Hong Kong & Macau

So we ended our journey with twelve days to spend in Hong Kong. In retrospect it wasn't the best idea. Don't get me wrong, we love Hong Kong, but its not the cheapest place to stay. Food and clothes are cheap,but accommodation isn't.

The first five days in HK we took it easy. We spent much of the time walking around looking for cheap Internet. The funny thing is, HK was the most modern city we went to and yet it had the fewest Internet cafes. When you did find them they were crazy expensive, at least $7 an hour for most places. We also made little recognisant missions to the markets.

After five more days in HK we were again ready to move on. We checked the guide book and read about another near by island, Macau. It was just an hour jet boat ride away and had cheaper accommodations then HK. It also mentioned it was popular for casinos and its Portuguese influences. Sounded cool. Cheaper accommodation was the real draw. We read that for the equivalent money you could stay in much nicer accomodations in Macau.

So in the morning we were off. We marched our backpacks for about a mile around a busy HK metro system. Our bags now had a combined weight of about 80 pounds. We found our way to the harbor and bought two tickets for the ferry. The ferry happens to be a sleek jet powered hydrofoil .We got a great look at the harbor as we were whisked away.

Macau looked similar at first to HK, but not as big. One of the first things you notice is that the signs are written in Cantonese and Portuguese. It's an interesting combination of two very different cultures. We found a taxi and made off for the hotel. On our ride through the city it became immediately apparent that this areas main draw was casinos. It's like a little Vegas in southern China. We didn't expect this at all. It even had the same hotels as Vegas. There was a MGM, Rio, Sands, and a Venetian. The Venetian hotel in Macau is thirty percent larger then its Vegas counterpart and it is tremendous. The hotel we booked was centrally located and rated four stars, but by the reviews I read before hand made it seem more like a three star hotel. Anyway, it was fifty bucks and turned out to be a really nice place. I give it three and a half stars.



During our stay in Macau we saw a few interesting sights. There is actually quite a bit of cultural sights to see there. The island has a pretty crazy history due to all the different countries that once made claim to it. These days the Portuguese influence is still very apparent, but it is mostly Chinese. We visited the Grand Prix museum. Every year or so Macau is home to a grand prix that runs right through the middle of the city, which gives it a feeling that you are walking through a race course. The course is very obvious and makes crossing the street a real pain in many places. There are very few cross walks and large parts of the road have barriers lining them. Anyhow I would love to see the race go down. It would be an awesome environment to watch a grand prix. We also visited the Museo de Vino (wine museum). Having a strong Portuguese influence gives Macau a strong wine tradition. You can get really good wine rather cheaply there. The museum gave us a thorough explanation of the history of wine. Dating back to the Carthaginians, the history then proceded through Europe and onwards. It ended with a wine tasting where the employees were stingy.



After a couple nights of successful gambling on my part, we decided to have a date night. We went to am Italian restaurant in the Wynn where there were floor to ceiling windows of the fountain show, in which we were directly in front of. There we had a proper feed which included pre-dinner cocktails, appetizers and entrees. I enjoyed a really nice cognac after dinner as well. The food and service was stellar. It was probably one third the price we would have paid in Vegas for the same. It was a lovely way to finish our stay.


After about six days in Macau we headed back to HK. We had two more days until our flight back to the states. At this point we were very anxious to get home. We often fantasized about what the first thing we would eat or drink upon returning. I imagined myself arriving home and walking to Lyles for some American beer and a ham and cheese. I missed a good beer so much. When I say American beer I am not taking about budwiser, or the like. I am talking about the great ales and stouts we have. I drank so much bland beer over the last few months. Sure you could go into some pubs, but you would be paying a premium price. Kristen on the other hand would not stop talking about her vegeburgers. She missed a proper vegeburger more then anything. " I would kill for a good vegeburger," she repeated over and over. I became concerned at one point when I thought she was almost going to make good on this threat. She was a real trooper though. She at a meal of cabbage that was steamed in basically shrimp and fish broth. I know it was really hard on her but she toughed it out. She continues to blow me away.

We finished our business at the markets. I think we visited either the Temple Street night market or the Fa Yuen Market every day we spent in HK. Some of the vendors were beginning to recognise us, which in a city this populated is kinda funny. The following morning we were off to San Francisco.

I don't think I have ever had a better flight. We flew on Cathay Airlines which I guess is a five star airlines. Twelve hours on an airplane sounds like hell and it usually is, but even in economy class you receive great service. The food was the best food I have eaten on a plane by far. They also had vegetarian meals for Kristen. All the beverages were free, including beer, wine, and liquor. Let's not forget the entertainment system. You have your own on demand TV. You can choose from all types of music, movies, sitcoms, and other shows from all around the world. The movie selection was top notch including new releases still in theaters! After four and a half movies we arrived in San Fran. We left HK on April 7th at noon and arrived in San Fran on April 7th at two pm only two hours later. We only had enough time to eat and sleep before heading to our final flight home.