Here’s a video recap of our time in Hong Kong and Macau. It was a short visit, especially after having to trim several days from our original itinerary, but we felt like we saw enough to call it done. One of my favorite parts of our time in Hong Kong was simply sitting at the edge of two tap houses and watching everyone pass by; it’s a great city for people watching.
We only had a short time in the UAE, so we found a way to get the most bang for our buck—a day tour to 5 of the 7 Emerites. On December 2, 1971, the Sheiks of what are now 6 of the 7 Emerites (the 7th joined a year later) decided to unify and form one country—the United Arab Emerites. (However, each Sheik still controls their own Emerite.) Throughout the country, there are many references to “7”: murals depicting the 7 Sheiks, 7 pots, etc.
During our day tour around 5 of the 7 Emirates of the UAE, saw some camels on the side of the road in the Ras Al Khaimah Emirate. Then stopped at a place where they were penned-up in the Fujairah Emirate. -J 🇦🇪
Wanting to find out the scoop from our trip so far? Come join us on our first group Zoom call with coffee, mimosas, or your favorite morning drink (and maybe a cinnamon roll or something else fun) on Saturday, December 14, 2024, at 10:00 a.m. (Arizona Time). We’ll do a recap of the places we’ve been so far–the good, bad, and the ugly :) Here is the zoom link if you want to join: zoom.
Our first day in Dubai was a scheduled zero day (nothing planned; time for rest/“chores”). But we did check out the Burj Khalifa—the world’s tallest structure since 2009. It’s 2,722 feet surpasses the 2nd tallest building (Taipei 101, which we also saw earlier this week in Taipei). -J 🇦🇪
Spent our night watching ASU clobber ISU to win the B12 Championship and a spot in the playoffs in our Dubai hotel room. What an incredible season! Go Devils! -S 🇦🇪
HALFWAY DONE!
✅ Country 16/32 in our quest to drink a Guinness at an Irish Pub in 32 Countries. -S 🇦🇪
-S 🇲🇴
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 🇦🇪
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 🇭🇰
