This is my 2nd visit to Macau :)
The first was with David Tao when he did a show for the hotel Ponte 16...
it was
last Feb and I haven't even blogged about it...
... more on that the next entry!
We took a ferry from Hong Kong,

and I sat right at the side, next to the rain-speckled windows and the dark sea,
soaking in an imaginary romantic solitude.
But it rocked so badly I shifted to the middle of the ferry
and tried very hard to sleep and not puke.
I wasn't too excited about the Venetian, since I've been to the one in Vegas.
Not a fan of casinos, gambling,
glitzy decor, expensive dining and high-end shops oozing of nothing but money.

there is a stark difference seeing the authentic paintings and architecture in Europe,
and seeing these in a man-made entertainment centre that saw no daylight.

this is FAKE.

this was interesting for about 10 seconds,
but to think they would even think about manufacturing blue skies and daylight.

steeped in the lure of chance, and luck
The only time I felt trigger happy was when I saw the ruins of St Paul, the
Ruínas de São Paulo,and it was a bright sunny day with azure skies.

we had to traverse up a slope
lined with famous Macanese foodstuffs on both sides.
We bought our loot from 大三巴,钜记... they all sell the same things.
I still can't figure out which shop sells what best.
Despite Alfred's persistent reminders to try Portugese egg tarts,
I stood in front of the metal oven at 钜记 filled with egg tarts,
and thought about buying some for him.
I decided that they won't be as good upon arrival, and I had no appetite,
so I passed.
He finds it such a transgression and demanded I write this in my blog.

through the thronging tourists I see something that makes me happier

old people sit and gaze, and eat.

finally, something real for a change

i am not a deep appreciator of artifacts and history,
but I did take 'S' ( for
Special) History in A levels and scored a Merit.
For the record, only 11 or so students took 'S' History in the whole of Singapore that year,
and about half scored an Unclassified.
'S' History was almost an abstract art form, we wrote page-long essays based on the question
What is history? for starters.
Having said that, I scored a C for History in A levels, so my Merit in S History is officially a laughable irony.
Back to the
Ruínas de São Paulo,
I only know it was destroyed in a fire leaving nothing but the front facade.
And moved on like any mindless tourist.

Up the stairs.

looking down at Lisa!
You can already guess I'm not a fan of Macau,
but we did have some good HK food, and I did find some good Portugese food :)
And the Cotai Arena at Venetian did surprise me.
It was a big arena,
it could sit 6000 more people than the Singapore Indoor Stadium,
and I snuck some photos of a crew member of these gorgeous screens.


Leehom wasn't in tiptop condition,
and I felt a lot of pain for him as he tried to give his best for the show, but couldn't.
There were more changes to this show -
for the last 2 songs before the encore he appeared from the right end of the venue
and sang in the middle of the audience!
It was such a treat for those who sat farthest from the stage.
I loved it.
A random pic from the show that I was tagged in :)

Leehom tried several stunts - jumping onto the grand piano,
and rolling across it, all in delirious fashion :)
Before checking out the next day
I had a brief moment of sun and solitude in my excessively large room.


the 4 large cushions on my princess bed,
to my pleasant discovery, was laid next to the sill at the window,
so i lay on it,
in the sun,
for a while.

i am sooooooooo looking forward to my Bali trip this week!