Hong Kong no Phooey TR (Apr 2012)! The Yee's have it....TR finish #1101, 07/09

[zanzibar138]

Love the story about your dad growing marijuana lol!

I've just caught up on your Macau updates and enjoying seeing another different side to the area.

 

[craftymama71]

DH and I have been reading this TR and LOVING your photo's. I really was planning on another USA trip, but now DH is sold on HK. Thank you for sharing.

 

[Princess_Melanie]

On a major catch up (no internet access for most of the week )

We haven't scheduled in Macau - I think we'll have enough to squeeze in for our trip already - but really loving your TR of it!! Those tarts looked A-Mazing!! nom nom nom!!

 

[usnuzuloose]

Alot of interesting rituals there. Maybe since you remember as a child of the colors, maybe they have relaxed and wanted color. The biscuits look good. It is hard when you are with an excursion so to speak, never enough time. Love the pictures..

 

[PrincessInOz]

No, we never tasted the jerky. We were amused that nobody would offer it to us though! I was glad to see it in your report so that now I know what it actually was!

Love that story about your dad

Well, if you're ever in Melbourne, Jerky House is on Lonsdale Street. But you might find some over in your side of the continent anyway.

Love the story about your dad growing marijuana lol!

I've just caught up on your Macau updates and enjoying seeing another different side to the area.

I should have said it was a long time ago and well beyond the statute of limitation.

DH and I have been reading this TR and LOVING your photo's. I really was planning on another USA trip, but now DH is sold on HK. Thank you for sharing.

Thanks for stopping by and providing the feedback. When are you thinking of going?

(And if I were in your shoes, I'd be angling for a trip to HK AND the US! )

On a major catch up (no internet access for most of the week )

We haven't scheduled in Macau - I think we'll have enough to squeeze in for our trip already - but really loving your TR of it!! Those tarts looked A-Mazing!! nom nom nom!!

Oh NO! No internet access????

Even if you haven't scheduled in Macau, just be aware that it is a day trip away; should you need to fill in some time.

Alot of interesting rituals there. Maybe since you remember as a child of the colors, maybe they have relaxed and wanted color. The biscuits look good. It is hard when you are with an excursion so to speak, never enough time. Love the pictures..

The pastel colours of Macau do not figure into the colour palette of my childhood memories. We were more into whitewash then!

 

[PrincessInOz]

If it’s another Hill, it must be another Landmark in Macau – Guia Hill



We’d just finished climbing up Barra Hill and Mr TA wanted us to check out another hill in Macau. This time we were to head for Guia Hill. I wish I knew how we got from Barra Hill to Guia Hill; but the best I can do is provide these breadcrumbs….

We passed by the Science Centre.

And then some sort of open space with this sculpture, which was near the Guan Yin statue (we missed taking her picture from the moving wheels).

There were a number of narrow and windy streets.

Some of the architecture was beautiful. We passed a number of buildings that had these Moorish horseshoe shaped arches. It certainly added to the charm of the place for me.

The road up to Guia Hill was rather narrow and our driver got lost a couple of times before finally dropping us nearly at the top. I’m not exactly sure where we were; but it was near the ‘café’ at the top. There was still no sign of lunch for our Party@12 even though it was way past lunchtime by this stage. DS was hungry and this place only sold crisps, lollies, ice creams and drinks. We picked up a couple of bags of crisps and a drink. The adults would have to wait some more for food.


Standing at the top of Guia Hill, the Guia Fortress was constructed in the first half of the 17th century and offers aspects of Macau’s trio of principal historic themes – military, missionary and maritime.

We found some underground tunnels, which were used as air raid shelters. Amongst the three sets of underground passages, the one that lies underneath the lighthouse was open to the public. This 52m tunnel is relatively short in length and was built in 1931.

These underground passages are apparently not interconnected but have openings to the cannon emplacements, forts and the barracks of the garrisoned soldiers. This particular passage had this display in the one room. There was also an electricity generator used during WWII are on display. I figure I must have been sick that day as I didn't take a picture of the generator!

The passages were off-limits military installations not too long ago so I was pleased to have had the chance to walk through one of them.

