Macau

I did not really know what to expect from Macau, what i found was a mix of:

Vegas - bright lights, a bit tacky in places;
Portugal - you certainly get a feel for the portugese influence in the architecture, town planning etc..
China - of course the dominating feel is the hustle/bustle of china, high rise housing everywhere but combined with culture, religion.

You can walk around and see most of the sights on foot, including the old town, city ruins, fort and museum (which was really good). Overall a decent location for a few days trips.

Christmas and New Year

As......

I havent been away for a while (well i was in belgium for a couple of days earlier in the week as i am having some work done in the bedroom, oh and there was Vegas and i guess China)

Its christmas

Before too long i will be working again.

.....i decided to book a last minute trip to Hong Kong and Macau (said to be China`s version of Vegas). One night Hong Kong, three nights Macau, five nights Hong Kong.

Flight was long but arrived early, a quick jaunt through Imigration, Baggage Claim and i was on the airport express to the city before i was actually due to land. The train goes to the centre and then there is a free shuttle to most of the hotels - which sped through some narrow streets giving me a taste of the hustle/bustle of Hong Kong.

Tomorrow i get the ferry to Macau and dont really know what to expect.

Vegas

I have three nights in Vegas, staying at Vdara which is part of the City Centre development, which whilst completed has obviously struggled with downturn in economy. Everything is very high quality but i suspect not that many of the lofthouse apartments in the adjoining high rise have been sold, and the restaurant in the Vdara is closed. That said there are so many other restaurants nearby thats not a problem.

So i have a few days of gambling, people watching (and you get to watch a lot of "interesting" people in Vegas) and relaxing. So far, tables have not been overly generous but i am managing to break even.

Also whilst here.................oh i forget, what happens in Vegas, stays in Vegas*.

* this really means nothing that exciting has happened, but i am trying to maintain pretence of daring adventures.

Phoenix culture

The theatre performance was Lombardi a fictional play about a newpaper reporter spending a week in 1965 with Vincent Lombardi, head coach of the Green Baypackers.I had heard of Lombardi, and given he has a trophy named after him, thought he might have been quite good. As it happens he was the Alex Ferguson of his day, both in success and character - focused, domineering, inspirational. The play was excelleny, humourous, insightful and to the rest of the audience no doubt, bringing back some memories.

The concert was Carmina Burana by Carl Orff, first performed of course in Frankfurt in 1937. Well when i say of course, i do have the benefit of the programme and did not really know what to expect. I was surprised to find that I did recognise the opening, O Fortuna, which is one of the theme tunes from X Factor. Thankfully what followed was significantly better than the rubbish that Simon Cowell calls entertainment.

Phoenix

So the flight was three quarters full on Thanksgiving Day, but as soon as i got to town the place was deserted (i somehow think Thanksgiving Day in Vegas would be like any other day). So i spent the afternoon getting my bearings and then ate in the hotel - Pumpkin Soup, Turkey and then Pumpkin Pie, the all american thanksgiving meal.

Cental Phoenix is quite small, not surprisingly designed for people in cars, but with some interesting areas. The Wells Fargo Museum confirmed my embarassing poor knowledge of american history, as i did not know they started out as the Fedex/UPS of the mid 19th century, commencing the stagecoaches that travelled across the states. Now i know.

Phoenix does seem to have more culture than most US cities of its size. I spotted three theatres downtown and one symphony hall - as well as the conference centre that features in every US city. So i am going to make this the cultural part of my trip, theatre matinee this afternoon and concert this evening.

Phoenix Suns v New Orleans Hornets

This was my first live NBA match. I had seen a pre oympics Usa v Canada match a few years ago in Vegas, and had seen Usa ladies win olympic gold this summer, but this was something different.

I have had a mild allegiance to Chicago Bulls and New York Knicks over the years, but it is a fact that you have to adopt the first team you see live at home. So i am stuck with the Suns.

After being second best in first quarter and regulary being 10-12pts behind, it looked like a poor choice;

After pulling back to within 6 at half, it loked like they had something to them;

After going back to first quarter form, it looked like this was going to be a tough relationship;

After storming back to 8 pt lead with 6mins to go, this looked like fun;

After failing to close out what looked like a won match,and be forced into overtime, this looked like a team that would match my other teams for frustration;

After scoring the only 2 points in first 3 mins of overtime, and then storming to victory.....well maybe i made the right choice. Although the title of this blog might turn out to be relevant again!

A week away

I am currently in between jobs, on "gardening leave" ahead of starting new job in new year. There is only so much Jeremy Kyle and Loose Women a man can take, so with some Virgin airmiles to spend i am off to states. Perhaps inspired by loose women, Vegas had to be part of journey.

So i have a slightly muddled itenary (reflecting i did it myself rather than let it to Trailfinders) of:

Fly to Vegas - one night at Luxor
Fly to Phoenix - three nights at Sheraton
Fly back to Vegas - three nights at Vdara
Fly back to UK

This enables me to take in the nail biting mid table match beween Phoenix Suns and New Orleans (something) in the NBA. Phoenix at one hour flight from Vegas seemed to be the most sensible option to try and watch some sport whilst i am here, and this will be the first NBA match i have been to.

The Luxor turned out not surpisingly to be a bit tired, but it was only one night and cheap, and indeed actually free thanks to an hour on the black jack table.

Off now on Thanksgiving Day to Phoenix.