In August 2005, Alvin and I went to Macau for a day trip from Hong Kong. I had wanted to go to Macau for a long time - I had been to HK twice before but had never gone to Macau. Most people from HK thought I was crazy for wanting to go there for any reason other than gambling (like, say, sightseeing).
But we packed our bag, including water from our hotel, and headed off on the MTR to the ferry terminal to take Turbojet to Macau. Turbojet was pretty nice - comfortable seats, a smooth ride, I took a nap on the way there and woke up with a view of the big Macau bridge that connects the islands. We didn't really have a set plan other than trying Macanese food and seeing some sights, which all looked walkable on the map.
It was an interesting day trip. The things that looked walkable on the map weren't so close to one another (tiring). We went into a casino hotel (I think the Sands) just to see what it looked like inside but ended up walking through a metal detector and they confiscated our unopened bottled water (aggravating). We had a Macanese lunch at O Porto Interior - a basket of Macanese snacks, African chicken, minchi and a big bottle of Tsingtao (yummy). We went to an area with historic architecture to find that inside the buildings were chain stores (interesting). I tried to find a postcard (difficult) and couldn't find one until going to a bookstore (of all places) and then went hunting for stamps (even more difficult) and ended up having to get them in the lobby of the Mandarin Oriental (pretty). We went to the Temple of A-Ma (beautiful) and then tried to get a cab afterwards (frustrating).
It was at that point that I told Alvin that the Amazing Race should go to Macau because, with how difficult it was to get a cab, it would be total madness.
I didn't intend to make life difficult for Oswald and Danny, my favorite team ever to run the Race (I've seen every season and they've always been my favorite). But, wow, I could completely understand why it was so frustrating getting around Macau. It was a good experience for us to go, but we didn't have an easy time of getting around at all. The food was good though.
It was good to see some familiar things on TV, like Turbojet and the bridge to Taipa (I always wondered if we should have just spent the day in Taipa... although I wanted to see some of the historic sights). But mostly, I was wishing that somewhere in the past couple of legs we could have seen the teams on the MTR (currently ranking as my favorite public transportation in the world). Why take a taxi all over HK when they have efficient subways that aren't very expensive? Oh well. Maybe next leg. After all, I don't think you can fly all that many places directly from Macau. Or maybe things have changed. After all, it is supposed to be getting to be bigger than Vegas.
It doesn't look like this week is shaping up to be as good as last week in reality TV. That was one of the best weeks ever. Danny and Oswald in first place in HK and winning a trip to HK, the site of their infamous shopping spree (that was the best!). Clyde went home, and he was the worst dancer left. Sanjaya went home, and he was the worst singer left. And the "four horsemen" completely shattered at tribal council in one of the best episodes of Survivor this season. It was a good reality TV week last week. Let's see what this week brings...
No comments:
Post a Comment