The other end was in sight. You may have noticed that there were photos on the wall. They contained the history of the shelter from 1931 to 1962 and were interesting to look at and read.

I snaffled this from DH’s set to show the opening at this end.

We kept heading up the hill and along the fortress wall.

It really was a pretty walk....

...and the views of the city were reasonable.

You can see the Macau Tower from here. That building is the Grand Lisboa Casino and Hotel, opened in 2007.

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[PrincessInOz]

(Continued from Previous Post)


Guia Fortress, Chapel and Lighthouse



Our destination! The Guia Fortress is a historical military fort, chapel, and lighthouse complex that is a UNESCO World Heritage Site as part of the Historic Centre of Macau. We’d already seen some of the tunnels and the walls that form part of the fortress as we walked up. It was time to check out the buildings at the top.

We entered in here…(couldn’t resist taking a picture of the door)…

…and into a space that contained typhoon signals used as warnings for bad weather.

The fort and chapel were constructed between 1622 and 1638, after an unsuccessful attempt by the Netherlands to capture Macau from Portugal.
The complex was built upon the highest point on Macau, Guia Hill, and named after the same location. Today, the site is a tourist destination and it was packed today!

Within the fortress walls, at the highest point of the hill is the Guia Lighthouse, built by Carlos Vicente da Rocha and first operated in 1865.

The Guia Lighthouse is the oldest modern lighthouse on the Chinese coast, and is still in operation.

The lighthouse stands at 91 meters tall, and has a light visible for some 20 miles in clear weather conditions. We weren’t there at night but I understand that it shines brightly during the night.

I loved the windows of the lighthouse. That yellow trim just reminds me of sunshine.

Adjacent to the lighthouse is the Guia Chapel, built in 1622 in honour of Our Lady of Guia.

We were allowed to go inside the chapel but there was a strictly no photography policy in place. And the ever present security guard made sure that this policy was enforced. Without any pictures, I’m totally relying on my swiss cheese elephant memory here. I remember that the inside of the chapel was small; with the altar being the prime focal point on entry. There was also a little area to the left of the altar and with so many people cramming it, entry and exit was a little difficult. The thing about the chapel is that it is air conditioned.

The other focal point inside the chapel was the frescoes on the wall. In 1996, the Macau Government carried out interior protection and restoration of the chapel, and uncovered a large number of frescoes depicting biblical stories and figures in the Chinese painting style. The frescoes depict biblical themes mixed with Chinese lions and I think I even saw angels wearing oriental clothes!


We walked round to the other side of the chapel.

A number of people were climbing up this stairs to take pictures. I don’t think you could get to the top; you could just sit on the steps somewhere towards the top.

Given how I was feeling, I chose to stay on the ground today. And I was really thankful that this bell was not being rung whilst I was there. I don’t think I could have coped with the noise at this stage.

I checked out the sentry post, another reminder of the fact that this place had been a fortress.

 



The view must have been spectacular in those days!

There was another building up the top in that distinctive white wash and yellow trim. I never quite worked out which building this was.

In any event, it was all closed up. I did stay here for a bit as it was quiet in comparison to the front of the chapel and lighthouse.

And then it was time to go!

 

[dgbg100106]

Thanks for the update and showing us the fortress, before DH I can only remember going to one fort/mission in my life, now we go every time we can find one!

this is right up his alley!

 

[kmedina]

My dad once found a heap of pot plants growing in a deserted spot. He thought the plant looked nice and because there were so many, he...er..took one home. It was, afterall, a very deserted spot.

He watered it and tended it for the better part of 2 months. And was really pleased when it started to flower. He showed it to me when it was flowering and I had to break the news to him that he was growing marijuana.

He didn't believe me until I brought my compendium of plants out. I've never seen him move so fast to get rid of something!
Shame, really. We could have easily started a fire and burnt the evidence instead.

