Tuesday, September 23, 2008

Macau, Round three...

Am quite thrilled to be here in Macau again...
I first came here in the early 1980s and then again in 2003...
Macau is World Heritage material... she has about 25 buildings and sites that are deemed to have cultural and historic significance...

Could have flown directly from Kansai into Macau International...
But I am an ANA fan, and I wanted to go through Hong Kong for fun’s sake...
I had expected to take the airport bus from Hong Kong International to the ferry terminal at Sheung Wan near Central...
But was too happy to see that they did the logical...
Passengers bound for Macau can now purchase their ferry tickets at Hong Kong International and they need not go all the way to Sheung Wan or Tsim Sha Tsui just to take the ferry...
Passengers can now conveniently transfer to the newly built pier at the airport itself for the 50 minute ferry ride to Macau...

I am here for a conference on higher education...
Am excited about it as this is the first experience for me to present a paper at a UNESCO-organized conference...
Am also enthusiastic at the prospects of meeting some Malaysian scholars there as well...

I had chosen to stay at the Royal Hotel which is quietly nestled among residential properties...
The hotel is located on a gentle slope near the Guia Hill... so I get to enjoy a bird’s eye view of the city and the hills at the background...


The old and the new, side by side...


As one blog says, old and decaying buildings...

Am feeling very comfortable now at Room 1621...
They had upgraded me to the Premier Room and, hmmm, nice... really nice...
Cozy carpets, big TV, huge King size solid bed, four huge really comfy pillows, marbled floor bathroom...
Wherever I travel to, I like to seek out places where locals eat...Last night, I dined on fish, tofu, and vegetables at a little shop a stone’s throw away...
I admit that my ability to speak Chinese, be it Cantonese or whatever, is horrendous...Hokkien is passable, and Bahasa (while in Bali, for example) is not a problem... but, Chinese? Urgggh...

Still, with fingers pointing at Chinese characters on the menu, I managed to go un-starved...
Ok, shall now head to the Ferry Terminal to check out the maps at the Tourist Center...
Although central Macau is very compact and small, the heat is stifling...
Am not so keen to have my armpits sweating by walking around the streets...
So, might consider renting a ‘moke’ (small, jeep-like vehicle) to cruise around the territory...

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