So our last day in Hong Kong we went to
Macau. Not much to tell really, it's really small. You have to go
through emmigration and immigration both to and fro, and officially
they speak Portuguese and Cantonese (though really, English seems
more the second language). We walked through the casino “strip”
with the miniature versions of the Las Vegas behemoths, and then
through the historic district with very well preserved (courtesy of
casino money, I am sure) Portuguese buildings.
This part of town has
kept it's old colonial feel, and is a big draw for tourists not on
the casino floors. It's also very small and can really only occupy
about 2 hours of your attention (courtesy of Casino money, I am
sure).
We didn't see the big “Venetian”
which is not on the strip, and largest casino in the world, and so
were surprised to learn that Macau now exceeds Vegas in net gambling
revenues, but we're told the revenue of tables in Macau exceeds those
in Vegas 10:1.
Though we didn't gamble, we did get
lucky. The Macanese Olympic Torch relay runners were posing for a
group photo, and we happened upon the spot at the same time they were
congregating. As the early birds were waiting for others to arrive
they were posing for photos.
What I hadn't realized until after we
took these photos is that each relay runner gets to keep their torch
(since they pass the flame, not the torch). So we are holding an
actual Olympic torch that once carried the flame. I had a strange
mix of emotions, recognising the total inappropriateness of China
being awarded these games. I was a little nervous taking the picture
– I had this little movie playing in my head of the Turets version
of me doing and saying something stupid and getting arrested, sort of
like when you look down a steep cliff and part of your mind explores
“what it would be like” before your sweating palms and vertigo
force you back a pace. However, the warmth of this guy, not a
politician, just some former athlete, and his willingness to take a
photo and share his torch with us for a moment transcended politics.
For this moment, at least, the true spirit of the Olympics
overwhelmed the crass commercialism and corruption of the modern
iterations.
The next morning we were off for
Beijing.
