With the event over it has been a time of saying goodbye to many of our old and new friends. Some have already left for home, wherever that may be, while others are spending a day or more in Hong Kong. Hugh and Julie Brogan are going to Hong Kong where he once worked and then on to Phuket for a few days. Lucky them!
It has also been a time of thanking John Brown and all the HERO team for laying on such an excellent event. We can only hope that he will organise another one. We would like to go to North and East Africa, both areas of the world we haven't been to before. We will just have to wait and see.
Turning to today, we took the hotel shuttle into Macau, passing the vast casino complexes that are springing up all over Macau. The new casinos have thousands of rooms, like the Venetian which is modelled on the Las Vegas casino of the same name, complete with the Camponile in Venice's St Mark's Square. There is even a lagoon complete with gondolas!
There is building going on everywhere and one can only wonder how the credit crunch will affect Macau.We drove over one of the bridges that leads to the old town of Macau.
The shuttle bus dropped us off at the ferry terminal and we took a taxi into the centre, to the Senado Square. What a contrast to the skyscrapers all around it!
Lovely old Portuguese colonial buildings have been restored and the roads have all been pedestrianised.
Narrow streets lead off the 'main' walkways, very reminiscent of southern European towns.
We walked past the recently restored Church of San Domingo.
Inside there was a beautiful altar and some wonderful statues in side chapels.
After visiting so many temples in SE Asia, it came as quite a surprise to see a Roman Catholic church once again.We walked on up to the ruins of St Pauls Chruch. All that is left of the church, is the facade. The church has become the iconic image of Macau.
Just above the church is the old fort of Macau with its canons pointing out over the city.
Dominating the skyline is the extraordinary Grand Lisboa casino and hotel. It really is an amazing sight.
We then took a taxi back to the ferry terminal and caught the hotel shuttle back to the hotel.
The couple of hours before boarding the Turbojet to Hong Kong airport was spent doing our final packing and saying goodbye to some of the few remaining participants and HERO crew.
The Turbojet took us an hour to get across from Macau to Hong Kong airport. We fly out with Bob and Thelma who are on our flight to Heathrow. The adventure has come to an end. Such a shame!
Tim,
ReplyDeleteLoved your blog and stories. It will help us tremendously as we spend the next year hearing my father tell his stories about the trip. I think one of the reasons my parents will continue to do these adventure drives is to surround themselves with those who have shared the experiences with them. It's just not the same when they have to hold their "kids" captive at the holiday dinner table with trip pictures and inside jokes. :)
Safe travels and I look forward to the next trip and blog. Perhaps one day I will get to meet you; a drive through North Africa sounds exciting!
Nina Nelan
I remember the church in Macau very well. East Africa, North Africa? Why not Australia? in 2010 I could join in in the Dry season!
ReplyDeletePeter W ~ Darwin