Macau and Family

My family visited: big brother and parents going around the city. It was great to show them around the city, take them to good restaurants and force them to try strange foods, even if they didn’t like dim sum as much as I do. We did all the normal Hong Kong things, even did the Crystal Cabin at the cable car to Ngong Ping!

The highlight was when went to Macau. We finally went to the City of Dreams (and won a whole 10 HKD at roulette! I know, I’m a high roller) and saw House of the Dancing Water, which inexplicably has dirt bikes terrifying everyone for 15 minutes. They do terrifying jumps in the middle of the stage, apparently having a bike off. It was a stunning performance, with a bit of a story to hold together incredible acrobatic stunts. My favorite bit was when dancers made a chandelier in the middle, with terrifying throws over the deep pool of water that had a hydraulic floor. The set continually changed to be a deep pool for diving, to a walkable platform, to a floral gazebo. Acrobats continually come down from the ceiling flipping in wires and ropes, staging battles and dances. I’m not surprised it is the most expensive show in Macau.

Then we went to the Venetian for dinner at Fogo Samba: the land of unlimited meat. Buffet with veg and men walking around with perfectly cooked meats. The lamb is delightful and the steaks are delicious. They slice the steak off the meat and onto your plate. You can easily eat 2 pounds of meat. Dessert is roasted pinneapple–rotisseried and dusted with cinnamon sugar. The food was delightful, though the service was really slow–it took 20 minutes to get our drinks and about an hour to finish paying the bill from the first time we asked for it. Otherwise, the Venetian is strange. A three story fake city street and square, replete with a fake stream with gondolas takes up the entire second level, while the ground level is mostly the largest gambling hall I’ve seen.

The real reason we went to Macau, however, was the formula 3 grand prix. Our hotel (Hotel Guia) was overlooking a turn on the track, and right under the old lighthouse and Guia fortress. Naturally, we spent a significant amount of time on the roof taking pictures of the races. My brother and P have some incredible shots, though I was mostly enjoying the noise and taking pictures of them taking pictures. On Saturday we used our tickets and spent the day in the stands with necessary ear plugs.

The whole trip was fabulous. I also finally got out to Tai O, which will be part of its own post later on this week. It was great to show the family around Hong Kong, and I enjoyed finding out what they enjoyed about this city. Museums and the MTR and Ozone and the Crystal Cabin and even the Cantonese Opera seemed to be highlights; they also loved Dragon’s Back even if the wind stole my brother’s sun glasses. Hopefully things are calming down for a short while, but holidays are around the corner, so it may not last long. I’ll do my best.