That is even funnier than the way my Dad found out about my Uncle's "incense." My Uncle never allowed us to play in the back yard. One day, my brother snuck out there and found out why. He was growing his own marijuana uncovered, unhidden, in our backyard. Apparantly, he was comsuming some while he planted the new batch. There were little platic army men (like the soldiers in Toy Story) lining them!!! My Dad removed the plants and our backyard ban. I have never seen a plant up close myself, so I would not even know what it looked like. Your poor Dad.



The passage is neat. It always feels cool when you are somewhere and it feels like maybe you should not be there. I am glad they opened it to the public. More beautiful landmarks. Even though the skyline is filled with the large modern tower and casinos, there is still a lot of old world beauty there. That must be a nice blend.

 

[queenie82]

I did do research on Macau but never found images of these places ...
Certainly never as explanatory as this.
I'm glad you were still well enough to see lots if not all the things you wanted. Certainly being on a 'tour' you were kinda forced to 'just keep swimming'....


Enjoying this I am

 

[PrincessInOz]

Thanks for the update and showing us the fortress, before DH I can only remember going to one fort/mission in my life, now we go every time we can find one!

this is right up his alley!

That is even funnier than the way my Dad found out about my Uncle's "incense." My Uncle never allowed us to play in the back yard. One day, my brother snuck out there and found out why. He was growing his own marijuana uncovered, unhidden, in our backyard. Apparantly, he was comsuming some while he planted the new batch. There were little platic army men (like the soldiers in Toy Story) lining them!!! My Dad removed the plants and our backyard ban. I have never seen a plant up close myself, so I would not even know what it looked like. Your poor Dad.



The passage is neat. It always feels cool when you are somewhere and it feels like maybe you should not be there. I am glad they opened it to the public. More beautiful landmarks. Even though the skyline is filled with the large modern tower and casinos, there is still a lot of old world beauty there. That must be a nice blend.

I actually liked the bits where there was old world beauty more.

I did do research on Macau but never found images of these places ...
Certainly never as explanatory as this.
I'm glad you were still well enough to see lots if not all the things you wanted. Certainly being on a 'tour' you were kinda forced to 'just keep swimming'....


Enjoying this I am

The A Ma Temple, Guia Fortress and the Historic Centre were all usually listed in everyone's top 5 or 10 places to go see in Macau.

Despite being on 'tour'; we did see lots more than I had thought. I think if we had been without wheels, I would have got to the Historic Centre and A Ma Temple; not much more.

 

[PrincessInOz]

The Ruins of St Paul and a very busy Street



I’ve mentioned the Historic Centre of Macau a couple of times so far and that it is listed in the UNESCO World Heritage Site. At a United Nations Conference in 1972, the Convention concerning the Protection of World Cultural and Natural Heritage sites was adopted by the participating nations. The convention aims to “catalogue and preserve sites of outstanding importance, either cultural or natural, to the common heritage of humankind” to ensure the protection of these sites for future generations. Aside from encouraging the home country to establish management plans for the site, the program includes providing assistance (including technical and financial assistance) to safeguard the sites and encourage the local population to look after their heritage.

The program includes natural wonders, places of cultural significance as well as sites constructed by man; and there are Heritage Sites on the list located all over the world. I looked up the list...seems like I've visited quite a few of them in the various countries without realising it. I was to add Macau's Historic Centre to that bucket list today.


The Historic Centre of Macau is a collection of over twenty locations that witness the unique assimilation and co-existence of Chinese and Portuguese cultures in Macau, a former Portuguese colony. It represents the architectural legacies of the city's cultural heritage, including monuments such as urban squares, streetscapes, churches and temples. It was inscribed on the World Heritage List in 2005 and was described by UNESCO as:
"with its historic street, residential, religious and public Portuguese and Chinese buildings, the historic centre of Macao provides a unique testimony to the meeting of aesthetic, cultural, architectural and technological influences from East and West," and "...it bears witness to one of the earliest and longest-lasting encounters between China and the West, based on the vibrancy of international trade.”


There are two core zones of the Central area. We have already seen one of them – Guia Fortress.

The other zone consists of the Central area of the historic settlement of Macao. It includes a series of urban spaces and buildings from the ancient Chinese harbour in the south to the old city in the north. It starts at the A-Ma Temple, which we also visited. There are a number of buildings along the way from the A-Ma Temple to the city and if we didn’t have our Party@12, I would have walked the route from Senado Square to the temple to see as much of it as possible.

