Photos of Future Bright Amusement Park, Macau

We went bowling at Future Bright Amusement Park adjacent to Jardim de Camoes on 26 Feb. 2006. This bowling alley is really cheap at MOP10 per game. However, you need to purchase 200 games in advance to get at this price. The amusement park also has a dinky little skating rink, an arcade, billiards room and a McDonald's. So, it is convenient to have a McDonald's meal first and then bowl later. As you can see, the lanes are quite empty on a Sunday morning.

Photos of Zhuhai dinner and area around Jardim de Camoes (白鴿巢公園), Macau

As there's not much to report for the past few days, I've not written up much as of late. However, I decided to stay in Macau over the past weekend and thus got some photos to share. The food photo is a restaurant called Jin Yue Xuan Cantonese Cuisine (金悅軒) located in Zhuhai. The location is along the famous "Lover's Road South" (情侣南路) skirting the shores of the Pearl River Delta. It is a very elegant restaurant, but at affordable prices. The dinner costs around RMB50 per person with the 5 dishes as shown. You can e-mail the restaurant at jinyuexuan@tom.com or call their reservation hotline (0756) 8133133.

The next day, I had finally got the time to go to Jardim de Camões (白鴿巢公園) (Camões Garden) named after Portugal’s national poet, Luís de Camões (賈梅士). The other pictures depict the neighbourhood surrounding this area including St. Antonio's Church (聖安東尼堂).

I'll upload the rest of the photos tomorrow as each post can only upload a maximum of five photos.

Photos of an old-fashioned congee shop in Barra (媽閣), Macau

Here's some shots taken on 15 Feb. 2006 of a real local congee shop in Barra (媽閣), Macau along (河邊新街). As you can see some of the dishes and congee are made outside of the premises in a tin stall. However, this place is not worth going. We ordered a side dish of stir-fried broccoli for MOP15. But the amount of broccoli amounted to a few cut pieces. So, I don't think I'll go here again.

A funny incident happened last night when I arrived at the Macau Ferry Terminal and took Transmac bus no. 3A (towards Portas do Cerco). An old lady entered the bus and asked the bus driver, "I dropped the bus fare on the road, can I still get on the bus?'. The bus driver replied, 'Of course not!'. Thus, the old lady got off the bus and began searching for her lost change on the road. The bus had left her at the bus stop.

I happened to see an accident while eating sweet pudding on a sidestreet dessert shop on 巴素打爾古街 on 17 Feb. 2006. A lady tried to cross the busy thoroughfare when a moped clipped her on the leg. All you hear is a loud "bang" due to the moped falling on to the ground. Thankfully, the lady wasn't injured at all, as the moped must have clipped her purse instead of her body. The driver of the moped must have been scared so he stopped abruptly and thus the moped tipping on to the road surface. This road is the main thoroughfare along the eastern side of Macau peninsula. Don't get me wrong. It is only a 2-lane street. But crossing the street is really hazardous.

Photos of dinner in Zhuhai, China

Last night, I went across to Zhuhai again for a dinner with my colleague. This time we went to 新海利 Restaurant which is about a 20min walk from the China-Macau border (along Yingbin Nan Lu). It is a seafood restaurant, but we decided to order normal Chinese dishes. As shown, one is a local Sichuan dish (the one with a lot of chili mixed with beef) and the other is a taro root dish. The dinner costs RMB88 for 4 dishes (the other being a half-chicken and fried onion patties) and one bottle of Haizhu beer. Being in a restaurant, the prices will be slightly higher than your normal food stalls. One thing that is strange is everytime you order a bottle of beer in China, they'll always ask if you want your beer cold?? I thought beer is supposed to be taken cold?

There are a lot of illegal PS2 DVDs for RMB5-10 in Port Plaza. This is the underground plaza right when you exit the Chinese customs. It is sold everywhere inside the shopping mall. But, the mall is not dark and murky such as Mong Kok's Ho King Commercial Centre or Wanchai's 188 Oriental Plaza. The DVDs are quite poor in quality with a lot of scratches. But, you'll be able to check the DVDs before you decide to buy it. For anything else, you need to bargain! For example, the open price for a flashlight started at RMB30. We finally bought the flashlight at RMB14 (including batteries). So go figure!

