The Start..Macau and Hong Kong

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So i finally got on the plane and left!

8 hours later i arrived at Hong Kong Airport. Hopped straight onto a train, then onto the ferry over to Macau to meet up with my friend Samo. I spent 4 years at uni with sam, and not seen him for 6 months, so it was great to see him again. Macau is something to be seen, and i think arriving at night i got the best intro. It's a small island just west of Hong Kong, and hour ferry ride, and for many years was owned by the portugese, not the Chinese. So unlike in China gambling is legal there. It's known as the "las Vegas" of China, and is now not owned by portugese but the chinese, but gained its independence not so long ago.

Basically there are casino's everywhere, you come in on the ferry to see the 'Sands' Casino lit up with more flashing lights than Perths whole christmas pageant! And the 15minute taxi ride to Taipa village where Sam lived showed one flashy Casino after another. Some really impressive, some extremely ugly!! Taipa village is not what i ever imagined a "village" to be! It's a highrise village. A clump of highrise apartments where a lot of the workers in Macau live. Sam lived on the 30th floor!! Great views, but only when the misty fog wasn't hanging around.

I went for a mission walk to the Venetian Hotel and Casino to see where Sam worked for Cirque Du Solei, and under the instruction of "it's not that hard to find because you can se it from where i live" I left confident, until i realised the mit was that heavy i couldn't see 20 metres ahead! So i headed off in the direction i thought was right and 45min later decided a call to Sam was in order! Only to find that I'd done a whole loop of Taipa and was just one corner away from the apartment again!

I set off again and got there in 15 min! It was incredible in there, the Casino floor runs for so long you can't see the end, and on the second floor there is a whole indoor canal system set up to look just like venice..only full of chinese people! There are gondolas gliding through with the drivers in their French stripey black and white tops and straw hats with red ties, and all the way around the canals shops and facades of Venice buildings!

I also caught a taxi to the main Macau island and went to Sonata square. Tourist shopping heavan, all the top name shops, and then just around the corner and down the twisty side streets all the markets!! At the top was St Pauls Church...or what was left. The front of it looking over Macau.

On the saturday we went over to Hong kong to met Sams dad and step mum on their way to London for the day. I've stayed with them a couple of times at their farm in Gin Gin and always have fun! We headed to Ocean world!! Still in construction, it's a theme park where the main animal attraction in Panda bears....who last time i checked didn't live in the ocean! but the best part i think was the cable car ride from one side of a set of mountains to the other side where the rest of the parks attractions were. Best views of Hong Kong and it's Islands.

We headed back into the centre of Hong Kong for dinner, and it's an insanely busy city. But i kinda liked the hustle and bustle, it reminded me a little of being back in Japan.

Then i had to go! up early hours of the morning to ferry, then taxi, then train, then fly away! Cheers for having me sam, I had a great time!!

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Photos

Macau 102
venetian