It’s haircut day—one of those things you rarely need a strategy for while traveling. Instead of my normal one, we had to buy a cheap AA-battery trimmer that we could keep in our checked luggage, as our carry-on backpacks are already far too heavy with our bevy of lithium batteries + devices. -S 🇦🇪
The Ruins of St Paul's in Macau
While most tourists go to Macau for the casino scene, our top destination there was the Ruins of St Paul’s, a Catholic Church built in the 1600s that’s now an iconic landmark and a part of the Historic Centre of Macao UNESCO World Heritage Site. -S 🇲🇴
The general scene
A story in two panels
Old versus new
Just a facade
A classic angle
Reflected
We’re heading to Dubai, United Arab Emirates today.
Don’t expect as many posts the next few days, as the UAE has some prohibitions that will cramp our normal style. Tomorrow we’ll explore on our own a bit during our “rest & laundry” day, then do a day tour of five of the Emirates on Sun. -S 🇦🇪
Senado Square in Macau is the main town square. The buildings that surround it and the design of the pavement are definitely Portuguese-influenced. It’s part of the UNESCO Historic Center of Macau World Heritage Site and the old pedestrian zones were pack with people. -J 🇲🇴
Took the turbojet over to Macau today, another SAR of China and our fourth TCC Country. Definitely the Vegas of China and there are Portuguese influences all over. Here are a few street scenes. -J 🇲🇴
Back in Hong Kong after spending the day in Macau. Marking off our requisite brewery here in HK while reviewing today’s photos. No Irish pub here, sadly.
We’ll get dinner at Brewdog down the street, as we have a mini quest to visit in each country in which this Scottish brewery has a location -S 🇭🇰
We also did a water tour around Victoria Harbor to get a better view of the high rise buildings that line the Harbor. It was hard to capture on camera how many building there really are. Although in some respects, the feel/vibe is that of New York Harbor looking at Manhattan. -J 🇭🇰
A tale of three boats… -S 🇭🇰
More city scenes from Hong Kong -S 🇭🇰
We got #LostNeededDirections 😉 and stopped into a local taproom to plot out the rest of our night. We sat at the bar at the edge of the sidewalk for some people-watching—improbably next to a fellow Phoenician, a pilot who is constantly bouncing around the globe. We swapped stories for hours. -S 🇭🇰
😶🌫️ No wonder I’ve been coughing all day 😶🌫️ -S 🇭🇰
A few night shots of the Hong Kong skyline along Victoria Harbor. We also attended the evening’s “Symphony of Lights,” which is a synchronized light and laser show across 40 buildings on both sides of the harbor, but it was less spectacular than it sounds. -S 🇭🇰
From 1898 until the tunnel opened in 1972, the Star Ferry line was the only means of transport across Victoria Harbor between Hong Kong Island and Kowloon. It’s still in operation today and provides a nice (and cheap) little ride across the Harbor. -J 🇭🇰
First up today was the Hong Kong Museum of History, outlining China/Hong Kong’s various different National Security components, as well as a historical and cultural overview of Hong Kong History. It also focused on the Portuguese influence, the British rule, and Chinese emigrants abroad. -J 🇭🇰
Did not expect this reaction to our leaving, but I guess it’s not too surprising… -S 🇰🇷
Got #LostNeededDirections at a local taproom—found some good beer, interesting people watching, and a chill evening. Just what we needed. -S 🇭🇰
We made it to Hong Kong! And was surprised to to see so many scaffoldings made from bamboo. -S 🇭🇰
Liberty Square Arch and Chiang Kai-shek Memorial Hall -S 🇹🇼