With our wheels….the walk will have to wait for next time.


We drove from Guia Hill and drove past Casa Gardens, the Protestant Cemetery and got a glimpse at St Anthony’s Church. I got enough of a look to know that I would love to come back, wander around and get lost in the area looking at the gardens, checking out tombstones and imagining what life would have been like here in the 18th Century. The architecture looked amazing from the windows of our wheels.


We were let out near the Ruins of St Paul. The wheels had provided us with transport for over 5 hours and it was time to say goodbye. For the HK$100 per person we paid, it had been fantastic value and it meant that the group stayed together to enjoy each other’s company.


The Ruins of St. Paul's refers to the ruins of a 16th century complex in Macau including of what was originally St. Paul's College and the Cathedral of St. Paul also known as "Mater Dei", a 17th century Portuguese cathedral dedicated to Saint Paul the Apostle.

Built from 1582 to 1602 by the Jesuits, the cathedral was one of the largest Catholic churches in Asia at the time, and the royalty of Europe vied with each other to bestow upon the cathedral the best gifts. It combines Baroque style with Chinese and Japanese sculptures. All that remains of the greatest of Macau's churches is its magnificent stone facade.


After the expulsion of the Jesuits, the college was used as an army barracks and in 1835 a fire started in the kitchens and destroyed the college and the body of the church. And the fire really wasn’t their fault – it happened in the middle of a typhoon. The surviving facade is covered with carvings and statues which eloquently illustrate the early days of the Church in Asia. There are statues of the Virgin and saints, symbols of the Garden of Eden and the Crucifixion, angels and the devil, a Chinese dragon and a Japanese chrysanthemum, a Portuguese sailing ship and pious warnings inscribed in Chinese. Mr TA told us that the Macanese did try to rebuild the church at some stage and did raised money to do so; but another fire broke out and I guess they thought that fate was trying to tell them something; so they left the façade as is. I don’t know how true this story is.

I snaffled these close-ups from DH’s collection. I think they showed the carvings and statues much better than mine!

After restoration work, lasting from 1990 to 1995, the back side of the Ruins of St. Paul's was turned into a museum. The ruins are regarded as the symbol of Macau and now offer visitors a new site where they can view the remains of the former Church of the Mother of God, visit a Crypt where the relics of the martyrs of Japan and Vietnam rest, and a museum of Sacred Art where there are exhibits of paintings, sculptures and liturgical objects from churches and monasteries in the City.

I had tried to go to the back side of the Ruins. Sadly, the Party@12 realised that I had the ultra-wide angle lens with me and I spent my time taking individual, couple and group shots of the group in front of the façade….much like this. Everyone else had full body shots, including legs in their pictures….except us! Next time I’m bringing my tripod and charging money for the service. Still; I would have liked to have gone to the back and climbed the steel stairs to the opening where people throw coins in for good luck.

That wave pattern had been replicated in the plantings around here.

We walked down the stairs, taking a last look at the Ruins. For those of you wondering about my taking pictures of the Party@12 from up the top.....most people were taking their pictures for 2/3 up the stairs in order to get the full façade in. If we had taken our shots from there, we would have gotten a frame full of people and very little of the bottom of the church.

There were a TON of people around….

…we were heading in there!

At the bottom of the stairs is the Company of Jesus Square.

This building is the new Tourism and Cultural Activities Centre. Opened in 2011, it contains a whole bunch of services you would expect as a tourist.

A contrast of old and new; both European-like in style.

For anyone going, Mount Fortress and the Old City Walls are to the right of the Ruins; together with the Na Tcha Temple. I would have liked to have explored around here a bit more; but by this time it was 3.30 pm and we hadn’t had lunch yet. My stomach made the call and I followed it.

Mr TA had a place in mind for lunch and told us to keep going down this street, Rua de Sao Paolo (St Paul Street).

The road just got narrower…

….and narrower.

Anyone else think that it was overrun with tourists?

