Macau International Fireworks Display Competition

This Saturday was the first night of the Macau Fireworks Competition. South Korea and Spain faced off, each delivering a 20 minute show. I missed most of the Spanish presentation but I was told it was the weaker show of the night anyway. I was impressed by how large the explosions were. For a minute or two of the show, we were treated to the largest fireworks I have ever seen. The whole harbour under the Macau tower was lit up. The competition will continue for the next 3 Saturdays, concluding with a display by Mainland China on October 1st. If you are interested here is the program







Here is the commercial they have been running for the competition. I love "bringing you the heights of pleasure."

Some pics of Taipa

This is a taste of the endless apartment complexes in Macau. All around me I am surrounded by high rises. Most of them are tile and are stained by the brutal humidity. I believe the pervasive use of tile is leftover from the Portuguese style architecture.



I don't know exactly what they are implying about black people and tequila slammas but it is definitely not PC.



The Chinese like to know their fish are fresh. Some of this fish were pulled out of tanks right within hours of taking this picture.



Everywhere in Macau there are casinos looming in the distance. This is the new Starworld mega resort. Only this half of the hotel is complete on the outside, the other half is still just concrete and rebar. The recession has put a halt on most of the construction in the new Cotai strip area.

My apartment!

Here is part of my living room, going back to my bedroom.



This is my bathroom. As you can see it is not exactly a Kohler classic.



Here is my desk area. To the right behind the curtain is my itty bitty patio that can fit one person at a time.



Here is my bed and the rest of my room. I am pretty happy with my setup, I don't have any roommates so it feels spacious right now.