What happens in Macau...

As we said before, in order to get to Hong Kong, we flew in and out of Macau. Macau is a Special Administrative Region, like Hong Kong, but they are not part of the same SAR. Macau has its own currency, the Macanese Pataca (MOP), and is made up of a peninsula and 2 islands. Macau was the first and last European colony in the Far East, and was officially handed back to China on December 20, 1999. However, Macau is autonomous in its economy, which relies almost entirely on tourism and, more specifically, gambling. Macau had a monopoly on its casinos until 2002, which is when many Vegas casinos opened under the same names as they have in the US. When the Sands Resort and Casino opened in 2004, it was the largest in the world in terms of number of gaming tables. Other familiar names are the Wynn and Venetian hotels, the latter  located across the street from our hotel - The Hard Rock Hotel and Casino. The Hard Rock Hotel (my idea, of course) was located in a newly developed area called the City of Dreams in a larger up and coming area called the Cotai Strip. The City of Dreams (COD) is a mega-complex with 3 hotels and a shared casino with lots of high-end shopping.

Unfortunately, staying in a newly developed area off the Macau Peninsula means you're a long way away from anything of historic significance. Staying for only one night means we didn't even have time to get out and see much. What we did see, however, left quite an impression. For anyone who has been to Vegas, you may need to check out Macau - depending on what you go to Vegas for. If you go to Vegas to party, stick with Vegas. If you like to gamble, then give Macau a try. Jen and I agreed (as does Wikipedia, apparently) that we have never seen a larger gaming floor in our lives. Walking through the COD, it's got a nice size floor, but when we went across the street to The Venetian - HOLY MACAU! Imagine the Georgia World Congress Center covered in gaming tables... that's about how large it is. If we were allowed to take pictures, we would have. But even more amazing than the sheer size of the gaming floors is the fact that both the COD and the Venetian were JAM PACKED full of people. There was no one in the bars, no one in the shops, everyone was gambling. I guess that's how Macau surpassed Vegas in gambling revenues in 2006 with over $6 billion. Jen and I contributed a little to the profits by playing the slots, but we noticed that despite Macau having its own currency, the slots (and perhaps the tables) only accept HKD. I guess they know where their gamblers come from!

Back at the COD, they have an entertainment theater called "The Bubble". Jen and I were looking for stuff to do that didn't involve losing money and they were handing out free tickets to a show called The Dragon's Treasure. So we grabbed tickets, thinking it wouldn't be much of a hit with everyone in the casinos. Man, were we wrong! The line was full when we queued up at 7:45pm for the 8:00 show. However, we were still in the dark about just what the show was. Finally, the doors opened and we all filed inside. The Bubble is a dome made of translucent acrylic skin with an opening at the top to allow for water or objects to enter the room. The floor has no seats, only rails to lean against. We figured the show must be pretty short and seats would be a waste of time. Looking around the dome, there were large things that looked like jellyfish suspended from holes in the skin. Then, the lights went out and the show began. I could try to explain it, but this video does a better job:

The show was pretty amazing and the technology is very advanced. This video was created by someone else, but the footage I shot showed that the projections and sound show up very well on even a standard video camera.

This was also our first experience at a Hard Rock Hotel, which I have to say, has some unbelievable rooms. Huge LCD TV, iPod ready alarm clock, awesome bed, and great decor - all the comforts of home with a rock n' roll feel. The rock shop, however, left... well... everything to be desired. As a collector of HRC merchandise, the only thing that I could find worthwhile was a signature pin for my brother, Drew. Despite the lack of a separate cafe, Jen and I did enjoy one heck of a burger and a Dark & Stormy at the R Bar in the lobby.

Maybe when we're older and wealthier, we'll come back to Macau and spend more time seeing the history on the peninsula. In the meantime I think we'll stick with Vegas.

Hong Kong... after the fireworks

With an exciting night of fireworks behind us, Jen and I woke to our first morning of 2010 to an equal mix of bright sunshine and clouds, not to mention a fabulous breakfast buffet, which fueled our adventurous spirit as we set off to see magnificent Hong Kong Island.

