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Published: January 15th 2008
Macau Lady
She let me take her photo in exchange for a used water bottle. I had a guide translate for me.January 31, 2007
Today we headed out to Nathan Road in Hong Kong and visited all of the shopping areas. This day didn’t bring too many exciting stories for you all to read but I will say that I bought a pretty sweet Chinese mask! I will show a picture soon! After a long day of walking the streets and visiting many shops we headed back to the hotel for a 6-8pm recharge. It seems to have become our daily routine to rise early, spend the whole day out and then recharging and heading out once more. After the recharge and a Fettuccini Carbonara dish from L’Hotel Nina we headed out to celebrate bringing in the new year. In the lobby on the way out we met up with two other Scholar Ship students. Jenny Jones from the UK and Amelia Brown from New Orleans joined us on the trip downtown with the locals. Myself, Megan, Amelia and Jenny took one cab. The cab driver took us to the wrong location (the communication between us English-speakers and the cab drivers has proven to be quite difficult so we end up showing pictures of places or hold up the key card to our hotel b/c they don’t speak English). After arriving at the wrong location this meant that we were separated from the rest of our group who took taxi #1. We ended up asking police officers how to find our way to where we needed to be. At this time we were swimming our way through thousands upon thousands of Hong Kong natives and visitors from all around the world. We ended up having to take the subway to the other side of the harbor. This was difficult because we were not sure exactly what the name of the stop was and with their subway systems you must prepay for the destination that you arrive at. Another thing that proved to be most difficult was operating the subway ticket machine. I am now a proud new owner of two unused souvenir tickets from the Hong Kong subway.
After finally finding our way to where we were supposed to be we soon found out that it was hopeless to search for the others. The amount of people that consumed the pavement amongst the streets and edge of harbor was absolutely unreal. We decided to hang out along the harbor and ring in the New Year. This would end up being quite an interesting experience. In the midst of the crowd we noticed a restaurant on the edge of the water that had maybe about a hundred customers as opposed to the hundreds of thousands that lined the water’s edge. We noticed that they were yelling and then began to throw confetti and such. We thought that they were probably just warming up for the grand ole’ countdown for the New Year! This wasn’t the case.... **POP BAM POP*** ... POP BAM BOOM!** a few bangs and about 3 minutes later the thousands upon thousands of people started filtering away from the water and back towards the metro. My friend Amelia from New Orleans was taking a picture of something and I told her, “Whhhaaat?! I think it’s over”.. she granted me a short chuckle and continued taking pictures... I then told her that I was serious and she turned around and began to agree. Our group was definitely shocked from the amount of effort that was seemingly put into this “Grand” event... that didn’t seem to effect most standing around. I suppose everyone was satisfied though. Either way, we ended up lucking out and taking one of the first cabs back that was available... b/c there just wasn’t any way that we were about to file back down underground to the already complicated and overly crowded metro.
January 1, 2008
This day would prove to be quite exciting. After an early rise for yet another splendid buffet breakfast we rushed out to the curb where we met up with our tour guide William. We ended up taking the bus over to another hotel where we picked up another large group of Scholar Ship students. We ended up meeting many people. I met a guy named Dennis from California who embodies a traditional cowboy from the dry heat of Texas or Oklahoma. He goes to UC Berkeley. Nicest guy I’ve met in a long time though, that’s for sure. But I must say that when you are in China and you are wearing Cowboy Boots and a true Cowboy Hat that looks like it’s been dipped in some sort of “hat-starch” for years upon years, you tend to stick out. Whenever I felt as though I was drifting away from our group I would just look for the “cowboy”. My bearings were immediately re-calibrated every time that I felt like I was drifting away. We took a speedboat ferry to the island of Macau, which used to be controlled by the Portuguese. This area was absolutely incredible. Between the Portuguese architecture and the Chinese culture I felt like I was being tossed around like a rag-doll from continent to continent every few minutes. It was quite amazing being amongst a group of students of whom hail from countries such as Brazil and China (more specifically Macau). Only 2% of the population in Macau speaks Portuguese though now. Below I have attached the description of the places that I went and what I saw:
--- This is the section that includes my itinerary for Macau and Hong Kong if you are interested read about it and if not..then skip to where you see another bullet!
MACAU HERITAGE TOUR
Pick up at the hotel. Drive to the China (HK) Ferry Terminal and take a ferry to Macau. Pick up at the Macau pier.
Penha Hill - The chapel, which was built on top of the Penha Hill (also known as Bishop Hill because of the Bishop Residence), is a Chapel of Our Lady of Penha, which was first built in 1622. The first chapel was erected by the crew and passengers of a ship, which had a narrow escape from the Dutch. Later the chapel served as a shrine for sailors embarking on often-hazardous voyages. The chapel today dates back to 1837 when it was completely rebuilt along with the Bishop's Palace.
