Entrada a Macau

Hit Macau for about an hour before we had to get to the airport for the flight to Bangkok. It was interesting seeing what Hong Kong might have been like if the Portuguese had taken over more real estate in the South China Sea 400-odd years ago. Very reminiscent of a European city with its cobblestone plazas and Portuguese street and business names. There's also a flourishing scooter culture here--something we didn't see much of in Hong Kong at all. When things are this congested, it makes sense.

The big draw in the centre of town is the Ruins of St. Paul's, an old church facade that pulls all the tourists from HK and the requisite egg-tart and pork-jerky (!) vendors. Yum. Getting up the steps proved too ambitious: with backpacks girded on and stomachs full of orange juice and tarts, we only gained the first landing before being publicly daunted.

Apparently some people got shot up back in the 90s when all the gangs were scrapping over the casino rackets. Seems to have cleaned up now and they're want to remake it into China's own version of Las Vegas. Already you're seeing huge "Asian"-style casino/hotels along the water, and more under construction. The scale of these job-sites is staggering.

This will also be the last temperate weather we'll likely encounter: from here on, we're expecting balmy 30'C temperatures non-stop. Those of you who know me know that anything over room temperature has me sweating buckets and drooling with delirium. Well, I knew what I was getting into before I signed up. Hurray for air-con!