Stealing seafood from local restaurant in Areia Preta (黑沙環)

最後更新:02/15/2006 02:10:51
惡漢偸魚不遂發爛渣被捕
【本報消息】一名男子企圖偸取黑沙環一食店門外的海鮮、水魚，但被職員發現，該男子老羞成怒，拿起一香爐擲向魚缸。途經的司警見狀，立即將其拘捕。 涉案男子姓宋，四十九歲。將被控恐嚇、盜竊及毀損罪。 前晩九時許，一名姓宋的男子疑偸取黑沙環一食店門外的海鮮，被職員揭發，雙方發生爭執。 有人出言恐嚇，表示會毀壞該店，隨後即拿起附近一香爐擲向食店魚缸，香爐碎裂。剛好有司警刑事偵查廳辦公室人員經過，見狀上前阻止，宋某立即逃走，司警窮追至臺山卒將其拘捕。

http://www.macaodaily.com/index.htm

A funny news article was posted in the local newspaper, Macau Daily. It says some guy tried to steal seafood from a local restaurant! He even went as far as threatening the workers inside the restaurant, whom he was caught red-handed. He even pick up an incense bowl and hurled it to a fish tank. The fish tank cracked too. Thankfully, a Judicial Police was nearby and took the suspect into custody. I guess the police chased him to Toi San (台山). Please correct me if my rough translation is wrong. Please also note that the guy is wearing pajamas in the police station. Go figure!

Second odd news story is the beating of a worker in a bar. The reason? The service and the price was not appealing towwards the three customers. The bar is located in the area of NAPE (新口岸).

最後更新:02/15/2006 02:03:01
三漢涉傷人違令被捕
【本報消息】三名男子疑因不滿酒吧服務及收費而圍毆職員，到場調查的司警亦遭人推撞，最後司警將三人制服帶走調查。 涉案男子姓陳、姓歐及姓陳，年齡介乎廿九歲至卅八歲，活躍於賭場，將被控傷人、抗拒脅迫及違令罪。前日凌晨二時，司警第一科探員巡經新口岸一酒吧時，發現三名男子疑因不滿服務及收費，圍毆酒吧職員。探員上前阻止，但多次被對方以身體碰撞。案件將移交檢察院處理。

The source is from the Macau Daily again.

Another oddity included my bus ride back to Areia Preta (黑沙環) by taking Transmac Bus no. 7 (towards Iao Hon (祐漢)) on 13 Feb. 2006. As the bus left the bus stop along Avenida da Praia Grande (南灣大馬路), some irritant would-be passengers yelled at the bus driver, "Are you crazy?". The reason? The bus driver did not stop for these two passengers to alight as the bus had already left the bus stop. The would-be passengers were screaming and yelling to signal to the bus, but to no avail.

Last night, I had dinner in a dumpling restaurant in Zhuhai. Things are really dirt cheap. 15 dumpings for a mere RMB10. The quality is on-par. My colleague liked it a lot, especially the price. In all, we ordered one bottle of Tsingtao 2000 edition and 4 different dishes. The cost? RMB45. Oddly enough, I went through the Chinese immgration faster than my HK colleague. Normally, it would take forever for me to cross at Zhuhai due to the fact that my lineup included mainland Chinese (whom never seem to read the messages posted 'Lane for Foreigners'). Oh, I also went shopping in a local supermarket, Your Family Store. It is relatively cheaper than the other supermarkets, namely Minyun and Vanguard. Inside, I found lemon flavoured and cucumber flavoured potato chips by Lays. The price is RMB3.5 per bag. I bought one each and will tell you if it is good or not.

Racing at Macau (Yat Yuen) Canidrome

Last night, we spent some time at the Macau (Yat Yuen) Canidrome ( 逸園跑狗場) in Fai Chi Kei (筷子基). This is the track for greyhound racing. Since my colleague hasn't been inside, we decided to give it a go. There's a MOP10 admission fee which you can use to place a bet on the dogs. I lost MOP20 on 2 races. Oh well! After the races, we bought some evening snacks along the street side stalls outside the race track along Avenida General Castelo Branco (白朗古將軍大馬路). This bag of fried peppers costs me only MOP5 (10 pieces of peppers).

