Jiang Nan Hotel Zhuhai

... I checked into the hotel and explored around my hotel to get my bearings. Its easy to orient yourself in relation to the tall casino buildings. I then did some research on the internet to plan the next days activities.

Day two I walked around the island. I didn't really have a map, but it didn't really matter, I was out for an adventure. I climbed to the famous lighthouse on the top of the hill and surveyed the ...

... in Zhuhai so she and her husband William and parents acted as our local hosts, taking us out, having us for dinner and showing us the sights. The night before we were due to cross into the special administrative regions of Macau and Hong Kong we drove up onto the bridge that links Macau with mainland China to look at the casinos glittering and sparkling across the border.

Do you know how hard that simple phrase has become for us here? No, it's not the stress of the world economy or other daily issues to be dealt with that makes it impossible 'not to sweat it' BUT rather it is the heat and humidity. I know that any of our friends that live here and are reading this are probably laughing (or at least grinning) because it is only May and the summer gets much hotter and humid. I take every precaution I can to ...

... freeze up". We now live in a 'new world'. A world where what we knew is no longer valid and those with the vision and energy will welcome, learn and prosper from the coming changes. Let this be a warning to North America and Europe that unless we begin creating productive capacity rather than over consumption our standard of living will forever be diminished. We can wait around for our governments to 'bail us out' "taking money ...

... it was too crowded, so we decided against it. One thing might need to be explained here. Hong Kong and Macau are two very special areas. Hong Kong belonged to England and Macau belonged Portugal and both were 'returned' to China in 1999. Each have separate governments and money. If you are Chinese you need a permit to go to either of these areas. Before entering or leaving you have to go through customs just like you do when ...

... August. Earlier this year China limited stays to a month, and then allowed Chinese to visit every two months. Since 2006, Macau has been the largest gambling hub in the world, and there are nearly 30 gambling casinos competing for business. Taxes from the casinos ensure residents pay low tax and - as a bonus - many of the old buildings left behind from the Portuguese have been preserved. Almost a win-win situation.

... city of Hong Kong and even a bit of the harbor, and from the bathroom we had a spectacular view of the rest of the room through two glass walls. That was a nice touch. The colors in the room were really well done, in browns and beiges and things, and it was a really elegant room, except for the fact that the bathroom was transparent and the bed was made of granite. You had to put a deposit down to unlock the TV and the phone, and money would come off the deposit when you used either one ...

... idea of where we wanted to go - The Hong Kong Botanical and Zoological Gardens. By the time we arrived my t-shirt was pretty much completely soaked due to the fact that I had managed to sweat all the alcohol out of my system so I walked around the Zoo looking like, and smelling like, a drunk tramp. The Zoo was pretty good though and I managed to see a Jaguar for the first time which was possibly the cleverest animal I have ever ...

... and some old bronze bells. They also have the remains of a ship that was dug up near the harbor, as well as a painting showing how the port looked in its hey day with traders everyehwere and ships from every country. Lunch was at a restaurant in the Overseas Chinese Hotel. There are overseas Chinese in almost every corner of the world, and many of them return annually to pay their respects to their ancestors. Therefore, many have bought apartments which are empty most of the ...

... we were going to do the walk back but changed our minds when we saw the length of it! The next day we went for a stroll with Josh around the city and to the botanical gardens where there's a mini zoo. Off to Bangkok next.... *We've just read in an Aussie newspaper that one of the cable cars to the Big Buddha fell off!! Thankfully nobody was killed because that particular car was empty but can you imagine the poor feckers in the carriage behind the one that fell?!?