Sometimes I don't know where I am going but I find my way.

Don't think that is some profound statement or

anything, take it literally. I truly may not have known where I was going/been lost today, but I still knew exactly what was up. Today was a day to explore and check out the island. I kicked it off by grabbing some baked goods to munch on from the cake shop(bakery) next to my hostel, while I headed to who
knows where (I had a general direction in mind.) On the way I passed a large scooter parking lot. Scooters are the the most common form of personal transportation.

My first stop of the day was the ruins of St. Paul's, which refers to the facade of the Church of Mater Dei, built in the early 15th century, later destroyed by fire in 1835. The ruins are one of 25 UNESCO World Heritage sites in Macau. This was a VERY touristy area, there were a ton of people there.

My next stop was right next door at the Museum of Macao. The museum was pretty neat, but the architecture was the coolest part. It had been built into the Mount Fortress, the city's principal military defense in the early 1600's. It was a large fortress high on a hill in the middle of the city, it still had cannons and all. I really want a cannon.

I was then off again heading in

the direction of the Casinos I saw towering in the distance. On my way I

saw a street vendor selling Portuguese egg tarts, which I read were a must have, and I must agree. It was a delightful snack, it had a sweet custard like taste and texture, with a hint of egg. This lovely woman posed with her egg tart for a picture. I then continued on passing through the hotels and heading to the Macau tower. I did not go up in the tower because you have to pay, I just was not in the mood for that today. I will however be returning to the tower to bungee jump. It has the worlds tallest bungee at 233 meters.

I did not feel like walking the three or so miles back so I partook in my first public transportation venture, I had not problems, got on the right bus the first time and made it back. I took a break and changed shoes, boat shoes were a bad ides for all that walking around. Then I headed to Taipa with my roommate William, as he had class at the Taipa Campus and I wanted to explore that area. Taipa is one of two neighboring islands that are part of Macao, the second is Coloane. The first

item I wanted to checkout was the climbing,however upon my arrival at the address there was a large construction site. I was told that it had been moved, but they were not sure where to. I was unable to find it, so that will be a project for another day.

To the left you will see a picture from the Taipa Village, a restored Portuguese village. Each of the green houses had a small museum on the history of the village. This was fun, but looming in the background was the Cotai strip and and it's large casinos which I had to check out.

Here is a new casino being built, you can see the boom cranes working on the top to puts it's size into perspective. It is upwards of 70 stories. While this is all brand new state of the art construction, if you look closely you will see the entire scaffolding structure around the building bamboo, I have found this common practice.

Next I had arrived at the

Venetian Macau, this too was an

enormous structure. I went in to

explore this monster. I am pretty sure

I had a better chance of getting lost

inside of the Venetian than in Macau

itself. The entrance (below) was

phenomenal, fountains and statues

and art and gold...3,000,000 sheets

of gold leaf used on the interior decor.

I did not gamble yet, I don't really have

the funds to be dropping on chance

right now, but I imagine I will give a

shot once.

Once through the

casino floor, I had made my way to the Canal

shops. They look like you are outside, however

these shops are actually

inside. I really felt like I

was in Venice...not that I

would know...it's the closet

I have ever been. There

were gondolas with singing

gondoliers, and man could

they sing. Street

performers doing magic and

comedy and opera. If I am

looking for any entertainment, I will just come and shop here. You really

felt like you were outside. The ceiling had been painted to look like the sky, and I am not sure

if it was my mind playing tricks or some special effect, but as you walked through it seemed as

if the clouds were actually moving. There were 330 stores, most of which I had never heard of

and most of which I could not afford. It was still awesome checking this beast out. After about

20 minutes I finally found my way out and took the bus back home.

I leave you with two

random photos of the day. Come up with

your own captions!

Brent