Late Night at Saint Augustine's Square in Macau

More Macanese Casino Architecture: A Mocha at Night

Some recent posts include photos of architecturally intriguing buildings, such as the Morpheus Hotel, that if I were seeing them for the first time in Macau I would guess they must be part of a casino resort. There was a building in Macau Peninsula I recently passed at night, though, with a design that caught my eye yet I didn't even consider it might be a casino.

Honestly, if people hadn't entered the building while I was near the front door I might have not paid attention to the Chinese name over the door "摩卡娛樂" and left assuming it only had a cafe inside based on its English name "Mocha". But after getting a peek of the interior, I realized there was a bit more going on than I had thought. The Mocha Inner Harbour, one of several Mocha locations Macau, does offer coffee that "can refresh the senses and relax the mind", but presumably the casino makes much more money from people gambling.

Nifty building either way.

A Girls Power Mural Outloud in Macau

Recently I shared some art on display in Taipa, Macau. For a contrast, here is a mural I stumbled across at night on the street Travessa da Assunção just off of Rua do Almirante Sérgio in one of the historic areas of Macau Peninsula that feel like another world from the casinos not far away:

The artist Rainbo was born in Hunan and now lives in Hong Kong. You can find out more about her and her work here.

A View of Academics and Casino Architecture from the Grand Taipa Hiking Trail in Macau

The view from next to the Baía de Nossa Senhora da Esperança Wetland Ecological Viewing Zone in Avenida da Praia, Taipa, isn't the only one which includes the uniquely designed new Morpheus Hotel. In fact, the more elevated Grand Taipa Hiking Trail offers a perspective from which the hotel's external voids can be better appreciated.

In addition to the Morpheus hotel, the above photo also captures other casino-related buildings, but the nearest structures, including the sports field, are part of the Macau University of Science and Technology (M.U.S.T.). I visited the University Hospital (the greenish building on the far left) there multiple times four years ago thanks to gashing my shin down to the bone in neighboring Zhuhai — a story I may tell in greater detail another day.

In any case, for a better look at the hotel's architecture, here's a cropped version of the above photo:

I ended up spending far more time on the Grand Taipa Hiking that I had planned (actually, I hadn't even planned to go there in the first place) so here's the same view at night:

And once again, here is a cropped image for a better look at the Morpheus Hotel:

Honestly, I thought the hotel would be lighted in a way to better feature the external voids and the bridges which connect the towers. Perhaps it works better from ground level close up.

Finally, another cropped version of the nighttime photo:

I share this one because not only can you see the fountain at Wynn Palace's Performance Lake but you can also see one of the Wynn Palace's cable cars passing in front of it. I didn't realize I had captured such an exciting moment until taking a closer look at the photo.

A Changing Gambling View at a Wetland in Macau

More than seven years ago in a post about Macau's gambling world I shared a photo of several of Macau's casinos as seen from the other side of the Baía de Nossa Senhora da Esperança Wetland Ecological Viewing Zone. Here is another photo I took at the same time from a slightly different vantage point:

2012

I chose the above photo because it captures almost exactly the same perspective as a photo I took last week while walking in Avenida da Praia, Taipa, where I also saw some colorful artwork on display.

2019

The photos were taken at different times of the day under different lighting conditions and with different cameras and lenses. The more recent photo includes more greenery and Macanese clouds as well. But perhaps the most remarkable difference is the additional buildings in the second photo. Most notably, the architecturally intriguing Morpheus Hotel on the far left now blocks the view of another building of the City of Dreams resort and casino.

There are many other similar significant additions to this part of Macau, including the boxy MGM Cotai, the Wynn Palace with its gondola lift, and The Parisian Macau. If you know what to look for, you can find slivers of each of those three casinos resorts as well in the second photo. I'm not sure what this view will look like in another seven years, but the casino resort construction in this region of Macau certainly continues — just not in the wetland.

Colors of Macau and Hong Kong by Artist Francesco Lietti

I will be continuing the theme of recents posts about Yulin, but I suspect some readers would appreciate a break from all of the dogs and such. I know I could use a change of pace. So for the next two posts or so I will share a bit from Macau, a city I have visited many times and where I spent a couple of days recently. To say the least, Macau and Yulin are quite different.

