Round the World in 150 days!: Days 92 to 98

Hello from the Las Vegas of the East! We thought it would be a nice change of pace to spend a couple of days in the city of Macau, an administrative territory of China, and experience for ourselves what this city has to offer. We flew from Thailand onto a small island just off of Macau and were surprised to learn that this Airport was quite small and showed absolutely no evidence of its high roller reputation. We hopped into a taxi and crossed over the bridge connecting the small island to Macau, and upon exiting the bridge, fell into the heart of the city and its grand casinos. We were excited to take advantage of the low-priced five star hotels typical of any casino town and Ines quickly settled into the plush robe and complimentary hotel slippers, as if she were settled in for the night. But Korey was hungry so we made our way through the Babylon Casino connected to our hotel, crossed the street over to the Sands Casino, walked further over to the MGM, and eventually settled in for a traditional Chinese dinner at the Wynn. This all happened without us putting a single Hong Kong dollar into any of the slot machines (Korey was really hungry)! We decided to be adventurous and order some dishes that we hadn’t yet tried, and so Ines settled in on some chili beef stir fry (and when ordering was told no less than three times that it is a hot dish), and Korey went bolder with an order of chicken feet. What a fun dinner! Between Ines downing her weight in water to cut the heat of her beef dish and Korey’s repeated attempts to grasp the oily chicken’s feet with his chopsticks, we had most of the surrounding tables guests watching us instead of each other!

After dinner, we made our way through the Casino in search of a blackjack table worthy of Korey’s Hong Kong dollars, only to find that Baccarat was the preferred game (not a blackjack table to be seen). We watched for a bit, trying to understand how Baccarat was played, then gave up and retreated to our hotel for the night.

The next day we wandered through the streets of Macau playing tourist, visiting Senado Square, an older part of Macau settled by Portuguese traders centuries ago. The Portuguese culture is very much alive and thriving in Macau to this day, and we settled in for a delicious traditional Portuguese/Chinese fusion lunch at one of the oldest Portuguese restaurants near the square. Neither one of us had ever had Portuguese food before and we both were happily surprised by the flavors the fusion of cultures had created. After lunch we walked along the famous Macau streets of Dos Mercadores and R. De Sao Paulo, filled with Portuguese and Chinese vendors hawking local foods and wares. We stopped to marvel at the Chinese food stalls selling a form of jerkey, in every form of animal meat, processed to look like flat sheets of red shiny meats in the shape of a floor tile. We were too shy to partake as they offered samples, choosing not to fight the crowds of people waiting in line. We did, however, stop at one of the many Portuguese food stalls to buy and taste a Pasteis de Nata, a traditional custard pie and fought over who got the last bite. It was delicious! These streets led us directly toward the Ruins of St. Paul (ruined by a devastating fire and never rebuilt) and the nearby Fortaleza do Monte, the historical military center of Macau and a UNESCO World Heritage Site. In touring the site we learned it was primarily built to protect against pirates.

Off we went to the casino after our day of touring, this time visiting the Grand Lisboa, the most famous casino in Macau. Its architecture was the most impressive, as it was built to mimic a giant 47-story Lotus Flower. We walked into the casino just in time to catch a retro Vegas Show Girls dance performance on an elevated stage in the center of the casino. We were able to catch three outfit changes, complete with feathers, rhinestones, headdresses and more. What fun!

Korey also located a few blackjack tables hiding in the far west corner of the casino, sat down to play, and was surprised when a Chinese gentleman placed a bet on his hand! The man was playing multiple tables at the same time, by placing bets on other people’s hands sitting at the same table. And high roller bets! Next to Korey’s minimum bet was a thousand Hong Kong dollar poker chip, awaiting the next card to be turned over. Korey was quite nervous, as his decisions meant whether or not the intimidating Chinese man won. Luckily, Korey won us dinner for that night, however his new friend won dinner for the month! It was very interesting to say the least. Ines promptly lost her money (and part of Korey’s winnings) on Roulette and Slots and we ended the night with a burger dinner at an Irish Pub in the Venetian next door.

We were in desperate need of a day to catch up on blog, sleep, and life, so we took advantage of the affordable hotel rates and stayed an extra day in Macau. It was a rainy and cold day, so we slept in late, had a leisurely lunch, wrote some blog material, and wandered through the various other casinos, taking in the crowds of people brought in by Chinese New Year celebrations and comparing and contrasting Macau with Las Vegas. We had a wonderful steak dinner that night that put us both in a food coma, waking just in time to pack up and make it to our high-speed ferry bound for Hong Kong.