There are several ways to get to the island - the MTR (subway), a taxi through the harbor tunnel, or the iconic Star Ferry. Since this was the first trip to Hong Kong for both of us, we felt it was imperative that we take the Star Ferry. Not only is the ferry from Tsim Sha Tsui to Central HK the cheapest way (3 HKD - or  $0.40USD) into the city, but the view is spectacular.

Once off the boat, the first destination on our list was the famous Victoria Peak, which is famous not only for the fabulous view it provides, but the unique method of transportation one must take to get to the top. The Peak Tram, as it's called, was built in the late 19th century and is made up of two trams attached to either end of a single steel cable. The cable is looped around a large wheel at the top of the mountain, so that the weight of each tram is balanced out by the other - like a counterweight. The two trams run on a single track, except for the middle portion, which has two side-by-side tracks so the trams can pass one another.

We waited in line for about an an hour and 20 minutes before getting on the tram. There were definitely cheaper and quicker ways to get to Victoria Peak, but that would be like going to San Francisco and taking a taxi, instead of a cable car. The ride to the top takes about 5 minutes and it is well worth the hour wait. The tram drops you off at the Peak Tower, a wok-shaped building with a flat roof that doubles as an observation deck. Once you make your way up the 7 different escalators to the top, you can take your pick of viewpoints in the 360 degrees available. On one side of the island, you can see the back side of Hong Kong with Victoria Harbor and Kowloon off in the distance. On the other, the island is very undeveloped with lush greenery and a backdrop of the jade-colored South China Sea. The only problem with Victoria Peak is that it is about 15-20 degrees cooler than the city below, which everyone else seemed to be prepared for, just not us - who packed for Hong Kong like it was Singapore. It's the whole Celsius - Fahrenheit thing... it's just confusing.

Once we got back to warmer climates in the city below, we decided to walk around and see what else HK had to offer. Jen and I agreed that it's like a mix of Manhattan and San Francisco - with hundreds of towering skyscrapers and steep hills. Many of the streets are extremely narrow - only wide enough for one lane flanked by two thin sidewalks. One area we visited, amusingly named SoHo, has a series of escalators that run up the middle of a steep street (no longer designed for cars) and is paired with a walkway for those heading down.

Speaking of walking, navigating the sidewalks of HK requires a great deal of focus and patience. Jen and I have both walked the busy sidewalks of NYC, Chicago, London, and other crowded cities, but Hong Kong is in a league of its own. In the US (and presumably other developed nations), you generally walk to the same side that you drive. In Asia, most countries drive on the left due to the intense historical British influence, therefore, I would assume passing on the left is customary. Not so much... Walking in HK is like watching the battle scenes in Braveheart - people moving in every available direction and walking at any variety of speeds. If you see something shiny in a window, just stop in the middle of the sidewalk - no big deal! Want to walk 3 abreast with your friends while all of you talk on the phone? Sure thing, knock yourself (or someone else) out! In regards to shopping, if you're one who likes luxury brands - Hong Kong (or any major city in Asia, for that matter) is your destination. There's a Louis Vuitton, Chanel, Cartier, Ferragamo, or any other high end store on seemingly every street. Most have a line outside the store at all hours of the day or night - which we were not sure if the people waiting were there to buy or just gawk at the merchandise - but Western fashion is a big deal in the Far East.

Here's a little montage of Hong Kong's sights we experienced - the Sublime cover song is a little raucous, but I just couldn't resist the lyrics!
Hong Kong is an exciting place with a great deal of energy. It's got a lot of great food and an interesting mix of Western and Eastern culture. One interesting aspect of Hong Kong is the amount of reclaimed land they choose to build on. Much of HK Island is a protected park, so when the Ritz-Carlton wanted to build a new hotel on the harbor, they just pile more dirt along the edge of the island and make room. So, just when one building thinks they hit the jackpot with a harbor-front location, another building comes up and blocks it. According to an Aussie ex-pat I spoke to who lived in HK extensively, he said that the edge of Hong Kong island had expanded almost 1km from its original spot due to years of land reclamation. Overall, Hong Kong was one of our, if not the, favorite place we visited during our travels.

