blahblah

6/25/2005

“There is a new doctor in the house,” wrote Frank. I was wondering what he meant by that while reading. Were we getting more patients that warranted a new hire? After finished reading the whole email, I wanted to offer my sincere congratulations to Dr. Kathy. A job well done or phinally done (Ph.D.)!

I went to Macau early morning by boat to get my visa extension. I had to pass the immigration to exit and then reenter the country to get a 60 day extension on my visa. I had applied for a double entry visa before leaving the States. While waiting in line, I noticed that the immigration officers were polite and sometimes with smiles. This was the same when we passed the custom in Beijing. I remembered just a few years ago their faces were quite stern and cold. To me this change shows a sign of the national confidence.

While on the boat, I observed that the water was very muddy and rather different from that I saw last Saturday at the resort. At first, I thought it was due to pollution. Then I saw a lot of tree branches and debris on the surface in some the areas. It reminded me of the recent flood in southern China.

It was my first time in Macau. Macau is a SAR (special administrative region) of China. It was a Portuguese colony until in 1999 when reversed back to China. The population there is most Chinese and three currencies (HK$, Macau $ and RMB) are accepted in most of the establishments. I originally planed a “come and go” strategy. That was to catch the early boat at 8:15am and leave on next return boat at 2:00pm. After the day was over, this strategy seemed too ambitious. I ended up spending a whole day there. At first, I saw the old Macau near the pier and it was old and ragged. I walked on the street, wandered in small alleys, saw various markets and tried different foods. My path took me to the city central where the prosperous Macau showed its glimpse. Gambling was the main business and there were more than 10 casinos on this tiny island. Around the casinos there were many money exchange stores and bails (right word?) where gamblers can exchange their physically possessions for cash. The purpose was obvious. Sands in Las Vegas opened their casinos here not long ago. Along the seashore a few new ones were under construction. I visited Casino Lisboa as a representative. There I saw entire three floors were packed with people. There were all kinds of games available such as Baccarat, bingo, blackjack, mahjong, roulette, stud poker, 3-card poker, and slot machine. I played as an observer. It was very interesting to see players’ expressions of excitements, despairs, and hopes.

Up to now my feet have stepped on the soil of the greater China coving Hong Kong, Macau, the Mainland and Taiwan.

posted by Unknown @ 9:42 AM