A Ma Temple, the oldest temple in Macau, has a history of over 500 years. It is so famous that over 400 years ago when the Portuguese reached Macao and landed on the sea promontory opposite the A-Ma Temple, they noticed the temple of the goddess and asked the local inhabitants the name of the whole place. The locals misunderstood and, believing that the Portuguese were referring to the temple, answered "Ma Kok". In this way, the Portuguese transliterated into "Macau" which is the origin of the Portuguese name for Macao. The whole Temple includes four building, the main hall, stone hall, great mercy hall and Kun lam (Goddess of Mercy) hall.
Moorish Barrack - built in 1874 on the slope of Barra Hill, the Macau Moorish Barracks is a brick and stone neo-classical structure with some Moorish influences giving it an exotic appearance.
Lilau Square - situated in the old “Christian quarter” where the Portuguese first settled in Macau. This area is surrounded by Portuguese style buildings and is therefore an area representing Macau’s unique urban style and features
St. Joseph Seminary Church - constructed over a span of twelve years between 1746 and 1758, St Joseph’s Seminary Church is an important heritage building and testimony to the missionary history of Macau. The Church is an excellent example of Baroque architecture in Macau but also assimilates both western and local influences in its structure and ornamentation
St. Agostinho Square - surrounded by many important monuments, including the St. Augustine’s Church, Agostinho the Jesuit residence, Dom Pedro V Theatre, St. Joseph’s Seminary, Sir Robert Ho Tung Library, and Ricci House.
Lunch at a Portuguese restaurant
Ruins of St. Paul, which stands adjacent to the famous Mount Fortress and Macau Museum. The front façade and the grand stone stairs are the only remains of the greatest church in Macau.
Macau Museum contains well preserved cultural traditions, usages and habits, which specifically belong to Macau, in a place where East, and West have so peculiarly learnt how to meet and to live side by side along the centuries.
Square of Portuguese House Museum and Church of Carmel. Isolated from all the other museums of Macau, the House Museum is very different from the other museums of Macau. The museum includes five ordinary green houses with Macanese (mix of Macau and Portugal) architectural designs. It is considered one of the cultural relics and heritages of the Island At the same time; it is one of the most delightful sights in the whole of Macau. Before going back to Hong Kong, visit one of the casinos in Macau.
Transfer to the pier and take the ferry back to Hong Kong.
1700(approx) Tour ends by transfer back to L’Hotel Nina and Mexan Harbour Hotel
1900 Transfer to dinner - (Meet in lobby of your respective hotel - L’Hotel Nina and Mexan Hotel)
EVENING - DINNER & TEMPLE STREET NIGHT MARKET TOUR
1930 Dinner at Maxim’s Chinese Restaurant at Whampoa Garden
Following the dinner you will be transferred to the most famous night market of Hong Kong.
Temple Street, which is well known partly due to the many Hong Kong films set here. Although the street in the film is often portrayed as the home of underworld figures and prostitutes, Temple Street exudes a joyful and welcoming feeling for stall-keepers and tourists. It is known as 'the Night Club of the People'. Hundreds of peddlers appear after sunset along with visitors and customers looking for a good deal. Inexpensive items in the market include electronic products, clothes, jade articles, coins, toys, CDs, music boxes, lighters, ties, jeans, T-shirts, Western-style clothes and leather wares, among others. Visitors often find great buys at bargain prices. The market extends 600 meters (656 yards) along both sides of the road. Beyond shopping, the market provides entertainment in the form of fortune tellers and traditional Cantonese opera singers.
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We ate lunch at a wonderful mixed-Chinese/Portuguese restaurant. It was very unique. I believe most of the food was cooked in the more traditional Chinese manner due to the amount of oil that was used in the food. However, you’ll have to excuse me because I don’t know much about food other than how much I like it. This food was good. Believe me.
After lunch we visited another monastery. At this place we viewed many old religious inscriptions and such. My greatest memory from this stop was the older woman (see picture) that sat outside of it. She wore many layers of clothing even though the temperature was not that cool outside. Clearly she has been weathered by the elements in her life. Whether it was being homeless or just merely growing old while the world speeds by quickly, there was something about this lady that struck me. I was taking pictures outside of the monastery and she sort of waved at me and smiled a bit. I realized that I was holding my water bottle and I was almost done with it. I then realized that she was holding a small plastic bag that she was collecting bottles and cans in. I quickly finished my water and then leaned over and handed it to her. She did not speak any English but she gave me a wonderful smile. I asked William, our guide, if he would translate for me. I was quite captivated by this lady so I really wanted to capture this moment. I asked him to see if she would allow me to photograph her. She responded with wanting some spare change. I promptly donated a few Hong Kong dollars, which equated to something less than 1 USD (the exchange rate was something like 7.24 HKD to every 1 USD). She smiled beautifully and willingly for me. I took what I believe to be the most breathtaking photo that I have ever taken. It is now the background on my computer and it reminds me of how precious life is.
I will write more soon. Thanks for checkin in. I hope all is well.
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Mom
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Need Another Battery?
Enjoyed talking with you this morning and I loved you Blog. If you want me to buy another camera battery I will and I will send it. Let me know the Model Number. We are so very proud of you! We miss and love you! MOM