I'll Be Back!

Things have been changing at a rapid pace. As of today, I've been appointed to work for an even larger scale casino project in Cotai (piece of reclamation situated between Taipa and Coloane. But since the facilities have not been set up, I'll be temporarily going back to HK on STAND-BY. Yes, I get paid to stay in HK for doing nothing... Once I receive word of the work, I go back to Macau for the commencing of the new project.

The photos attached was of a Sichuan cuisine in Zhuhai. The meal costs around RMB55 per person. From the Gongbei border, the taxi fare was RMB15. As you can see most of the dishes were very spicy with the red peppers!

Oddly enough, there were some funny incidents during my short trip into China (which I went after work). As I was lining up to cross the border at Gongbei, a Westerner was behind me at the time. All of a sudden, a Taiwanese tourist (I think it was since the gugy was holding a green passport) started to spit on the floor. As you can see, the Westerner got irritated and yelled at the tourist, "Why do you goddamn spit on the floor!?!". The tourist looked at him blankly and I sensed the fact that the tourist does not understand English! Haha. I told the Westerner, "I don't think he understood what you said..." The Westerner still looked irritated and continued, "This is how SARS got spread you know...You knewly spit on to my pants." As usual, the tourist looked at him blankly again! I guess the Westerner finally got fed up and shut himself up as nobody understood what he said.

Another odd incident is that the "illegal" copied DVDs and PS2 games can be found in Port Plaza, the underground shopping mall just steps from the Gongbei border checkpoint. In the front, the stall sells jewellery and woolen accessories. But on the other side of the "fake" wall is a hidden room storing all movies and PS2 games alike. I heard the prices are RMB4-5 each!

Counting Down of the Days back to HK

As I count down the days left in Macau, I've been packing my things and bringing them back to my HK flat. Here's a recent photo taken of the main hotel tower. As you can see it is just about finished and the lighting has been tested. I'll be having quite a few farewell meals over the course of this week too. I had a real 'authentic' Macanese cuisine last night in a quaint restaurant on Rua Central, 11-A. The name of the restaurant is Restaurante Afonso III whom the owner is Portuguese. You can try it when you're in Macau.

Zhuhai - Lamb Hotpot Dinner

After work last night, some of my colleagues brought me to this famed Lamb Hotpot Dinner in Zhuhai. The restaurant is located in Jida (吉大) District. Thus, a taxi is needed to bring us from the Gongbei border checkpoint to the restaurant itself. The taxi fare was around RMB20 one-way. Overall, the meal was quite good, especially the lamb. The cost of the meal was RMB55 per person (with 3 bottles of Tsingtao beer).

Normally, hotpot dinners are not eaten in the summer. But since I am nearing the end of my work in Macau. I wanted to try it out.

Restaurant Incident near Rua do Campo

A funny incident happened to me when I had dinner in a local diner by Rua do Campo. I ordered my set meal which included a iced lemon tea. When the waitress came by, she gave an iced milk tea by mistake. I told the waitress that I wanted an iced lemon tea which I had ordered. When she came back, the glass still looked like an iced milk tea. The waitress looked puzzled, and replied, "Yes, it is an iced lemon tea. Look at it". I looked at it, and lo and behold, she added a few slices into the iced milk tea. At this moment, I stared at her and said, "This is not iced lemon tea...." The table behind me started to cry out with laughter. Another waitress nearby scolded her and told her to make a "genuine" iced lemon tea. Of all my years in Asia, I've never had an iced lemon tea made up of an iced milk tea with lemon. My colleague chuckled, "You do not want a drink that will make you go into a hospital the next day!". Hmmm....

Last Hurrah in Macau

After almost 1.5 years of work in Macau. It has finally come to an end. I received my termination letter last day of June 2006. I will work for July 2006 before heading back to HK. Apparently, one of the JV companies want to keep me in HK. So, hopefully it does come true and not need to scramble in finding a job.

Thus, I will try to cram as much photos as I can about Macau/Zhuhai in general. I don't think I will visit Macau as often after the return.

Here's some photos of the newly built Macau East Asian Games Dome, solely built for the East Asian Games back in 2005. It has been temporarily used as a public ice skating rink till 31 August 2006. It is very cheap at MOP20 per person. MOP1 for the usage of the lockers. They implement a headcount so there won't be too many people inside the rink. As you can see, there are a lot of people whom do not know how to skate. Lots of people holding on to the boards for dear life! Haha. The dome should also be used for the Indoor Asian Games in 2007 and Lusofonia Games later in October 2006 (as shown on the posters).

I had dinner in a westernized cafe named Red Spot Cafe in Taipa. It offers freshly made pies and pizzas as shown. Very cheap and quite crowded during dinner hours. It is located in the housing complex of Edificio Nam San, Bloco 4 (across from Macau Jockey Club).

Also, pictured is a local breakfast consisting of macaroni in oxtail soup (Macanese style). With a drink, it costs MOP16.

Alas, the World Cup is finally over! Nobody expected Italy to win. Poor Brazil! After sleepness nights due to the time difference, I think we can all enjoy a regular night's sleep now. In the company pool, I was placed 12th place out of over 40 entries. Not too bad.