"The Bubble" Show - City of Dreams - Macau

Saturday and Sunday, Jamie and I went to Macau for the last time. For those that have never heard of it (I haven't until I moved over here), Macau is a special administrative zone much like Hong Kong is. It was a Portuguese colony (the first and only European colony in China) for a while and there is still an influence there, although only 1% of the population speak Portuguese. Macau is now a sprawling tourist town known for its casinos. The Venetian, the world's largest hotel, is there, as is the Wynn, Rio, Hard Rock, Lisboa, among others.

Jamie and I headed there Saturday afternoon, checked in to our favorite hotel there, the Hotel Royal, and then went to the Hard Rock Hotel and Casino. We thought there would be a cafe there, but it is not built yet. We bought some shirts anyway and headed to the Blue Frog, a great bar/restaurant in the Venetia with good food. Our next stop was the newly built City of Dreams. It is a shopping complex, but has a show called The Bubble, a 4D experience (see video above for a scene from it as well as our Picasa Photo Album for more videos). It is a dome similar to a planetarium that shows a 15 minute 4D show. They change the showing every now and then, but this one was about a dragon who goes through several geographical scenes. It was really cool. I'll upload some videos of it so you can check it out.

We checked in for the night, slept in for the morning, and headed out to the old part of the city for one last look at the ruins of St. Paul's Cathedral. We tried to go to the dog tracks, but it did not open until 5pm, so we headed back to the hotel so we could check out before heading to the horse tracks. I bet on a couple of races, although they were not racing in Macau that day, only in Malaysia and Hong Kong. I lost both unfortunately. I accept the fact that the horses I bet on were just not as fast as those that won.

We then took the bus down to Coloanne for one last look at one of our favorite villages and the world famous Lord Stowe's Bakery Portuguese Egg Tarts. We bought 3 to eat there and 6 for take away (to go). We walked the village one last time, headed back to the Venetian to eat at Fatburger, then it was time to go.

Macau is a wonderful place for a weekend getaway, and we'll miss going there. They are building new casinos and resorts, so the next time we go to Macau, it will be very different.

We have just 11 days remaining until we head back to the US. There is a ton to do before then: final grades, literacy folders, pass on folders, clean up our classrooms, check out procedures, packing up our apartment, Chinese teachers to interview for my dissertation, and goodbyes to say.

I'll keep you posted on how our last few days in China are, but it is fast approaching and will be gone soon.