Another Adventure!

This was another fun week! Joe had plans to go to the Chinese Air Show in Zhuhai. He asked me to go with him and I was reluctant at first because I knew I would be on my own during the days while he was at the air show. The upside was that we could also experience Macau at the same time. Since we were in a new city, I wasn’t sure I was ready to take this on or not. It’s hard enough to get around a strange, new city when you speak the language. It’s quite different when you ALSO don’t speak the language and can’t read the signs.

This was particularly the case with Zhuhai (ZH pronounced like a “J”). There was not the westerner presence in this city as in Chengdu. At least in Chengdu you see more westerners, hear more English and at lease see occasional directional and landmark signs in English. Nonetheless, I did actually get out and see some of the sights on my own. Score one for newbie! If you had told me a year ago that I would out seeing sights, on my own, in a foreign country, much less China, I would have probably laughed right in your place. But then again, so would the rest of my family and friends.

Our trip started very late Sunday night. A 9:00 flight was the only one going to Zhuhai, by way of Guiyang (a thirty minute stop over, one hour into the two and a half hour flight). We didn’t even get to our hotel until after 1:00 AM. The hotel was the Harbor View Resort and Hotel in Zhuhai. It’s right on the coast of the South China Sea. Over the next few days I took a sightseeing boat tour around Zhuhai and Macau and took a cable car up a mountain that had views of Zhuhai, Macau and on clear days (not on my day) Hong Kong. Hong Kong is only a 45-minute ferry ride from Macau.

First the sightseeing boat tour. I made the arrangements through the hotel concierge. He assured me that a shuttle would pick me up at the hotel and bring me back to the hotel. Simple enough. Sure enough at the allotted time, the shuttle came to get me and off I went. One thing, however, I must mention. The guide that came to get me did not speak English. Oh well, I just needed to see some sights and get some pictures right?

Once I got on the bus I realized that I was the only one that did not speak or understand Chinese. I know the guide must have mentioned because everyone on the bus looked to the back of the bus at me and gave me an odd look. I immediately sent a text Joe and informed him of my situation. His first response back (and I’m sure he was laughing the whole time) was if I had thought to ask if I would have an English-speaking guide when I booked the trip. He also reminded me that Chinese also sight see! Thanks Joe. Later on I did happen to meet a family that we picked up for the tour. The guy was on a business trip to Hong Kong and they were seeing Macau and Zhuhai sights beforehand. He was from Malaysia and spoke very good English. His wife, two kids and parents were with him.

When we got to the port where we would board the boat, I was relieved when the guide took care to see that I got on the boat with the rest of the group since it was very chaotic. One of the ladies from Malaysia actually told me to look at their faces to make sure I was with the right group! If you have ever stood on line (and I use that term loosely) with Chinese, you will know why they were looking out for me. Although it was a cloudy day, it was an enjoyable boat ride. It was amazing to see the visible differences between Macau and Zhuhai. Zhuhai is a growing Chinese city like most others we have visited in the past few months. It is also apparently a resort town and big place to go to the beach.

Macau

Macau was formerly a Portuguese territory, and had been since the 1600’s so the architecture alone is greatly different from Zhuhai. Also add the fact that Macau is the Las Vegas of Asia and you’ve got one amazing city. The blend of cultures makes Macau an interesting city. You can go down the streets and see signs in Chinese, but there are still streets signs and signs on buildings in Portuguese. One other difference is that they drive on the opposite side of the road here in Macau. There is a tower in Macau that you can go up in and see for miles. If you are so inclined you can also “skydive” off the tower. If you are an Amazing Race fan, this was actually one of the events on the show. I didn’t get a chance to explore Macau like I wanted to but we will definitely be back here.

On Wednesday I took a cab from the hotel to Shijingshan Park in Zhuhai. It was a beautiful park on the side of a mountain (most I have found here in China are and they are everywhere). The Chinese love their parks and there is something for everyone. There were huge boulders throughout the park that were great photo opportunities and look out points. I took a cable car up to the top of the mountain and was able to get a limited look (due to clouds) at the cities of Zhuhai and Macau. On clear days they say you can see Hong Kong but I wasn’t that lucky. It’s an amazing view of the South China Sea. There is a slide car that you can ride down on tracks if you like. I preferred the cable car ride back down. It had a great view of the sea going down. I was even able to hail my own cab back to the hotel. Hooray for me!

Shijingshan Park-Zhuhai

Views of Zhuhai

One thing to mention is that you have to go through a border crossing to get from Zhuhai to Macau. Although Macau is part of China, it’s like going to Hong Kong; you have to go through the process to gain entrance. In the case of Macau, you literally walk into the building on the Zhuhai side and exit the building on the Macau side. The whole process takes about twenty minutes (depending on how long the lines are). Macau is almost completely surrounded by water except for a small area where it is connected to Mainland China. It also has several islands that are connected by bridges. The casino industry is thriving in Macau and you can see new growth everywhere. There are currently several huge casinos under construction. Our first stop was the Wynn Macau where Joe had some luck at the black jack tables. We later took a shuttle over to the Venetian Macau for dinner and black jack. This became a favorite for Joe and me (my luck was better here) and we came back the next two nights for dinner and black jack. We had seen the Venetian Las Vegas and although similar in design, the Venetian Macau is much more massive. We loved being here, loved the gambling, the restaurant choices and the shopping, and will come back as soon as we are able. One interesting event at the Venetian Macau was the Miss International Pagent was going on. We actually saw a few of the contestants on the gondola in the canal area of the hotel, as well as around the hotel. Joe also got invited to a cocktail reception for the Miss International Pagent by a pit boss while we were playing cards Tuesday night. Unfortunately we had already bought tickets for the show and he had to turn it down. Sorry Joe I know you were disappointed!

Venetian Macau

While at the air show, Joe actually saw a former colleague from his company that is now working for a company in Korea. We met him and his wife for dinner at the Venetian on Wednesday night and saw the Venetian Macau Cirque du Soleil show. It was amazing and very entertaining. We had center stage tickets on the eleventh row for less than $100.00 each! I looked up Cirque du Soleil tickets on Stub Hub in Las Vegas and New York and in both places these kinds of tickets go for almost $300.00 each. What a bargain. I’m actually getting Joe to do things that we would never do in the states. Quite an accomplishment don't you think? We topped the night off with a little more gambling since it was our last night and headed back to the hotel. All I will say is that we played on the casinos’ money the entire week!

I have added two new cities to my growing list. I have to keep reminding myself that China is thousands of years old and everywhere I go I still see bits of old Chinese culture even among the modern that seems to quickly be taking over. Boy do I feel like an amateur travel guide. How am I doing? This experience is truly amazing and I wouldn’t take anything for it.

Love to all!