The shops here were tourist-focused, from the food to the souvenirs.

It seemed like two out of three shops had displays of the yoke korn or long yoke; and were offering free samples to the tourists walking by. I guess if you read ehsmum’s comments in an earlier post, free samples were offered to Asian tourists. We did have some “gwai loh” in our Party@12 but because they were with us, they got offered the free samples too.

Quite a number of shops also had the almond biscuits for sale. Judging from the colour (and my earlier ‘education’ by the sales person at the Koi Kei shop), these were yet to be cooked!

I couldn’t believe how packed it was with people; but take a look at the residential part above the street level. Imagine living here!

If anything, the street got even narrower as we walked further down. And we were starting to see fashion signs down this end.

And suddenly….we turned the corner.

We were walking past quite a few lovely looking buildings along Rua da Palha. It was all very European and the last time I had seen something similar was in the Old Town of Quebec. I thought it was really rather charming. Problem was….it was nearly 4 pm and it was way past lunch time for us. We.were.hungry.



(Continued in Next Post)

 

[PrincessInOz]

(Continued from Previous Post)


Linner or Dunch at Estela Portuguese Cuisine



Mr TA led us towards Senado Square…down Rua de Palha where I wished I had heaps more time to explore. The shops here were interesting but the architecture even more so. No pictures – sorry!



Our destination was Estela Portuguese Cuisine. It was located at 18 – 20 Largo de Senado, Avenida de Almeida Ribeiro. The Avenida de Almeida Ribeiro is also known as San Man Lo, the main avenue of Macau. We were right in the heart of Senado Square.

We climbed up the stairs to level 3.

From the menu, it seems like it had been going for 3 generations in the one family.

We were all so hungry that we pretty much ordered almost everything off the menu. One of the benefits of travelling with a Party@12 is that there is much more scope for variety in a group like this; and they were all used to my food porn habit by now.



Macanese food is unique to Macau, China, and consists of a blend of southern Chinese and Portuguese cuisines, with significant influences from Southeast Asia and the Iberian Peninsula. Many unique dishes resulted from the spice blends that the wives of Portuguese sailors used in an attempt to replicate European dishes. Its ingredients and seasonings include various spices such as turmeric, coconut milk, cinnamon and bacalhau, giving special aromas and tastes.



Someone in the Party@12 had decided that they would also order a couple of items off the Tapas menu, figuring that these items would come out quicker than the mains. They were right!

The potato wedges were the first out. They had been seasoned with turmeric and salt; which, whilst an unusual combination for my taste buds, was extremely tasty. I might have to try this combination at home.

Bacalhau rissoles were outstanding! Bacalhau is the Portuguese word for codfish and it is usually preserved in salt.

Salted fish is something of an acquired taste and if your heritage includes it (Scandinavian, Asian, Portuguese), then bacalhau will be a dish that you will love. I can’t even begin to rave about how delicious this was.

This soup had a vinegary taste that you would associate with tomatoes. I couldn’t tell if the spice was turmeric or paprika.

Pan fried Chorizo de Bilbao – Spanish Chorizo; as distinct from Chinese “chorizo” or lap cheong. This chorizo was really fresh and moist. It was also a little spicy; but not unpleasantly so.

We also got Grilled Sardines to start. As grilled sardines goes, it was lovely. The sardines were certainly rather fresh which added to the eating pleasure of this dish.

Time for some of the main dishes. DH ordered the mixed vegetable dish. It seemed tasty enough.

DS ordered the spaghetti bolognaise. I know, I know. But given how much chinese food he had eaten, it only seemed right that he went with the more western “spagsbol”. It came with no parmesan cheese, and it was quite heavily spiced with cinnamon. By this stage, DS was so hungry that he didn’t complain and wolfed down the pasta.

This dish was a baked chorizo dish of sort. Baked dishes are rather rare in Chinese cuisine but much more common in Macanese cuisine.

This was the baked rice dish.

The mix of tomato, paprika, turmeric and rice was delicious. The aroma will get you salivating immediately!

I think this was the rice and duck dish. The duck was tender and melt in the mouth.

