Saturday/Sunday, May 17/18

Saturday/Sunday, May 17/18

We finally made it to Macau. We made our way to the ferry and purchased our tickets for the TurboJet. An hour trip across the Pearl River and we arrived! You have to go through customs upon entering and leaving Macau, which really bit into our time. We skipped the casinos and took a cab into the heart of the city. Crowds. Crowds. Oh, the crowds. The shopping wasn’t so great, but the architecture was beautiful. We went to a gorgeous temple and watched as the people lit incense and prayed. In Japan, I felt very comfortable and peaceful at the temples. We felt very much like outsiders at this one and didn’t feel right buying or lighting incense. Nick had to go to the bathroom, and luckily there were some right at the temple. Holes in the ground. Ohhhh-not this again!!!! So I used by left hand as a seat for his bum and my right hand to hold him up. That left him in charge of aiming, which didn’t go well. He hit his shoe, and kept moving that foot farther and farther away from the stream. Which meant we were both being pulled off balance. But we escaped unscathed. Except for my flip flopped foot. I just tried to remember my grandmother saying “it’s just a little sugar water”. We headed down the stairs for more exploring. The map was useless, as many of the streets weren’t labeled. We were filling up with water because it was so hot out. I went in to buy water and went for the coldest looking ones with clear bottles/blue tops. Well, it wasn’t water. It was ION water. Mary and I stopped drinking after a few sips. Nick chugged his. Then waited until we were lost to say he needed to use the bathroom. I couldn’t even find us on a map, how was I supposed to find a bathroom? (I know, there are a lot of pee stories when you travel with a 3 ½ yr old!) Luckily I still had my Ion bottle, so Nick could discretely do his business on a deserted street. All worked out well, except for Nick telling me he was finished and me moving the bottle only to get my arm soaked. We finally made it to a point where we got a cab to take us back to the boat. Nick waited until we were in the cab to start his dance. You gotta be kidding me. No kidding. Wet, tired, dirty. We were a mess. Some soda and Pringles on the boat helped a little. A shower when we got home helped even more. I have no desire to go back to Macau anytime soon.

Chris arrived in Hong Kong. It’s a Nordloh reunion! He strained his back last week (all the work around the house he’s been doing!) and we had a questionable few days where we didn’t think he would make it out of bed, let alone all the way to Hong Kong. But armed with Advil and muscle relaxers, he arrived. Tired and hungry. He’s told me that the blog photos don’t do our neighborhood justice, so more to come!