Our Neighborhood

Well, it is our last weekend in Macau and we are saying goodbye to our friends and visiting some of our favorite spots before we go. Here are a few photos of the neighborhood we live in.

Mel and Jackie's Special Day

June 21 was a special day. It was Jackie's birthday and Father's Day! The girls treated both of us with cards and gifts and then all of us went to the Hard Rock Hotel for a BBQ brunch. We spent most of the afternoon eating, lounging, and swimming!!

One Month to Go!!

Well, our Macau adventure is almost over. In one month we will be on a plane back to Canada to see family and friends again. We all have been talking about the little things that we have missed the most; here is a list of the most common ones:
1) going to the cabin
2) having a back yard again
3) BBQ'd food
4) Tim Horton's coffee
5) perogies
6) driving a vehicle again
7) easily finding clothes that fit
8) being able to communicate easily with others
9) closet space (guess who said that)
10) clean air, blue skies and wide open spaces

Here is a list of the things that we will miss the most about Macau:
1) Climate (no negative temperatures here!)
2) Income tax rate (its about 4%)
3) Inexpensive air travel
4) Friends and co-workers
5) Weekend trips to Hong Kong or China
6) Five minutes to work
7) Cheap Beer (45 cents a can)
8) Chinese Food (the real stuff)
9) Chinese traditions and culture
10) A slower-paced lifestyle

The Cantebury Tales

The secondary school students performed the Canterbury Tales this past weekend. Emily and Danielle were fortunate to work as stage hands during the performances and each of them had small non-speaking roles in the production. They were nervous in front of a large crowd the first night but they both enjoyed working with the "big kids". They did very well and they added a nice touch to the performance.

School Photos

Emily and Danielle's school photos have arrived so I thought I would share them with all of you.

Borneo Wildlife

One of the big attractions within Borneo is the wildlife. On our river cruises we were able to observe, hornbills, crocodiles, snakes, monitor lizards, orangutans, proboscis monkeys, and macaques. We did a night trek near the lodge and we observed spiders, millipedes, centipedes, frogs, gliding lizards, geckos, edible plants and poisonous plants. The night trek was very interesting (yet a bit creepy) as the rain forest is very loud and alive at night.

Sukau Rain Forest Lodge

From Kota Kinabalu we flew to Sandakan, a coastal town known for it's palm oil, fishing and tourism. From Sandakan it was a three-hour jet boat ride down the Kinabatangan River to the Sukau Rain Forest Lodge. Here we spent two days cruising the river and its tributaries observing the wide variety of wildlife found there. Our first morning had us up at 5:30 a.m. so that we could be on the river shortly after 6:00 a.m. The lodge was comfortable and offered beautiful surroundings, excellent food and even warm showers!

Trip to Borneo

We escaped to the island of Borneo during the Easter break for our last family holiday. The first four days were spent at the Nexus Resort outside of Kota Kinabalu. It was total relaxation as we spent most of our time by the pool or on the beach. There was much wildlife around the resort and everyone was especially fond of the water monitor lizards that would wander near our breakfast table each morning. The beach itself was 6km long with gentle waves that made it great for swimming.

Formula 1 Excitement

Last weekend my friend Joe and I traveled to Kuala Lumpur for the Malaysian Grand Prix. I have always wanted to see a Formula 1 race and KL was close enough to make it a possibility. We landed in KL Saturday to catch the qualifying and then we attended the race Sunday afternoon. Unfortunately rain started to fall very heavily just past the half-way point and the race had to be stopped due to dangerous conditions; the first time this has happened sine 1991. Nevertheless, it was a great weekend.

Jungle Book: The Musical

Emily and Danielle took part in the musical production the Jungle Book last weekend. This school production was entirely cast from grade 1-6 students. Danielle played the role of one of the bees "buzzin in the trees", and Emily was one of a group of students that played Kaa the snake. The production was a hit and approximately four hundred people attended the two shows.

Our 14th Anniversary

On March 25, Jackie and I celebrated our 14th wedding anniversary. We called a sitter and went out for a quiet dinner at a local Italian restaurant. We are still going strong and actually still look pretty good after all these years together!

School Trip to Vietnam

From March 15-21 I was fortunate to supervise a group of students traveling to northern Vietnam for the schools' annual Experience Week. We arrived in Hanoi and then traveled to Halong Bay the very next day to experience the beautiful limestone formations that are found there. The scenery is stunning and has made the bay a UNESCO world heritage site. Our camp was on a small beach on one of the over 1900 islands in the bay. We spent two half-days kayaking around the islands as well as time collecting garbage from one of the more secluded beaches (as part of our community service initiative).
Our trip also had us travel to Lao Cai in the very north via a night train (a very interesting experience) and from there we continued onto to the village of Sapa where we did a home stay. The trek into the village took 90 minutes and there we spent time at a local school helping them construct a new roof for part of the school. We also met many students and staff, and in the evening we were invited to watch (and take part in) some local music and dancing.
The village itself is beautiful and the people there live a very peaceful and simple existence. Some of the high lites here included the food (awesome), the coffee (strong but so good) and the amazing scenery. One and a half days were also spent in Hanoi which allowed us to see another part of Vietnamese life as well as to enjoy the great shopping there.