My dad ordered the Macanese Fried Rice, which included chorizo. Easily the most popular dish on the table that day.

Scrumptious!

More baked foods. This was the oxtail stew….

…and I ordered the osso buco.

The oxtail was better than the osso buco. The meat in the osso buco was tough.


I’m pretty sure this was a chicken dish. I’m just not sure what.

The last dish to arrive was a Baked Fish meal. By this stage, I was nearly comatose and ready for a nap.

The only issue was that it was really too late for lunch and too early for dinner. Plus it was the first real Macanese food I’d eaten. So, aside from being tasty, I really don’t know if our 'linner, or dunch', was above, below or at par for Macanese food. I can only say that we all really enjoyed the meal and everything, except for my Osso Buco, was well cooked.




(Continued in Next Post)

 

[PrincessInOz]

(Continued from Previous Post)


St Dominic’s Church



It was late when we finished lunch and nearly time for us to head back to the Taipa Temporary Terminal for us to grab a ferry back. There was not a lot of time left for sightseeing the Historic Centre left for us. I had originally thought to go look for Margaret e Nata to taste her portuguese tarts; but given that I had no idea where it was and still hadn’t seen around Senado Square, I chose to look around the Square instead. Afterall, it was right outside the restaurant.

My mother and Mrs Angel decided they wanted to step out with me but they were heading for a church. It was Easter Saturday afterall and they had missed out on going to church on Good Friday. As we walked down the stairs, I decided to join them.

We walked back towards the Rua de Sao Paolo end of the Senado Square. St Dominic’s Church is located there.

St. Dominic's Church dates from the early 17th century; although there was an original chapel on this site since 1590 which was replaced by the church. I loved the façade of buttery yellow with the white trim and green-shutted windows. This colour scheme and the mix of baroque/neoclassical architectural style was nearly everywhere in Macau’s historic centre.

The colour scheme continued inside with the cream and white.

You might not be able to tell from this picture but the ornate altar with the statue of the Virgin and Child just drew your eye in.

Given the peace and quiet of the church at this time, I found it hard to believe that St. Dominic's Church has a violently dramatic past.

• In 1644 a military officer who supported the Spanish against the Portuguese was murdered at the altar during Mass.
• In 1707 the Dominicans sided with the Pope against Macau's bishop in the Rites Controversy. When local soldiers tried to enforce an excommunication order on them, the friars locked themselves in the church for three days and pelted the soldiers with stones.
• In 1834 the monastic orders were suppressed and for a time the church was used by the government as barracks, stable and public works office.

I understand that the church was renovated in 1996 and there is a museum on the higher floors. I wondered if you would walk along that balcony way to get to the museum. In all likelihood, probably not; but it was something for next time.

(Continued in Next Post)

 

[PrincessInOz]

(Continued from Previous Post)


Last moments around Senado Square



I left St Dominic’s Church and walked as slowly as I dared back to Senado Square. My mother and Mrs Angel had already headed back before me. I literally had minutes left to take in the atmosphere of the Historic Centre. Problem was it was overrun with tourists and with my starting that to feel really sick, I was in no mood for the crowds.

I walked back past the building where we had lunch. The architecture in the Square was really quite beautiful and rather European, albeit with a neo-classical and Moorish overlay.

I did stop in at one of the buildings….it had a Seattle Coffee branch and I needed to use the restroom. I headed upstairs and I have to say that the interior of the building was also rather charming. There was a beautiful dado rail along the wall as I walked up and the ceiling cornices were wonderfully ornate. I don’t know if the inside of every building was like this; and even if it was for a couple of minutes, I certainly enjoyed my time in one of them.



Senado or Senate Square is a square in the shape of a funnel – in that it is wide at the front and narrower at the back. At the centre is a fountain, and most of the surrounding buildings are at least a century old.

The square is so named because it is located in front of the Leal Senado Building, the white building in the picture. It is now a public facility which includes an exhibition hall and a library. If anyone reading this has been inside, I would appreciate if you would post pictures. The Leal Senado building was originally built in 1784 and the name translates to Loyal Senate, derived from the title "City of Our Name of God Macau, There is None More Loyal" which was bestowed by Portuguese King Dom John IV in 1654.

