We started today with a great breakfast at the Hotel Okura, where we met our friend Bob. Our plan for the day was in Bob’s hands. He started with a quick tour of his nearby apartment, and we were excited to get a sense of what it’s like to live in Macau. From Bob’s place we walked a short distance to a nearby botanical garden, the Jardim Ecológico de Plantas Medicinais e Aromáticas, where we enjoyed walking along steep natural paths.

As we climbed the path grew less manicured, until eventually we were walking on a dirt path through the woods. Julie and I were both shocked that we could so quickly be in a natural setting so close to Macau and Hong Kong.

The path soon reached a short road that led to a huge statue of A-Ma, the Taoist goddess of sailors and fishermen. She has been worshipped in this area for centuries, long before the Portuguese arrived. In fact, the name Macau is derived from her name.

A-Ma has become a bit of a symbol of Macau, as it looks towards returning completely to Chinese sovereignty after more than 400 years of Portuguese control. Indeed, this statue was only constructed in 1998, shortly before Macau began its transition back to full Chinese control. During a 50-year period that will end in 2049, Macau is somewhat autonomous, after which China will start calling all of the shots. I think the hope is that, just as A-Ma has guided sailors through stormy seas, she will watch over Macau as it navigates what could be a turbulent time.

Appropriately, it was very windy up by the statue, and Julie did her best to keep her hair out of her face, hence the dramatic pose. We both thought that the huge statute was giving Avatar Kyoshi vibes.

From the statue, we walked to the nearby A-Ma Cultural Village, a contemporary Buddhist temple that was completed in 2003. We reached the temple by passing through a large stone arch.

Impressive though it may be, Bob described it as the “back gate” to the temple. From here, we walked to the main temple grounds along a walkway lined with detailed sculptures.

We soon reached the “front gate” to the temple, which was in fact much fancier.

We passed through the gate into a courtyard, where there was a large stone water feature. Bob, our full-service tour guide, gave us some coins to try to throw into the bowl on the back of a lion turtle for good luck.

Julie took a “buck shot” approach of throwing all of her coins at once. They all missed. I aimed one-by-one with no better results. But given that we were in Macau at an amazing temple, we felt pretty lucky anyway.

I’m afraid that our many missed attempts may also have frightened a golden koi you can just see underneath the statue. We strolled around the courtyard admiring the intricate detailed.

Note that you can just make out a tattoo of a dragon on Bob’s leg. More on that in a bit. Also in the picture you can see that Julie’s looking down at some of the temple residents.

From here, we walked to the steps of the main temple building, where there are intricately carved stone columns. One of the columns has a dragon curling around it.

Hey! This is the dragon from Bob’s tattoo! Near the doors to the temple there were also some impressively carved stone urns.

The interior of the temple reminded us of the Man Mo Temple we’d seen in Hong Kong the day before, though this was clearly more upscale. For instance, I think this is the biggest vase I’ve ever seen. Thank goodness my kids weren’t younger and there to knock it over.

After spending a few minutes inside the temple, we left through the main gate, walking down an impressive series of stairs.

From here, Bob took us along other natural trails, winding down to the water, where we reached a village filled with small streets and colonial architecture.

Nevertheless, the village was also distinctly Chinese. For instance, we walked by a bonsai seller with impressive specimens.

I contemplated somehow trying to bring one of these home, but quickly realized that it would be impossible for numerous reasons. Bob, on the other hand, already has a couple of bonsai’s from this guy. I suppose this is just one of the perks of living in Macau.

From here, we headed back to our hotel to grab our bags. We’d had a great time in Macau, but we needed to get back to Hong Kong. After another ferry ride, we were back in Hong Kong. We had dinner plans with a law-school buddy of mine (Bert), who I haven’t seen in more than 20 years. We had a little time to spare, so we swung by an outdoor market to poke around a bit. By the time we hopped on the subway to head to dinner, it was rush hour and the trains were packed!

Dinner was wonderful! Bert and his wife Priscilla were wonderful hosts, ordering all kinds of special dishes for us to try. Great food, great wine, and great company.

We only had three nights in post-colonial China, but we packed in the good times, including reconnecting with two old friends. We are having an amazing time in Asia!

-Will