Macau Day Trip

Hello again!

Thank you all for the birthday wishes over the past few days. It was very different to celebrate my birthday here a day earlier than it was currently in the states but it spread out the celebrating that much more! We celebrated over the weekend as Ryan had to return to China for work on Monday. One thing we did was travel to Macau on Saturday with some of Ryan's co-workers for some site seeing and fun.

Macau is another special administrative region of China, just like Hong Kong. Macau is a former Portugese colony, which is still apparent through the architecture, food and signs everywhere. It was very strange to be able to read not only the English signs, but some of the Portugese signs (see Mom, those 3 years of Spanish weren't for nothing!) Macau is also known for being the Las Vegas of the area, with some of the largest and most expensive casinos in the world there.

We took a ferry over to Macau as it is only connected via China mainland. In about an hour we landed and started our day of being tourists. We started off by visiting Sao Paulo Cathedral before heading through the streets of stores and markets to the old casino area.

Looking down from the cathedral to the street 

'Don't cross the yellow line' 

Canon aimed at the Lisboa Casino 

Sao Paulo Cathedral 

I think this is a big enough bottle for my parents 

Streets of Macau

Slabs of beef jerky

Once we made it to the casinos we walked in and out of the various buildings while some of the guys occasionally stopped to gamble. No big winners here unfortunately. We took a cab off the peninsula and in another district where the Venetian Casino & Hotel was. We stopped for a few drinks before heading off to dinner.

Casino Lisboa

Wynn Casino & Hotel

Inside of the Venetian Hotel & Casino 

Before heading back to Hong Kong, we stopped at a little beach village for some authentic Portugese food. After a pot of crab, fish and pitchers of sangria we returned to Hong Kong to continue the birthday weekend. It was a great day trip to another country which will be repeated many more times!

Finishing our pitchers in the outdoor bar 

Dining culture and customs

Hello all!

I realized today it's been awhile since my last post! The days here have been filled with potty training, chew toys and lots of snuggles. Ahri has been such a wonderful addition to the family (even when she does pee on the carpet).

I was reading through one of the city guide books that we received as a wedding gift when I came upon a section devoted to customs and cultural tips related to dining. Some of them I was aware of but others I had never heard of. Here are some of the most important ones I have learned and will be relevant for those who will possibly be traveling in Asia someday (in order to not embarass yourself, like I have!)

1) As far as I can tell, there is no 'proper' way to use chopsticks. Everyone has their own method and way. Whatever helps you to use those two sticks to get the food in your mouth is acceptable. There are normally soup spoons available at restaurants as well, so those can be helpful to pick up larger or slippery items like dumplings or wontons. Bringing the bowl to your face and shoveling with your chopsticks is also perfectly okay. And if all else fails, just stab it with the your stick (my normal method :-) 

2) When somebody pours you tea, the proper way to thank them is a double tap on the table with your index and middle finger. It looks like you are telling the dealer to hit you while playing blackjack but I promise you are just being polite.

3) Restaurants cook and chop everything in an animal, including the bones. When eating any type of meat, bite carefully as there will be fragments of bones in there. With this, it is very acceptable to spit out any bones that you have in your mouth onto your plate. If you can, simply pull the bones out with your chopsticks, otherwise feel free to nonchalantly spit them onto your plate. Don't worry, you won't be the only one!

4) Many dinners are served family style on a lazy susan in the middle of the table. Do not worry about trying to grab anywhere around the table for something you want. There are no 'pass to the left or right' rules here, just spin the table or reach over for what you want.

5) At the end of every meal, toothpicks will be placed on the table by your server. When using a toothpick, cover your mouth with one hand while picking at your teeth with the other. It is considered disrespectful to pick at your teeth with an openly as well as walk around with a toothpick in your mouth.

These are just a few of the things I have learned so far and can't wait to take our guests out to dinner here for them to learn as well. It is constantly a learning process and I am always asking Ryan if I am possibly offending somebody and their family with my chopstick skills! To end, here are a few pictures I have snapped of local dining around town, and of course Ahri to make your morning!

Soup pork dumplings

Vegetables at Disneyland, Mickey Mouse carrots included

Dim sum

Chicken feet...not necessary to repeat

Spicy noodles, mushrooms and beef

Ahri

Meet Ahri!

Well, we have a new addition to our family and much to our family's guessing over the holidays it is not human. My Christmas gift from Ryan this year was a small dog to be my companion to keep me company during the week!

We had previously gone to the pet market in Hong Kong before and just window shopped at dogs (who doesn't love doing that!) so we knew we wanted to get a miniature pinscher before we went shopping. We loaded up on dog supplies in the states before we returned as many items are expensive here that we could easily bring back with us. Once we returned, we headed back to the pet market after new years to find our new addition!


There were only a couple of stores that had miniature pinschers to choose from. One had 3 brothers that were all brown which wasn't the type of coloring we preferred. Another store had one small female that was black and tan. After debating between the two types, we chose to go with the small female. She is around 3 months old, small enough to hold in the palm of your hand. Her name is Ahri, a name I picked off a list Ryan showed me from characters from a video game he plays so that we would both be happy.

Photo courtesy of Ryan Smaglik 

The past few days have been filled with cuddles, playing and potty training. She has been doing well so far though she is fighting a cold she caught from being in with other puppies for awhile.

Photo courtesy of Ryan Smaglik

Photo courtesy of Ryan Smaglik

Cuddling