On the road …again!!

Afghanistan to Zambia

Chronicles of a Footloose Forester

By Dick Pellek

M was Macau

These fleeting decades after Macau had been absorbed by the People’s Republic of China, one wonders if the map makers made it easier or harder to find that former Portuguese enclave on a map of the world.  The newly designated Special Administrative District of China, spelled as either Macau or Macao also has its own flag, distinct from that of China in color and design.

Flag of Macau

Flag of China

In the days when the Footloose Forester was coming and going from Viet Nam, he made it a point to make a brief visit to Macau before its pending transfer, along with Hong Kong, from Great Britain to China.  Although Hong Kong was, at the time, a British colony and Macau was a Portuguese outpost, both small city states were scheduled to be handed over to China during the same year, 1999.

Footloose Forester was lucky enough to book passage on a hydrofoil out of Hong Kong harbor and spend a pleasant day walking the sunny streets of staid old Macau City.  He also did some shopping for gold jewelry, one of the presumed specialties of the region.  What he bought was not for him, and he never did hear a complaint from the person requesting the item, so he must have gotten value for his money.

Daytimes in Macau City may have been unhurried but the night life there had a different reputation. The Portuguese did their best to make the gambling casinos the big attraction, just as Hong Kong was billed as the best shopping mecca in Asia.  And it was.  Even the high rollers in Hong Kong took the hydrofoil across the bay to gamble. They may not have required a visa, but as an American the Footloose Forester had to shell out a few bucks.  As usual, however, it was the uncertainty of getting a visa on time and in concert with other travel plans that made travel something of a hassle. No problem this time around.   The hassle about visas would be in another place, for another reason.  It had something to do with his arrest record.  That also is a tale yet to be told. He has to sort out the context and the details before he attempts to release that skeleton from the closet. When he does, the word xenophobia will likely be part of the story.