Macau

On Sunday we went to Macau, the second of China's two Special Administrative Regions. A Portuguese colony for around 400 years, it is now the gambling hub of Asia. Last year, its gambling revenue surpassed the Las Vegas strip and it continues to grow at a fast pace. The gambling revenue statistic is misleading, however, as Macau's has around 13,000 hotel rooms compared to Las Vegas's 130,000. Furthermore, gambling revenue only accounts for 40% of Vegas's revenue while it makes up virtually all of Macau's.

We took a 45 minute "Star Ferry" from Hong Kong at around eleven on Sunday. After getting through customs, we were in the Sands Macao by about 1:30. We ate at their buffet, which was amazing. I had been craving the tasty deserts in the windows of bakeries in Hong Kong. I finally got a chance to sample them en masse. The pork, sushi, oysters, shrimp, and other seafood was good. I have avoided poultry while here, not because of a risk of catching one of the many avian flus, but because it tastes and looks disgusting. It usually has a yellowish skin attached with a bone and some blood vessels underneath. I usually can't even tell what part of the chicken it's from (maybe the goiter).

After losing $10 at the Sands and buying/drinking some cocktails (they do not serve free drinks to gamblers), we started hitting up some of the tourist sites including the ruins of a cathedral, an old Portuguese fort, and the Macau tower. It was ungodly hot. In addition to the constant 95% humidity (that is not an exaggeration), it was sunny and still. The most interesting part of the day (and the vacation thus far) came at the Macau Tower. Here is an excerpt on the tower from Wikipedia:

The tower measures 338 m (1,109 ft) in height from ground level to the highest point. An observation deck with panoramic views, restaurants, theaters, shopping malls and the Skywalk X, a thrilling walking tour around the outer rim. It offers the best view of Macau and in recent years has been used for a variety of adventurous activities. At 233 meters, the Macau Tower's tethered "skyjump" and Bungy Jump by world renowned AJ Hackett. [1] from the tower's outer rim is the highest in the world.

With Sean Flynn pushing us to do it, five of us decided to do the highest bungee jump in the world. At $888 Macanese Potacas (Asians, or at least Hong Kongers, believe 8 to be good luck), around $100 American, it was something we had to do. It was pretty amazing. The first 50 meters is a pure free fall, which means for just over 5 seconds you feel like you have just jumped headfirst off of a 233 meter tower in China. The worst part was after it was over and you were hanging by your feet. It took them a while to lower you to the inflated pad below.

From left to right: Me, Drew Peterson, Trip Leader Andrew Christianson, Luke Sharpe, and Sean Flynn. Most of us were wearing sandals, so they gave us some very stylish shoes to wear for the jump.

After the tower we had what has been one of the best meals of the trip at Fernandos, a Portuguese restaurant. We had clams, suckling pig, and roasted chicken with tomato salad, french fries, and bread. We also enjoyed some sangria and vino verde. After dinner, we returned to Hong Kong.