 300 passengers (well, not the helicopter, obviously) - and that's before you count services that run direct from HK airport or from China...

So, what was it like? Honestly, I would have to say probably the most schizophrenic place I've ever been to. There are basically three competing influences - the Chinese, the Portuguese and the commercialism of what I can only describe as a Vegas-envy complex! The photos I've attached show some of these different sides to the place... the mediterranean influence is significant - there are some really beautiful buildings in lovely pastel colours in the town centre, and the churches in particular are really pretty. Food is also heavily influenced by the portuguese - I had a local speciality of rice with dried salted cod for lunch.

To be honest, overall, I'm not sure I liked it very much... it really does feel like it has sold its soul to the gambling industry (all the big places are there... Wynn, Venetian, Sands, MGM Grand... even Cirque de Soleil have a got a residency there... as I said, just like Vegas!)... and I'm not sure it'll be able to keep its own identity very well in the middle of all that. Las Vegas Sands who are doing most of the building and development work have just halted work on a number of their building projects as they are in danger of going into administration... they've laid of thousands of construction workers, which must be crippling such a small place. Four Seasons and Sofitel opened hotels earlier this year and Mandarin Oriental and Westin are already there... Shangri-La is one of the developments under way that has been halted.

Some of the hotels / casinos are just hideous... so tacky... and it's only going to get worse... they've even been reclaiming land back from the sea to give them more to build on. A lot of the casinos have got stupid themes... there was the Babylon casino, and then the Pharoah's casino... for god's sake!! Like that's what we all remember King Tut for... that he was a dab hand at Texas Hold 'Em and couldn't resist a spin on the roulette table before dinner...

Ok, I'll calm down now...it's such a shame as the pace of life and general vibe of the place was a lot more chilled than HK - it definitely felt a lot less frenetic and relaxed. Not sure how long that will last if the visitor numbers keep rising though. (And clearly, I won't be going to Vegas any time soon either!)

Snuffles and SARS

Something that's really noticeable here is how seriously they take cleanliness and hygiene. The SARS outbreak a few years ago (remember that? - it's probably longer ago than I think it was) has clearly left it's mark. The culture here is that if you catch a cold (even if it's just a snuffle) you stay at home in case you spread it to colleagues, which is kind of the total opposite to the UK where we tend to muddle through... unless you're a bloke in which case the minute man-flu strikes you're dying in the corner and begging for sympathy (ouch!). If you do venture out, it's expected you wear a face mask (like the ones surgeons use in theatre to cover their mouth and nose) to stop spreading your germs to others on the transport. And most lifts (especially in the office and in posher shopping centres) have signs that tell you how often the button panel is disinfected (in our office, they're done every 2 hours!). And god help you if you sneeze in public....

Happy Valley

Some photos of my local area.

It's the Little Things....

.... you notice... the only betting shops in Hong Kong are run by the HK Jockey Club (in fact, betting on horses is the only legal form of gambling here)... apparently the only flavoured yoghurts you can get are blueberry, strawberry or mango... Starbucks sell chicken & leek pies... when ordering a cup of tea it'll come with warm milk instead of cold... it costs £3.50 for Heat magazine and £5 for OK (now this is v bad!)... very few people will attempt to cross the road against the lights... the local McDonalds does home delivery... almost every single shop stays open until at least 9pm every night... some bars don't bother with a 'closing time' at all... I haven't seen anyone riding a bicycle... all soft fruit like blackberries and raspberries (which I love) is imported and costs over £6 a punnet... lunch hour is a big deal to people and very few eat at their desk... oh, and that the northern vowels are definitely proving to be a problem - "train" took three attempts and got dangerously close to requiring sound effects!!

Sun, Sun, Sun

Sorry to rub it in, but the weather here is perfect at the moment... so warm and sunny and the humidity has dropped back to below 50%. So I went out and did a little exploring at the weekend. First, I took the tram all the way to the terminus at Kennedy Town. Not a great deal there to be honest; mainly a working harbour, although I did get the impression that its past it's hey-day... still smelt rather strongly of fish though! (The photo is taken on the harbour front looking back towards Central). Spent the rest of the time wandering around Causeway Bay and Happy Valley making myself acquainted with all my local shopping opportunities! I'm also really lucky that there is a small park by the racecourse - parkland as such is rare here due to the immense pressure on land - where I was able to sit in the sunshine and read my book. Wouldn't like to give the impression that all was wonderful mind... the book I'm reading at the moment is absolute rubbish!

View from the Tram

Generally I take the tram to work - although the evening rush hour here is way beyond anything I've ever known in London and sometimes I end up walking half way back (not that it's that far). They're so cheap - costs about 17p for a single journey anywhere (even the MTR - the underground - is about 35p for the shortest journeys).
Transport here is so well organised - there's a huge choice of bus, mini-bus, tram or MTR choices on the island, and the taxis are equally cheap so are a perfectly viable option too.

Home from Home

Well, I've survived my first week... done all the important stuff like working out the transport network, buying a travel pass, checking out the local shops...finding my nearest Starbucks! I'm living in Happy Valley - famous for the racecourse. It's a slightly less hectic district on HK Island, about 10-15 mins on the tram from the office, with lots of local shops, laundries, dry cleaners, newsagents, restaurants etc. Most important of all, there's an international supermarket selling loads of western brands... although some of the prices are a big eye-watering - £1.20 for a tin of heinz soup anyone?
My apartment is in a relatively small block away from the main street so it's generally quite quiet; the service is great - not only do I get my bed made and the flat cleaned daily, I've discovered they even do my washing up! Bliss.