January 2015- Year of the Goat
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At the end of January/beginning of February we took a trip to Macau to visit my parents, who are serving a mission for our church there. To get to Macau from where we live you have to take two separate ferries. One 30 minute long ferry, and one about two hour long ferry. Since Macau is a separate Special Administrative Region of China, you must go through immigration and customs in the ferry terminal. So although it is physically very close, it takes a while to go from place to place.
My parents have been there since the day after Christmas. However, the church is having trouble with their visas. Thus, they are endlessly spending a few weeks in Macau and a few days in Hong Kong, in order to not overstay their temporary tourist visas while the more permanent ones are finalized. It's been really frustrating for them- living out of a suitcase and not being able to do as much church work like they came here to do. We are keeping them in our prayers, hoping that the situation will be resolved swiftly.
But on the other hand, we sure love having them close!
Me and Scott had spent one day in Macau in 2012, looking at some of the historical sites and casinos. A brief background- Macau was a Portuguese port city that got handed back over to China, kind of like Hong Kong was handed back to China by Britain. Now it is the Vegas of Asia, with tons of fancy casinos and hotels in the newer area, but the older area of the city is very European in nature. Cobblestone streets, European architecture, cathedrals, etc.
My parents live smack in the middle of the older part of the city, and it is gorgeous. It's amazing to see the Chinese and European influences mixed together. Especially because we went over the weekend of Chinese New Year. Chinese New Year is huge here, and it is a week (for some people two-three week) long event. There are constant parades, fire works, shows, decorations, and food. This year was the year of the goat. Or the oxen. Or the sheep. It's a little bit confusing, but from what I understand it is the year of the 'cloven foot' animal, so you can kind of pick which one you like. I go with goat.
We got to spend a few days with my parents, and then my sister Sunnee and her family came and we spent a day altogether before we had to leave to get Scott back to work. It is so amazing to have family so close by. Who would have thought there would be so many of us in a place as far from home as Hong Kong?
Anyways, be prepared for a picture explosion! I just liked so many of them all.
Night 1- Arrival (about 11 pm)
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| This is a city square just down the block from my parents. A European cobblestones plaza with Chinese New Year festival inside! |
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| Flowers are a decorating must for Chinese New Year. Orchids especially are great gifts. So flower markets pop up everywhere. |
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| There is no end to statues of goats (and other zodiac animals) to pose with- part of the culture is taking many pictures, so I must be acclimated ;) |
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| A gorgeous building in the same square. |
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| This is actually the street my parent's apartment is on. Look at the lovely hanging flowers and cobblestones! |
Day 1- giant Casinos
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| This jumble of pretty, Italian looking buildings here, is the Venetian hotel and casino. They have over 3000 suites in this hotel alone. Plus tons of casino space, over 1,000 stores, and a Cirque de Soleil performance! |
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| The Venetian was decked out for Chinese New Year. |
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| Inside of the Venetian. |
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| More of the Venetian. |
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| This is a park by my parent's apartment. |
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| All sorts of awesome rock formations in the park, you can even walk through them! |
Day 2- The Bishop family joins, historical sites
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| The ruins of St. Paul's college and St. Paul's church, often said to be the first Christian church in China. |
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| The view/crowd from St. Paul's. |
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| The family at Fortaleza do Monte. A fort built in 1617-1626 to protect the properties of the Jesuits in Macau. |
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| The view from the fort. And the cutest senior missionaries ever! |
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| This is part of the hotel Fisherman's Wharf. Me and Scott visited in 2012 and were intrigued because it is always a ghost town. A huge, billion dollar ghost town hotel, with buildings that are supposed to represent places all over the world, but everything is empty so there are discount restaurants and convenience stores inside. This part of the hotel series is like Europe. |
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| Another part of the hotel is the Colosseum. Obviously. Although in the past few years they did knock down the fake volcano. |
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| Also at Fisherman's wharf was the world's loneliest Dragon Dance parade. So empty I even got to help carry it! |
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| Back by my parent's apartment is a gorgeous Christian graveyard with a chapel inside. It is so gorgeous and serene. |
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| This is my parent's street in the daylight! |