On one corner of the funnel is the General Post Office building. It continues to be used as the GPO today. The clock tower has a carillon that plays different melodies at certain hours.

There were a number of side streets off the Square, some had rather familiar events going on.

Since my return and every time I look at this picture, I’ve decided that if I had walked up this one and took a left fork, I might have actually found Margaret e Nata. It might not be true...but I hope to find out for sure some day.

Not every side street is busy! This one showed me the promise of what Senado Square could be like with no one there.

The other famous building in Senado Square is the Holy House of Mercy, which has been in the square since 1569. Sadly, it’s that white building on the right hand side. I missed taking a shot of the building from the front.

With that, it was time for us to rush back to the port.


We had issues finding 3 taxis and ended up having to walk to the Hotel Sintra and getting the concierge there to help us. We barely made it to the Ferry Terminal in time and were later than 5.30 pm cut-off time for clearing customs.

Fortunately for us, the Saint was in our taxi. She and I1 (who was in the first taxi) sweet-talked our way past security and the authorities so that they would let us all board the ferry back to Hong Kong. She also paid for our taxi from the city to the Ferry Terminal, which was under HK$50. Not a lot in our money (under $8)….but she refused to take money from DH and myself, claiming that when she came to Melbourne we could reciprocate then.


About the only thing left to share about this day was that the ferry ride back to Hong Kong was a little rough. We travelled into a wind squall that was to develop into a storm later in Macau. My stomach barely held up….but I managed to keep the contents down.


We docked back in Hong Kong at the Macau Ferry Terminal Shun Tak Centre in Sheung Wan, not the same terminal we had started out from this morning. We caught the MTR from Sheung Wan to Admiralty, where we changed over to the line heading towards TST. Thankfully the hotel shuttle was right there when we got back…..between the ferry ride home and my developing bronchitis, I was ready for bed after a fairly long and eventful day!



My impressions of Macau? I thought it was definitely worth the trip out. The A Ma Temple, Fort Guia, the Historic Centre and the Portuguese Tarts were amazing experiences for me and I would be happy for a repeat visit. The Portuguese influence was clearly visible – from the architecture of the buildings and food. If I’m ever out this way again, I would stay over in Macau and explore the Historic Centre more, at my leisure.

 

[kmedina]

I've been talking to DH about our first foreign Disney Trip. We had been thinking Paris, but I am thinking of switching to Hong Kong after reading this. I signed up for a Paris Disneyland Account but cannot see where to sign up for a Hong Kong one. Is this possbile or do you just have to randomly check the site for deals and info? I would love to do a lot of the things you've done, and he has some friends in Macau we can drop by and say hello to.

 

[ACDSNY]

Another wonderful update, the St. Dominic's Church is so beautiful and I love the detail in the cravings on the Ruins of St. Paul.

 

[kmedina]

I love all of the beautiful things you saw in Macau. You're right. The old ones seem cooler than the new ones. When I hear about the city, people always talk about the city but I love the churches and other landmarks you saw. Most of that food looked good. I bet that fried rice tasted as good as it looked, so I can see why it was everyone's favorite.

 

[PrincessInOz]

I've been talking to DH about our first foreign Disney Trip. We had been thinking Paris, but I am thinking of switching to Hong Kong after reading this. I signed up for a Paris Disneyland Account but cannot see where to sign up for a Hong Kong one. Is this possbile or do you just have to randomly check the site for deals and info? I would love to do a lot of the things you've done, and he has some friends in Macau we can drop by and say hello to.

Paris would be a great place for a non US Disney trip as well.

I didn't sign up to a Hong Kong Disneyland account so I don't know if it is possible. I just randomly checked the site for deals and info. In my case, another Disser (zaccy) pointed me in the direction of the Annual Pass. I found that the pricing for seniors was really reasonable and worked out that we would more than break-even if we purchased the annual pass and got the discount for the rooms, food and souvenirs. I got my parents the AP that provided us with 25% off the room rate. The only deal that would have bettered this was a 'pay for two nights get 3' deal.