The ferry ride to Hong Kong from Macaú was great! The smooth ride through the South China Sea only took an hour, and included a meal and free Coke Zero’s (Korey was thrilled). As Hong Kong is a separate administrative territory of China, we were required to clear immigration and customs before finding ourselves in the heart of the city on Victoria Harbor. We hailed a taxi and drove through a tunnel under the harbor to find our hotel in the Kowloon area on the north side of Hong Kong. Our hotel included a smart phone with our stay that was preprogrammed with maps and suggested eateries and, amazingly, gave us international calling and unlimited data for free! We later learned that this is somewhat common for hotels in Hong Kong, and we think it’s a great idea for travelers! We took advantage immediately and called our parents, of course.

For dinner that night we met up again with Blake (whom we saw in Singapore a few weeks prior) and his wife Katie. We met them in their neighborhood, saw their apartment and met their dog Annie. It was great to see how American living can be in Hong Kong! They then took us to a trendy fresh fish catch-of-the-day restaurant nearby that was absolutely delicious. We even tried the crispy smoked fish skin and shrimp heads! After that it was off to an underground ping pong club. It’s worth saying again, underground ping pong club. Apparently there are a number of underground restaurants, clubs and kitschy cool places like this scattered throughout Hong Kong! Unfortunately for Korey, it was after-hours, and ping pong was not being played. He was psyched and ready to compete with some locals! All in all it was a great, fun evening and we really enjoyed hearing about their lives and the things they’ve done internationally over the last six years living abroad. Thanks again Blake and Katie, and best of luck with everything going forward!

The next day we played tourist in Hong Kong. We walked up and down Nathan Street, a popular outdoor shopping area, and of course Ines made a few purchases (tea! that’s it! Who goes to Hong Kong and doesn’t leave with some tea!), but the real highlight was the tiny hole-in-the-wall shop we found, making in mass quantities what looked like bubbly waffle cones. We noticed a long line of locals waiting patiently to buy the sweet smelling treat, so obviously our curiosity made us stop and stand in line, not really knowing what or how to order. A few minutes later, we tasted one of the best snacks we had on the trip! We also learned they are called Hong Kong eggettes, or gai daan jai (literally, "little chicken eggs”), and these sweet egg batter waffles are one of the most iconic and beloved Hong Kong street snacks.

We also found a market nearby that seemed to have everything. While Ines shopped (to clarify, Ines would like to state she bought nothing at this market), Korey marveled at the skyscrapers all around and how they used bamboo as scaffolding on the ones under construction! Yes, it looked as unstable as it sounds for 50-story plus buildings, although very common in Hong Kong. It was quite a sight! Our day ended with a great recommendation from Blake and Katie. Every night the city of Hong Kong performs a light show on the skyline over the harbor. All of the skyscrapers light up and lasers shoot off in sync. They recommended to us one of the best spots to watch was from the lobby of the Intercontinental Hotel on the opposite side of the harbor, and they were right! Easily one of the most impressive city skylines in the world, and it was great to watch the complimentary light show highlighting Chinese New Year. Adding in a the music from a live band and some great food, we had ourselves a wonderful last evening in Hong Kong.

The next morning we were off bright and early. We had a short, but fun stay in Hong Kong. We both decided it wasn’t long enough and we’ll have to go back someday! We both agree it was a bit hard to say goodbye to the hotel smartphone and ended our Hong Kong adventure by making calls to family for the second time in a week before leaving.

Things we learned: 1) while traveling internationally, be adventurous but trust our instincts. We have learned that if the food seems bizarre and hard to eat, it probably is. While Korey is glad he tried the chicken feet, it’s something likely to never happen again!, 2) world history is fascinating and has led to some amazing fusion of cultures. The Portuguese/Chinese mix of people in Macau was very interesting, and we found ourselves surprised and amazed how the world has evolved differently in different places, and 3) Hong Kong’s skyline is truly beautiful. With a mountain behind it, it looks amazing from both sides and absolutely rivals New York’s skyline….

....also, a small side note….comparing Macau to Las Vegas isn’t quite accurate. Macau is a great and fun casino city, but the Las Vegas of the US remains the true Sin City with its over the top glitz, glamour, and debauchery.