DerJon

Macau has a really rich and well-kept European style to it. The Portuguese had it as a colony and treated it as if it were a part of Portugal. The parks, houses, buildings, land-scaping; it all feels as if it were straight out of Mediterranian Europe, but still with a bit of its own (Chinese) flare. It’s got churches, ruins, beaches, casinos, shopping, food, and a culture all its own! I can’t say enough good things about it!

…and it was awesome. Clean, great people, and great shopping, if you’re into videogames or cheap older sportswear (from the South African World Cup). The sites were great, though some of them were being renovated. Anyway, we saw a baseball game (which are a bit quieter than what we’re used to in Korea, but still louder than the US. The subways, metros and trains were not nearly as confusing as everyone says they are. Not only were there many signs in English, but also some in Korean, which was perfect for my little travel group. People were great and very helpful. Sometimes we would only look slightly lost and people would thank us for being there during their time of need, and offer their help. One thing I noticed was that almost everything was for profit. In Korea, if you spend the equivalent of about US$100, they almost always throw something in for free or let you haggle the price a bit. In Japan, you spend that much, and they only offer to sell you more at full price. They do sincerely thank you for your purchase, or even lack of purchase, in other words browsing is welcome, but when you buy, they only really expect you to buy more. We also went to Joypolis, a Sega-themed amusement park, and Disneyland. Both of them were cool and unigue. I’d love to go back, though I’m not sure when that will happen.

What a wonderful trip we had to Hong Kong! We went shopping, ate out, went to Disney, and got to know some of the locals, both British and Chinese! I really loved it and can’t say enough good things about it! They use ferries like the Europeans use trains, and people just seem so nice and friendly. I’m not sure how it normally is, but for the end of December, it was very warm and sunny!