The written sign posted inside a washroom in a dessert shop looks normal. But there's also an English translation which reads 'In your rush, out your flush'! Haha.

Photos of Christchurch, NZ

Had my dinner in Zhuhai, China last night with my old colleagues. No photos available as it was a table of nine and everyone was starving. We had it at Fu Hai Gong Restaurant which is steps from the China-Macau border. We had two chickens made in different styles to top off the dinner menu. This restaurant is a favourite haunt by local Macanese. Afterwards, everyone decided to have foot massage. Since I don't like having a foot massage I decided to head off to one of Zhuhai's local supermarkets to buy some snacks/drinks. I actually saw 'lemon' flavoured potato chips by Lay's. I opted to buy Lay's International Flavours - Pizza potato chips (RMB3.2). Afterwards, I crossed back to Macau on my own. At 10:00pm, there were no line-ups whatsoever either in the Chinese or Macau immigration desks.

This morning while waiting for the bus to go to work on Avenida de Venceslau de Morais (慕拉士大馬路), the Transmac 'bus stop attendant' was grilled by several passengers for stopping the flow of traffic. The reason? Bus no. 1A (towards Dynasty Plaza (皇朝廣場)) arrived at the stop totally filled to the brim with passengers. As a Macanese oddity, passengers still continued to jump on the bus once the bus door opened. The attendant tried his best to tell the passengers inside the bus to move to the back to let the incoming passengers get inside the bus, but to no avail! Behind the bus no. 1A were other buses lining up to stop at this particular bus stop. This infuriated some impatient passengers as their buses were lining up behind it and caused a backup of at least 4-5 buses along the one-lane road. The attendant put his arms in the air and said, 'What can I do? Nobody is listening to me'. Welcome to Macau! Thankfully, I noted that two Bus no. 1A buses have passed and bus no. AP1 came. Bus no. AP1 is faster than 1A, but you need to pay an additional MOP0.8. Thus, I hopped on AP1 and with a seat.

Here's some photos of Christchurch, NZ. Not busy due to the fact that it was Christmas Day and the entire city is more or less deserted.

Late night dinner in Fai Chi Kei (筷子基), Macau

We went bowling at Future Bright Amusement Park by Jardim de Camoes (白鴿巢) after work last night. Thus, dinner was clocked in at 9:00pm. We had to clear out the bowling tickets as the expiry date was 6 Feb. 2006. This restaurant is located in Fai Chi Kei (筷子基) in Vai Chun Gardens. Their menus are quite colourful due to the fact that they'll take a photo of the dish and write down the name and the price (as shown). Yes, that is shark fin rice in the photo. No, we did not try it...

Lunch in Causeway Bay, HK

As usual, I spent the weekend in Hong Kong. I normally don't stay in Macau unless someone comes by to Macau for an overnight trip. On 5 Feb 2006, we had a nice lunch at the newly opened Italian Tomato Cafe in Causeway Bay. This place was the former CRC Department Store on Hennessy Road. Now, the entire building has been transformed to a multi-storied shopping mall with restaurants. The lunch which costs $65 includes a bowl of soup w/bread, a main course, a slice of cake and a drink. The restaurant is the same franchise as its Japanese counterparts. So, the quality is not shabby. If you're in HK, this restaurant is located by the corner of Hennessy Road and Percival Street.

Not much to report in Macau. Life has become back to normal in Macau these days as everyone is more or less back to work, except for the nutcases whom lit fireworks in their own balconies in the middlfe of the night. Yes, these idiots have no brains and lit long strands of fireworks in their own apartment flats. So, I never got a good sleep. I didn't realize the fireworks were lit in the flats until I looked out the window. You'll see sparks light up in some of the flats in my complex. I also saw another flat burning incense (a big bonfire) on their balcony as well. One mistake and they'll torch their own flats. I hope to see the day they cry in the newspapers that they accidentally torched their home. Haha!