I love all of the beautiful things you saw in Macau. You're right. The old ones seem cooler than the new ones. When I hear about the city, people always talk about the city but I love the churches and other landmarks you saw. Most of that food looked good. I bet that fried rice tasted as good as it looked, so I can see why it was everyone's favorite.

There were a lot more beautiful old buildings in the historic centre of Macau. I just didn't take the pictures because there were so many people around and also because I wasn't feeling the best.

Another wonderful update, the St. Dominic's Church is so beautiful and I love the detail in the cravings on the Ruins of St. Paul.

Thanks! We didn't go to the Cathedral Church of Macau and I gather that it is also another beautiful church inside. Maybe next time.

 

[PrincessInOz]

Let’s Not Wake up to Smell some Roses – Flower Street Market



Day 8 of this vacation and it was all downhill for me. On the morning of Day 8, I woke up not feeling great.


I’d spent most of the night coughing and had gotten very little sleep. Sometime during the middle of the night, I’d gotten out of bed and moved to the sofabed in the sitting room so that I wouldn’t disturb DH and DS. The sofabed was to become my space from this night on.

So when the boys woke, I crawled back into the comfy bed and caught up on some sleep.


I’ll try to keep the sick-talk to a minimum over the next 4 days; so I’ll try and cover it here. I spent most of the time feeling sore….my head, throat, ribs and body hurt and there was always that constant cough. I took panadol, got a bottle of Nim Jiom Pei Pa Koa from the pharmacy and drank lots of water to keep me going. The Pei Pa Koa? It’s a traditional chinese natural herbal medicine that is great for coughs (and it is available worldwide). On my return to Melbourne and seeing my doctor, turns out that I had bronchitis and would take 5 weeks to recover from this.



DH eventually woke me up around 10 am. My parents had called to say that they wanted to have a lazy morning. Our TA friend and the Angels were heading up to Victoria Peak in the morning and were planning on going to Stanley Market in the afternoon. My parents wanted to head to Stanley in the afternoon.

DH was happy for me to stay in bed and rest. Problem was that we had been in Hong Kong for 8 days and we hadn’t yet visited a single market. So, I got up and got myself ready to head out.

Our destination? One of Hong Kong's most colourful street markets….the Flower Street Market!

We caught the MTR to Prince Edward station on the Tsuen Wan line (red line). If you’re coming from HKDL, change trains at Lai King station and catch the Central line (red line) to Prince Edward station. The B1 exit will take you out to Prince Edward Road West, where it is a short walk to Sai Yee Street and a left turn to Flower Market Road.

Notice the information post? You’ll find sign posts like this all over the touristy sites of Hong Kong to help you get around.

The Flower Market contains over 70 shops along Flower Market Road and Prince Edward Road West.

I was to find out that the colourful blooms and cut flowers would be predominantly located along Flower Market Road….

….and the houseplants, bonsai trees, gardening implements and accessories would be mostly located along Prince Edward Road West.

The Flower Market has been around for well over a century. Before the New Territories were handed over to the British in 1898, farmers from Sham Shui Po would take their flowers across the border at Boundary Street (one street north of Flower Market Road) and sell them around where the present-day market is.

I understood from our TA friend that not that long ago, hawkers used to sell flowers from pushcarts but the authorities have cracked down on this practice. These days, the flower shops are permitted to display their goods within 3 feet of their shop front. It does make the sidewalk rather narrow to walk along.

Both DH and I were intrigued by the wrapping on the roses but I guess it keeps the buds tight and the flower protected from transport damage.

Although….I did find a couple of wilting ‘petals’, so to speak.

Some of the major and popular imported flowers sold in the Hong Kong Flower Market are roses, chrysanthemums, orchids, tulips, carnations and lilies. On the day of our visit, roses and orchids seem to be in season.

For me, I wouldn’t make a visit out here just for the Flower Market; it really isn’t a big enough attraction in its own right.



Thankfully, there is another attraction right at the end of Flower Market Road. Just as well…I wouldn’t have wanted to have gotten up out of bed only just to smell the roses!




(Continued in Next Post)