So for today, here are two of the mixed media paintings by the Italian artist Francesco Lietti on display at the Taipa Houses Exhibitions Gallery as part of the Art Macau International Art Exhibition. The first painting below captures a side of Macau and the second Hong Kong. Lietti has lived in Hong Kong since 2006 and many of his pieces feature the city. More about Lietti and his art can be found online at his website.

Macau International - 2019

A Palette of Flavours - 2019

The Camphorwood Dog Meat Rice Noodles Food Cart in Yulin

After checking into my hotel the first night I arrived in Yulin, Guangxi, and before finding a special location, one of the first things I came across when I set out to explore the city were several outdoor food carts. Appropriate for the city, a couple of them served dog meat.

Like the restaurant I later saw in Yulin that had Budweiser advertising, the food cart in the above photo featured camphorwood dog meat, though in this case with rice noodles (樟木狗肉米粉). And though the food cart is smaller than that restaurant and much smaller than Yulin's First Crispy Skin Meat Restaurant, it is yet another sign of the everyday nature of eating dog meat in Yulin.

A Brief Look at Yulin's First Crispy Skin (Dog) Meat Restaurant

Yulin's First Crispy Skin Meat Restaurant on both sides of Xinmin Road

While walking around Yulin on a Wednesday in May I stumbled upon a restaurant which has locations on both sides of Xinmen Road (新民路) at the intersection with Jiangbin Road (江滨路). The signs indicated the name of the restaurant was Yulin's First Crispy Skin Meat Restaurant (玉林第一家脆皮肉馆).

In many parts of China the Chinese character for "meat" (肉) without any specific indication of the animal would suggest the restaurant features pork. But Yulin isn't one of those parts, and it is common, though not universal (for example, a dog meat restaurant with Budweiser advertising), for restaurants that feature dog meat (狗肉) to not explicitly indicate the animal involved in their name. Soon I had little doubt that this was a dog meat restaurant, though, since there were several locations where they were carving dog meat outside.

The restaurant's website is more explicit and uses the name Yulin's First Crispy Dog Meat Restaurant (玉林第一家脆皮狗肉馆).

And the website also provides info about their dog meat.

It was probably too early for big crowds at the time, but the plentiful outdoor seating in addition to the seating inside the restaurants indicated they were prepared for them.

I later learned that the intersection where I found this restaurant is not so surprisingly a popular location for people to celebrate the Yulin Lychee and Dog Meat Festival in June.

So some simple points that are relevant in general and will provide some context for a story I will tell about my experiences at that festival:

• The restaurant is one of many signs that dog meat is plainly available year round in Yulin.

• Of course, the restaurant having two locations at the same intersection and the ample seating suggests it is (or at least was) doing quite a bit of business. And it is far from the only dog meat restaurant in Yulin.

• The hanging dog meat at outdoor carving tables shows the degree of openness about eating dog meat.

• At no point was I asked not to take photos. I never even had a sense there was concern. In fact, the photo above captures a moment during which one woman who works at the restaurant was laughing about my interest. She soon jovially invited me to order some dog meat. I declined, politely saying I was already full. Later, based on my actions she apparently recognized I was wondering whether the locations on both sides of the street were truly the same restaurant. It's not something I see everyday and imitators aren't exactly uncommon in China. She helpfully approached and said they were indeed the same restaurant.

I wasn't surprised to find a big dog meat restaurant in Yulin. And I wasn't at all surprised to see dog meat hanging outside. These are both things I've seen plenty of times elsewhere in China. But what happened during my next visit to this location and what followed did surprise me.

I definitely didn't take as many photographs. More about that later.

The Yunlong Bridge on a Sunny Day in Yulin

I had planned to post more context by now for a story I will tell, but I have been derailed. To get back on the rails, here is a photo of Yunlong Bridge (云龙桥) on the hot and sunny afternoon I observed Yulin's Lychee and Dog Meat festival not far away.

More later of course . . .