新年快乐 (Happy New Year) - Hong Kong Style

Happy New Year from Hong Kong! Unfortunately, not Chinese New Year, but definitely still a happy one!

Jen and I arrived to a grey and dreary Macau on Thursday morning (Dec 31), still weary from the early flight, but very excited at our first visit to China. Fortunately, it is much easier to get into Macau and Hong Kong than it is the PRC (People's Republic of China), because each has been designated as a Special Administrative Region (SAR) and are basically pseudo-soveriegn states. In short, each has their own currency and economy, but they still fall under the PRC's rule. But enough about politics and geography, let's get back to the adventure.

We flew into Macau from Singapore on our way to Hong Kong. The potential downside to Macau is that after landing, we still have to get from the Macau Airport to the Ferry Terminal and catch a catamaran to Kowloon. At first, I was a little apprehensive about relying on so many connections, but luckily we had all day to make our way across the South China Sea and it turned out to be very easy and straight forward... that is, until we arrived into Hong Kong and started walking to our hotel. A couple weeks ago, I found a great deal on a room at a Marco Polo Hotel in Kowloon, which overlooks Victoria Harbor and the amazing Hong Kong skyline. The address for our hotel is on Canton Rd in the Tsim Sha Tsui district, just south of the Kowloon Ferry Terminal, which is also on Canton Rd. Should be easy to find, right? Wrong. The problem was that there are 3 Marco Polo Hotels in Kowloon: The Marco Polo Prince, Marco Polo Gateway, and Marco Polo Hong Kong. All 3 are in Tsim Sha Tsui and all 3 are on Canton Rd! So, as we walked south on Canton Rd shouting "Marco... Marco... Marco...", we ended up visiting the Prince and Gateway Marco Polo Hotels before finally arriving at our chosen accomodations at The Marco Polo Hong Kong. Nothing tops off the feeling of sloughing bags down the crowded streets of Hong Kong like going to the wrong hotel... twice! However, had I known what the night had in store for us... I would have gone to 20 wrong hotels.

After checking in and scouting out our post for the evening's NYE festivities, we got some delicious Italian food next door and freshened up for the night ahead. As night-time fell, we headed to the 6th floor balcony of our hotel that was equipped with a roped off patio for hotel guests and attached to what appeared to be THE New Year's Eve party in Kowloon atop a parking deck shared by the hotel and the cruise ship pier. After finding primo front row seats, we met 3 Aussies - Stan, Michael, and Dave, who I have to give a quick shout out to for sharing their champagne with us (Cheers, blokes!) and provided hours of great conversation as we all waited for 2010 to arrive. It seemed as if the time was flying by because before we knew it, there were 1000 people around us and a reported 4 million people on the streets below all counting down to midnight.

A quick side bar - for the past 31 years, I have spent all but three New Year's Eves somewhere in the Metropolitan Atlanta Area. The first was a 12-hour whirlwind trip to NYC in 2004 with Jen and friends, the second was a weekend trip to Savannah in 2006, and the third was this trip to Hong Kong. In all that time, I've seen fireworks, peaches drop, even gunfire at Underground Atlanta - but an exploding Hong Kong skyline was probably the most exciting thing I've ever experienced at 12:00am - Jan 1st! I would love to try and describe the scene, but that's why Jen and I have a video camera and a YouTube account:



In short, ringing in 2010 has been as memorable as they come and Hong Kong was as good as it gets! This year has been an interesting one; being so far from family and friends, many of whom are spending New Year's away from home all over the world - London, Amsterdam, D.C., Louisiana, and California. Despite the thousands of miles between us, our love and thoughts are with you all and we hope 2010 brings everyone health, happiness, and great new adventures.