Monday, April 23, 2007
Macau SAR
Trilingual Macau. Chinese, English, and Portuguese.
The Ruins of St. Paul's Church. The mainstay of tourist attractions in Macau. By day, you have to negotiate the steps with hordes of day trippers, but by night ....
Many Macau locals and inhabitants from Hong Kong head into the city to gamble. A one-hour ferry ride takes you from Hong Kong Central to Macau.
Meat in Macau. These square provisions are what Macau is known for. I tried one. Beef. It didn't have a distinct taste, bland.
The Grand Emperor Hotel (where I did not stay). 
The winding back roads that twist their way to the Ruins of St. Paul's direct you by St. Dominic's Church.
I spent around $4 USD on slot machines in the Casino Lisboa. Lost all four. Would have spent more on card games (i.e. Texas Hold 'em) if only I could speak Chinese, and if only they were playing Texas Hold 'em. 
Headquarters of Macau SAR.
Smog or fog? You tell me. Macau Tower.
The inner streets of Macau's center conjure up memories of Europe ... and for good reason. The Portuguese owned and ran Macau as a trading post for hundreds of years. Holdovers from Portugal's reign over the city still linger, and Portuguese architecture abounds.
Religious iconography was visible at every turn.
Mount Fortress where the Museum of Macau is located. The castle is situated next to the Ruins of St. Paul's.
An evocation of Prague. Cobbled mosaics.
The ruins of St. Paul's Catholic Church built by the Jesuits in 1602. After a fire gutted the building in 1835, all that remains is the front facade.
The highest point in Macau: the Guia Fortress and and Lighthouse built in 1637.
Senado Square (Largo de Senado) off of Avenida Almeida Ribeiro (San Ma Lo). 
Heading off to Macau, China.
Friday, April 13, 2007
Buddha, Redux by way of Ed Hebert
"He was begging for a high five...couldn't leave him hanging." - Ed
Tuesday, April 10, 2007
Hong Kong
My hotel was located in the Special Administrative Region (SAR) of Macau, China; however, I took a one-hour ferry ride over to Hong Kong to explore the city. Pictured above is the Tian Tan Buddha of Lantau, one of the world's largest statues of Buddha.
Lantau is an island that makes up part of the larger Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (SAR). It is not connected to Hong Kong Central, which is the heart of the city. In order to get to the Tian Tan Buddha, another ferry and a bus had to be boarded. And many steps climbed into the clouds.
Hong Kong and Macau are not part of mainland China. The "SAR" moniker connotes an integral difference both in terms of culture and status between the mainland and its outer territories. Mainland China stands apart from its Special Administrative Regions and yet lords over them with certain dictums. Beijing, the capital of China and where the Great wall is situated, is part of mainland China.
The Peak Tram takes you up the steep climb to the brow of a hillside overlooking the city.
Utterly modern, Hong Kong, and sterile in many ways. The folks here do not seem to have a spirited appreciation for history. In fact, from what I gleaned from pamphlets, brochures, Lonely Planets, etc., the locals here would just as soon plow through the last vestige of historical significance so as to have a state-of-the-art car park. 
Wednesday, April 04, 2007
The Devil and the Deep Blue Sea
Tuesday, April 03, 2007
The Beach at the Panuba Inn
More Stills from Tioman Island, Malaysia
When you arrive on Tioman Island before you are allowed to step foot outside of the airport, you must pay a mandatory conservation charge of 5 Ringgits. The money goes to preserving wildlife, particularly at the Marine Park which is pictured below. The park was just an inlet near Tekek Village. We were allowed to get off the boat and go diving here. Sea turtles, tropical fish, etc.
These rocks were situated about 200 feet off the shoreline of Coral Island. Coral Island is a small land mass located off the northwestern shore of the much larger Tioman Island. Although it may look shallow in the picture, the depth of the water beside the rocks dropped approximately 30 feet. I took this picture from the boat.
The great view from the porch of my hotel room.