It was extremely quiet last week due to the Lunar New Year holidays. But this morning, the schools were opened once again. Thankfully, the bus was not full and I even got a seat surprisingly. Confirmed to have dinner tomorrow across the border in Zhuhai. For the time being, we should be going to Fortune Restaurant which is mere steps from the border checkpoint.

Photos of Hamner Springs, NZ

Another slow day at work today. I guess the long holiday has caused everyone to not work hard. Anyways, here's some photos of the spa resort of Hanmer Springs, NZ (about 1.5 hour drive north of Christchurch). This area is a holiday retreat for many locals with the many rental homes that dot the area. These homes are rented out on a daily basis or even longer. They are fully furnished and equipped with everything. You can see the home that we lived in. It is quite big! The thermal hot springs is the main attraction here. They are all outdoor styled pools similar to your normal wading pools. There is also a waterslide at an extra cost.

Locally here in Macau, I've been receiving the lucky red packets from relatives, friends and colleagues. So, my packets are both in HK dollars and Macau Patacas. I've even received one red packet from a female labourer whom helps me out on the construction site. I haven't counted how much I received. It looks like in excess of 30 red packets...!

Apparently, during my trip to NZ in Dec. 2005, the adjacent construction site (Galaxy Starworld Hotel) was a war zone. 10 vehicles parked along the road were showered with concrete! There was a concrete burst from the 10-15th floor of the superstructure! There wasn't any news report of this happening. But luckily, nobody was hurt. The site has already taken out the hoarding (with no covered walkway). A passerby was knocked out dead on the scene from a falling object. The contractor was worse enough by saying that there's no proof that the falling object was from their site. I try not to walk past that site....

Photos of Fox Glacier, NZ

As it is a very slow day in the office and nothing much has happened, I've continued to upload some photos of my NZ trip. Here's some photos of Fox Glacier, one of two accessible glaciers in South Island. The other glacier being Franz Josef Glacier. The weather was not too great with the fog and rain. We were lucky enough just to catch the helicopter ride as the rain had cancelled the flights after us. Unfortunately, we did not have the chance of landing on the glacier and touch it.

Happy New Year!

Happy New Year! Today is the first day after the Lunar New Year holidays (4-day break). But, there doesn't seem to be anyone here. The streets are empty this morning. But, officially we should be back to work today. Anyways, during my absence from any Internet access, here are some photos of Macau (eg. A-Ma Temple, Jardim Lou Lim Ieoc (盧廉若公園) and Fisherman's Wharf). Macau was crowded with many mainland and HK tourists. I came back to Macau on 30 Jan. 2006 as I've got company to bring around Macau and Zhuhai. During their brief stay, I took them to the above places in Macau. In Zhuhai, we had a 2-hour massage and a lunch in Laosichuan Restaurant (authentic Sichuan cuisine).

One disgusting incident was observed on 30 Jan. 2006. As we took Transmac Bus no. 2 (towards Barra (媽閣)) along Avenida de Praia Grande (南灣大馬路), a mother and her young daughter was sitting at a seat. All of a sudden, the daughter whom was sitting on her mother's lap, started to keel over. What was she doing? She was throwing up inside the bus! A smelly mess of orange substance was all over the bus floor. The mother didn't do anything to clean up the mess. Worse yet, as the bus stopped at the 'busy' bus stop along Rua do Campo (水坑尾街) by Cafe E.S. Kimo, people entered the bus! Some guy walked on to the smelly mess and smeared his feet along the floor. I said, 'What the hell? You don't need to walk around smearing the guck on the bus floor!' to the guy. I guess he must have been a mainlander. He didn't say a word. The mother finally had a little sense and said to the girl sitting in front, 'Hey girl! Do you have a plastic bag?'. Haha. The girl whom I think is a local Macanese, actually had those red plastic bags taken from wet markets and gave it to the mother. The mother took the plastic bag and shoved it in front of the daughter's mouth whom was starting to keel over again! Enough of this crap! We abruptly had to exit the bus early as the incident was quite unbearable in our group. So, we got off the stop in Tap Seac (塔石).