Review- Pink Dolphin Watching

One of the things I have been wanting to do in Hong Kong for a while but have been waiting to do with someone special was go pink dolphin watching. My mother's visit seemed like the perfect time to partake in this unique Hong Kong experience. The Hong Kong Dolphin Watch is a non-profit organization that gives people a unique view of this endangered animal and supports the pro dolphin legislation in Hong Kong.

Beautiful pinkies on our tour!

Review- The House of Dancing Water

I was very happy to see The House of Dancing Water on my last trip to Macau. It is infamous for being the most expensive show in Asian History with a budget of over 2 BILLION HK dollars to produce. Created by Franco Dragone; one of the founders of Cirque du Soleil; it is a true spectacle to see. If you want to see a show with a lot of sparkles, shebang and wow factor this is definitely a show for you! Kids seem truly captivated by it when the watch it and it has no foul language so I think it's appropriate for children as young as 5. (They won't understand the sex slave, S&M feel to one of the aerial ballets. They'll just think the girls are really mean and those poor boys are being beaten around!)

We paid to have the expensive seats in the house, one because the cheap seats were sold out and two because we didn't want to get wet. If you sit in the front 2 rows of the stage it is a splash zone much like seeing Shamoo at Seaworld. Bring an umbrella or a plastic sheet to wrap around you and your little ones, or just dress in clothes that dry easy.

The PROS

There is a lot of artistry in this production. I really like the east meets west feel of the design. It kind of flips between a traditional Chinese architecture and clothing and the Baroque Architecture from the 16th century. The overall feel of the piece is opposites: Ying/Yang, Love/Hate, East/West. It is very simple to understand and there is no talking in the piece. (There are sound effects made by clowns.) Anyone no matter the age or the language barrier can understand the story (what little there is).

The pool with the cover over it

SPOILERS BELOW DON'T READ AHEAD IF YOU DON'T WANT TO KNOW

Mommy in Macau- prt. 2

We will now diverge into our eating, relaxing and museum portion of the blog. My mom and I went to Macau for a ladies of luxury weekend over Easter where we stayed in a very nice room, ate lots of food and lounged in an amazing bathtub. Let's breakdown the Hotel more for you. I have already talked about the great price and the great staff but let's talk about the room and the food! After all that's the most important parts!

There is gold leaf on my lollipop and I am going to eat it! I feel so filthy rich!

Mommy in Macau- prt. 1

The highpoint of my mother's trip was taking her to Macau for a ladies of luxury weekend. I have been to Macau on a couple of occasions but it seems every time I go my friends are not too interested in sightseeing, more interested in partying. Or, I get a friend who is into sightseeing and we get stuck with the worst weather and get stuck indoors. Not that all my Macau experiences have been bad, (GAGA!!!) but Macau and mine's relationship was rather mixed until after this trip. I was given a discount rate at the Grand Hyatt Hotel because we were going to go see The House of Dancing Water at the City of Dreams. We knocked about 1,000 MOP off our room, got free breakfast at the brilliant Mezza9 resteraunt and  got to see the show for free. (A pretty good bargain, but it was still 2,000 MOP.)

I am not doing this in order of what we saw and when we saw it but in an order that makes sense geographically. I have provided a map of Macau for your convenience.

Macau has 3 sections: Macau (where most of the touristy things are), Taipa (where the casinos are) and Coloane which is the sea side area which is similar to Hk's New Territories. Here is a map for your convenience. You can take buses to all the touristy areas from the ferry port and then try to figure out the portuguese writing. Most of the casinos in Taipa have free buses from the ferry port to their location. Also at our hotel they had a free shuttle bus to other points like the airport, china border and the lotus bridge. You can also taxi to an area where there are many things to see, walk around a lot and then take a taxi to the next major destination that is not walkable. Taxis are cheaper in Macau then they are in HK and MAJORLY cheaper than any taxi you will find in the USA. It is really easy to walk in Macau but there are a lot of cobblestones so watch those ankles!!!

HOTEL

The hotel was pretty swanky and they treated us really well. Everyone was really nice and they had staff members that spoke almost every language in the books. The people behind us were from India and even though they spoke English they had someone come out and speak to them in their native language. (How cool is that?!)Unless you speak a really obscure language their staff has it covered they had staff from France, Germany, Holland, America, China, Hong Kong, Macau, Dubai and many other places.

Thirty Years Ago

My mother went to the Peninsula Hotel for High Tea with my father thirty years ago on her first trip to Hong Kong. She told me about it as a child and described the hotel to me as a child. So on her trip she had a list of things that she did thirty years ago that she wanted to do again.

High Tea at the Peninsula Hotel with Mommy (before the incident)

Planning a visit for someone Else!

I don't know about you. But I find that planning a visit for someone when they are coming to see you is much more stressful than doing your own visit. I am a very relaxed traveller. I go where I want when I want. I am one of those people who wanders and then makes sure she has a hostel booked because I don't want to end up homeless on the road. (My biggest fear is having no where to sleep. My first night in Paris was AWFUL because of this mishap. COLD!)