Macau - a little bit of Portugal in the middle of China...

It is Monday and we have just come back from the weekend in Macau. We were both working in Bangkok for the last couple of days of last week, so compared to the 40 degree temperatures there Macau felt very chilly at around 17. Andrew is out at a work dinner tonight so I am at home watching the silly comedies on tv - should be cleaning my messy house but I am not :-)















Macau is really interesting. I have no idea how many years it was ruled by Portugal, but it was only returned to China in 1999 and forms another SAR (Special Administrative Region) which is self ruling but part of China. Portugese influence is everywhere. Beautiful buildings and forts, stunning gardens and a strange mix of Chinese and Portugese food. The main island is reasonably small - if you don't mind a good bit of walking you can get to a lot of the sights on foot. We sure walked...




















The casinos that Macau is becoming more and more famous for put on a spectacular light show, and the fountain synchronised to music outide the Wynns casino is definitely the most impressive I have ever seen.
















We did of course find our fair share of eating establishments - fantastic Italian on Saturday night, and a funny little place called the Singing Coffee Bean for lunch on Sunday. The menu took great pains to point out that they 'play Mozart to the beans to ensure they are suitably nourished'. No idea if it was the Mozart or not but the coffee was not bad.

































And a couple of Chinese New Year pictures - makes Christmas decoration look conservative!!