A Day When Police Didn't Stop Me From Taking Photos at Nanqiao Market in Yulin, China

Nanqiao Market (南桥市场) in Yulin, Guangxi

In numerous cities in China and elsewhere in the world, I often visit wet markets. Each one has its own character, and they offer a glimpse into local culture. They can also be a great place to pick up some cheap and tasty prepared food. Last month in Yulin I stumbled upon the Nanqiao Market (南桥市场) on Jiangbin Road (江滨路). I took relatively few photos, since the market was rather quiet and many stalls weren't in use at the time.

I hadn't planned to mention this market around now, but my first experiences there provide some useful context for a story I have to tell. So I will add that while I was there on the first Monday of May, no police officers stopped me from taking photographs and no strangers clearly prepared to block access to certain areas accompanied me uninvited. Instead, my time there was relatively uneventful, except for meeting two friendly boys excited to meet a foreigner. In addition to the one above, below are some more photos I took there that day, like I have taken without problem at many other wet markets in China.

Wet market on a wet day

"Pork row"

Some dry goods for sale at the wet market

Many stalls didn't have any activity

One boy does his homework. One boy provides entertainment.

I of course freely roamed about.

Some color

Almost Injured by a Motor Scooter While Being Closely Watched in Yulin

I took the above photo of the crosswalk in Yulin because something unexpected happened to me there. As I attempted to cross it a woman riding a motor scooter passed so closely in front of me that our bodies touched. I didn't see her coming because she was driving the wrong direction on a portion of road used for making right turns at an intersection. She presumably saw me, though, unless she had taken things to another level by driving the wrong direction on a road and not looking forward. After I took two photos of the crosswalk following the incident, a man riding a motorcycle in the above photo kindly provided me an opportunity to capture a moment of somebody doing something similar to what the woman had done. Fortunately, he didn't feel inspired to include the almost-injure-somebody part.

Incredibly, something even more unexpected was happening to me during the close encounter, yet I didn't know it at the time. I was being followed by at least one person wearing plain clothes. Noticing something curious later caused me to become suspicious. Actions I then took confirmed my concern. And later experiences confirmed my belief this was not just some random person who was innocently curious about the rare foreigner they happened to notice.

Instead, the reason the person was following me was clearly tied to my observations that afternoon of the first day of the Lychee and Dog Meat Festival in Yulin. I had had interactions, also unexpected, with relevant authorities and what I suspect were relevant unofficial authorities. More followed that day.

So, this touches on why I didn't post anything here on the first day of the festival. It also touches on why there was no post yesterday when I spent eight hours on the first relevant bus. Needless to say, I'm not in Yulin anymore.

Also, needless to say, I have a story to tell.

Now, I wonder what my follower(s) thought when I was nearly hit. I'm not even sure if a more unfortunate event had occurred whether it would've simplified or complicated matters for them.

More later.

This Dog's For You: Budweiser Advertising at a Dog Meat Restaurant in Yulin

Tomorrow is a special day in Yulin, Guangxi — the first and biggest day of the Yulin Lychee and Dog Meat Festival. And for the first time, I will be observing the festival person. I hope to better provide some important context that I feel much past reporting in Western media about the festival lacked. So there will certainly be multiple posts here in the future about dogs in Yulin, the festival, and the more general culture of eating dog meat in China.

To get the ball rolling, in the spirit of highlighting the everyday side of eating dog meat in China I will first share a photo of one of the easy-to-find restaurants which feature or serve dog meat in Yulin year round like many (many) other restaurants I have seen across China — no festival required. So here is the Camphorwood Dog Meat Restaurant (樟木狗肉管) on Dabei Road:

Restaurant signs with advertising for alcohol — typically baijiu or beer — are a common sight in (at least some parts of) China, and the Camphorwood Dog Meat Restaurant didn't pass up on this practice which at the very least helps save money on signs.

So if you want to wash down your dog meat with a cold (or outdoor / room temperature) American Budweiser beer, Camphorwood might be the perfect place.

The signs with Budweiser advertising would really be something if they included Budweiser's retired dog mascot Spuds MacKenzie.

Regardless, the Budweiser slogan on the sign says, "Be Your True Self". So fear not if you don't want dog meat. According to the sign you can get assorted cow or pig innards & meat there too — also with a Bud.