Trip to Hong Kong

Jackie and I escaped to Hong Kong without the kids during the second weekend of March. Our friends Dave and Yvonne looked after the girls while we had two blissful days of sleeping in, shopping, and eating out.
We visited Stanley Market to do some shopping and had some Canadian food at Tony Roma's in Times Square. We also visited The Peak where we had a leisurely breakfast and Jackie bumped into Bruce Lee.
It was only our second time away from Emily and Danielle in 18 months so it was an enjoyable break for us both.

Remembering Our Friends

Last week we learned that my cousin Liz and her husband David died in a motor vehicle collision in British Columbia. This shocking and sad event hit home for the four of us as Liz and David had visited us in Macau last September. They were an extremely outgoing and fun-loving couple who will be missed by all. Events such as this are difficult for us due to the distance but nevertheless our thoughts are with Liz & David's children, family, and friends during this difficult time.

Valentines Day

Jackie and I had a special treat this Valentines Day as we were invited for an evening on our friends sail boat. We left the Macau inner harbor in the late afternoon and then cruised the waters between Macau and China until well after dark. There was fresh fruit, cheese and wine for the six of us to enjoy and all the ladies received a rose upon our return to the marina. The lights of the hotels and casinos created some wonderful views for us to enjoy.

Jackie Runs 10km Race in Hong Kong

Jacqueline has become a regular runner in Macau and she recently decided to test her endurance in an actual competition. She along with five others from the school decided to run in the 10km portion of the Hong Kong Marathon the first week of February. The event is a huge one with 32,000 people running the 10 km race alone! The race started at 5:15 a.m. and it took almost ten minutes for all of the runners to cross the start line; the race started and finished in the dark. Jackie's time for the 10 km was approximately one hour.

Chinese New Year

The last week of January was the Chinese New Year break for all of us. We decided this year to stay in and around Macau to get a taste of the biggest celebration of the year in China. Macau itself it looks beautiful as red lanterns hang everywhere and wherever you go there is a festive feeling in the air. After a few days in Macau, we headed to Hong Kong for two days of shopping and playing during the first two days of the new year. On day one Emily and Danielle used their Christmas money to buy a Wii Fit (a very awesome interactive game). We also took in a movie and a trip on the Star Ferry to see the lights of Hong Kong from across Victoria Harbor. Day two saw us travel to Ocean Park, our favorite wildlife/amusement park in Hong Kong. The girls did many rides and saw the sea lions and the giant pandas. The park was busy but enjoyable nonetheless. We headed to the ferry at 5:30 quite ready to get back home to our own beds. Two days later we headed into mainland China (Zhu Hai) to do some cross border shopping. Shoes for school and clothes for ever-growing girls topped the list of things to buy.

Emily's 9th Birthday

January 14th was Emily's ninth birthday and we had a quiet family celebration at home for her. Danielle picked out the cake (chocolate with cream) and Jackie cooked one of Emily's favorite dishes. Emily received an i-pod, a new book, and a scarf as presents. Another gift is a trip to the bowling alley for a game with one of her friends this weekend.

The People of Mui Ne

Everywhere we traveled in HCMC and Mui Ne, the one thing that struck me was how friendly the people were. Many were eager to talk or say hello or pose for a photo. Here are a few snap shots of some of the locals we encountered on the trip.

Mui Ne Village

Mui Ne Village is a very old fishing village that happens to now be located near a popular tourist development. This has not changed life for many local people as the traditional way of life (fishing) continues to this day. A few mornings we would head down to the beach before breakfast and watch the fisherman come to shore with their nets filled with all sorts of fish and crab. It is a family affair as the wives and children help with the catch as the boats come ashore. If you like the locals will cook you up some crab right on the beach!

Mui Ne Sand Dunes

A short drive from Mui Ne one can find the Red and White Sand Dunes. These two popular tourist areas are the closest thing to a desert that we have ever seen. The dunes are very picturesque especially at sunrise and sunset. Most people tend to treat the dunes like great snow covered hills and ride down them with some type of toboggan; we were no different. After taking some scenic photos, we all took turns riding down the great dunes; Emily even rode her board like a surfboard as she went down one dune.