Day 2 in Macau

Today was a lot tamer than last night, if you could call last night wild at all. I woke up at about 1130am, without a hang over, and went online to talk to some friends. The memories of last night, arriving, touring around were still fresh, and the excitement of what lay ahead was already brewing within me. Still, I come from a family that runs on efficiency, putting things in the practical perspective and analyzing everything all the time. So my brother and I talked a bit about how we were going to go about the day. Eventually, we came up with a plan, and also planned to allow flexibility into it. If he all of a sudden realized there was a place I had to see that we did not include in the plan, my brother was going to take me there. How spontaneous can we Simons get, right?

Anyway, we headed straight to brunch, taking the bus to a square that seemed quite prominent. The name, Senado, Sedado, or whatever it was I can't exactly remember. The bus was not at all like the ones we have in the Philippines. There were fewer seats, and the drivers followed the rules about stops. You had to pay right away, and press a button if you wanted to get off at the next stop. It was quite a departure from the usual buses I encountered along EDSA, which always act as a source of frustration and annoyance for me.
Brunch was at a place called Dumpling Town, located in a small back alley, beside a camera shop. That was pang number one, reminding me of her right away. I shook it off and lit a cigarette, remembering that I can now smoke in front of my brother. The dumplings were really good, especially the shrimp one with peanut sauce and red vinegar. We ordered four dishes, a deep fried meat and chives one, the shrimp and peanut sauce one, a steamed carrot and shrimp puff and a steamed red bean one, very much like buchi without the sesame seeds. All of them were good, and even though they were just dumplings, they were also quite filling.
Walking around the square was a good way of working off the stuffed feeling. It also alerted me to a very serious thing about the people here: mababaho sila. Malamang nababahuan din sila samin, pero malala pa sa taong grasa ang amoy ng ilan sa kanila, kahit gaano pa kalinis yung itsura nila. Male or female, malala ang putok at anghit. Parang sinapak ang ilong mo at sinundot ang utak mo mula sa ilong.
We walked to St. Paul's Ruins, an old church that was apparently damaged during a war. Only the front of the church was intact. It was beautiful, and sad, like a deliberately left reminder of the pain they endured. I remembered thinking, is this the beautiful temptation that God is offering me now? Like the pinkish blue sky I saw more than five years ago now. Is there something I should be trying to appreciate out of the whole terrible mess I've been in lately?
I pushed the thought out once more and just enjoyed the sights, my brother taking pictures of me, trying to include as many pretty chicks in the background. We also saw the crypt and the bones of the old parish priests, kept in glass cases in niches in the walls. On the way out, we smiled as we were inadvertently included in the photos of other tourists. The place really is a ruin, with your pictures getting ruined as well by the number of extra people in it.
Next stop was the shopping square, where we checked out the goods on sale. Unfortunately, I was reminded once more of how the people smell, when we entered a packed shop that smelled like flatulence. I remember thinking that maybe it was a sales gimmick, particularly since that shop was a perfume store. Tourists would think they smelled bad, so they would buy something. It only worked to get us out of the shop as quickly as we could.
We walked and walked around, checking out the shops and the merchandise and taking pictures of the more remarkable structures. And also the number of pretty Chinese girls. Honestly, I've been afflicted with yellow fever ever since I started noticing girls, and my eyes were really full. My brother and I even followed a few of them around, and tried to include them in our photos. We had a few successes and a lot of frustrated moments, one of them pushing my brother to just take a picture of their retreating backs. At about five pm, we headed to a cafe in another alley, where we had egg tarts. The tarts were good, much better than the ones sold at lord stow's. The puff pastry was crisp, and the custard inside was warm and silky.
Next, we headed to the Grand Lisboa hotel and casino, where we walked around to take in more of the sights. The place had a lot of interconnecting walkways, one of them populated by a lot of very beautiful women who had nothing better to do but walk around. I remember thinking that it was getting hard for me to tell apart the hookers from the actual guests and tourists, when my brother told me that those women were indeed hookers. I was quite shocked at how many of them were just hanging around there. Some of them were just standing there, while the others were actually aggressive, stopping to talk to us in their native tongue. I was later informed that those women actually had rooms in that hotel, where they would take you to do their job.
From there, we headed to Fernando's, a Portuguese restaurant on another island, for a light dinner, since we were still full from the tarts and dumplings. I was probably unable to mention that here in Macau, they drive on the other side of the road. The cars were right-hand drive, and there were several roundabouts. The logic to the roundabouts was this: why put up a stoplight and construct an intersection, when you could just have a roundabout? It made sense to me.
We had the misfortune of taking a cab driven by an old man who smelled like he had never been introduced to a shower.
On the way to Fernando's, I got to see some beautiful scenery. The restaurant was located in an area of Macau pretty much like our Tagaytay. The area was colder, with a hill on one side, and a black sand beach. The beach was pretty much deserted, with no one swimming in it, just a few people walking along the shore. It was scenic and relaxing, a place you'd like to go have a picnic at. There were stalls selling souvenirs and barbecues. And there was Fernando's, the number one Portuguese restaurant in Macau. They had a policy not allowing take-outs and deliveries, saying that the food was only supposed to be served the way they would do it.
We had a salad and some shrimp, which was indeed good. The shrimp was served in a light garlic sauce, fried and crusted. The salad, was dressed in oil and was mostly lettuce, onions and very juicy tomatoes. Light dinner was right. After that, we headed back to the apartment to rest a bit before going for a drink.
We had drinks at the Hard Rock Hotel. I had my first taste of Macau Beer. It was sweeter than San Miguel beers, and had a bit of a kick at the end. We stayed there till about 1am, talking and watching people gamble, and also chatting up a waitress or two.
My brother asked me how I was finding Macau, if it was a place I'd consider living in. I told him I liked how quiet and orderly the place was, how the locals often just don't mind you and how you can keep your distance from the hustle and bustle of everyone else just by not breaking the language barrier. Then he told me about how different life is away from your own country, and how much of a sacrifice it is, just to secure a better life later on. That if I was indeed going to look for work here, I'd better be sure I can handle it. I told him I could. We also talked about Hong Kong, and that I should also take the time to see the life there. I was open to anything, I told him. It's just a matter of how well it would fit me. And how well I could do there.
A couple of drinks later, we called it a night. Surprisingly, the alcohol was having not that big of an effect on me already. Maybe it's just the place, the particular brand, or the whole fact that I've taken myself out of myself. I don't really know.
Tomorrow, there's still sight seeing and shopping in store for me in the afternoon. When the night sets in, we'll be heading to a party hosted by one of my brother's ofw friends. I'll get to see how they party. Maybe it'll provide me with some perspective. I don't know. I'm still taking stock of what living here will be for me.
Other things I've also noticed: you can smoke anywhere, and unless you're in a casino or hotel bar, they don't give you table napkins.
Another thing, last night, I had a strange dream.
It was the same situation I'm in, except in reverse. It was I who had sinned gravely, and everyone was angry at me. Nobody wanted to talk to me, nobody wanted to have anything to do with me. I only did what I wanted, and everyone got upset. The dream ended with no resolution, no clear ending of how things were going to be. Maybe it was foreboding, that there is no way to see the end of this but to see it through.
I've stopped trying to understand this whole mess, but it seems like my mind still wants to. An off switch is what I need. But there is no way it seems that I'm going to find that easily.
I just hope there better be more to this whole thing than just pain.