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Here is my personal “Conrad update” post that I’ll keep stickied on the top of my blog until our Cirque show opens. Click the “Read the rest of this entry” link to read current status, or the rest of the blog for tidbits on our new Cirque Du Soleil adventure in Macau, China. Sorry, no details posted about the show until after Grand Opening.

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(World Map above - click for full size)

Currently living in Macau near Hong Kong and wanting to book a vacation somewhere around here (Southern China or Islands). But I have no idea where to begin. EVERYWHERE here is exotic to me. All the countries around are places I’ve heard about but don’t really know much about.

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Hong Kong Observatory Website:

http://www.hko.gov.hk/wxinfo/currwx/current.htm

Up to date information on are typhoon warnings, hurricanes and daily weather for Hong Kong, Macau (SAR) and Southern China regions.

Some photos of the Sands Venetian in Macau (Macao) China where I am working with Cirque Du Soleil. I think this is currently the second largest building in the world and it’s truly massive. You can easily get lost roaming the shops on the upper floors.

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Pictures of my new apartment in Taipa, China (SAR). This is the view from my living room windows. Just over the river there you can see mainland China.

Taipa is the island next to Macau. My island of Taipa has a large expat community (lots of Westerners) so it’s very comfortable and not much of a culture shock. I have two large grocery stores within a 30 second walk and plenty of great restaurants - Italian, Mexican, Portuguese, Thai, American, Indian, Chinese and French.

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How do you eat with chopsticks? I’ve been shown so many times and I just don’t get it. I’m tired of Chinese people laughing at me and bringing out the silverware.

The guy in this picture is making fun of my chopstick skills. He’s a chopstick pro. But he’s a drummer; he’s used to holding sticks.

I bought 10 pairs of chopstix today. I’m ready for action. Please help me…

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(Here should be some really cool pictures of everyone at the Montreal Airport yelling “Macau! Macau”. But I was too tired to take them.) Welcome to my most mundane blog post EV-er…

On March 23, 2008 the Cirque Du Soleil artists for “Macau I Cosmos” flew from Montreal, Canada to Hong Kong for relocation. Here’s an uneventful post about our initial relocation. The photos are with my old camera from the 1800’s, they are horrible, and none of them are the least bit interesting.

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Check the upload and download speed of your internet connection at SpeedTest.net

Even from China I was able to locate a close server in Hong Kong for tests. In China we’re all having very different experiences between our actual connection speeds and the speed advertised by our common provider. I’m at 9386 kb/s download and 465 kb/s upload.

(Chinese TV report of Typhoon Level 8 “Neoguri” that hit Macau on April 20, 2008.

My first level 8 typhoon warning. Yipee! Reminds me of the hurricanes when I lived in Miami (hurricane parties are the best).

Friday, April 18 2008 - The Macau Meteorological and Geophysical Bureau (SMG) yesterday issued a tropical cyclone warning for typhoon ‘Neoguri’, the earliest period at which such warnings have ever been issued.

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Video of the bungy jump at the Macau Tower in Macau (Macao SAR), China.
The Tower is 1,109 ft  (338m) high at its highest point.

The Macau Tower bungy jump is 764 feet (233m).

To give my friends in Seattle an idea of how high this is - The Space Needle is 605 feet (184 m) high.

I’ve watched dozens of these jump videos on YouTube. Mainly because I’m not brave enough to do it myself - but I wish I was! My stomach turns just watching the videos.

SpongeBob Squarepants in China.

Received this question on a forum:

The Dali Lama has been speaking in Seattle for the past week about compassion, while attempting to avoid politics, but the Tibetan situation has pervaded the events despite any efforts.

How is the Tibetan situation regarded over there? –I assume that most of the Chinese don’t advocate their political liberation, but what have you witnessed regarding Tibet’s cultural freedom –if anything at all?

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Since I moved to Macau, China my MySpace page is now in Portuguese language. I might have clicked a wrong button or something - but I think it just came up that way and I didn’t see anyway to get it back to English.

Does someone know how to fix this, get it back to English?

1.Your 10 year Passport is full inside 2 years.
2.Most conversations with your friends involve mobile phones.
3.None of the sea-front buildings existed when you arrived. The shoreline itself shifted by half a mile.
4.Your best friends come from Australia, New Zealand, Canada, America, Angola, and Portugal.
5.You can’t put a proper sentence together in your native language.

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For wireless hotspots and internet access in Macau visit:

http://www.olamacauguide.com/wireless-macau-internet.html

Some tidbits on Chinese customs that differ from Western culture. I’m making notes as I go along to try to remember. Here are a few:

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How do you barter at a Chinese market in China? I have heard that in the North (Beijing) you will pay 50% of the initial asking price. I have also heard that in the South (Hong Kong - Macau) you can begin by offering 10% of the initial price, with an ending price of 10-30% of the original asking price.

I have also heard that much patience is needed in bartering. It’s a necessary step in making purchases, and one that cannot be hurried through. It’s expected to be slow and take time.

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The Terracotta Army or Terracotta Warriors and Horses is a collection of 8,099 Chinese terra cotta figures of warriors, horses, acrobats and other figures located near the Mausoleum of the First Qin Emperor.. The figures vary in height, according to their role, the tallest being the Generals. The heights range is 184–197cm (6ft–6ft 5in). The figures were discovered in 1974 near Xi’an, Shaanxi province, China by several local farmers.

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Join the University of Macau MBA Team Building Exercise. Here they are climbing the top of Macau Tower. Join the University of Macau students and teachers climb to the highest mast of Macau and enjoy the views of Macau, Zhuhai China and Hong Kong. 

The Cotai Strip is a man-made strip of land near Macau, China between the islands of Taipa and Coloane. The third island in this chain is Macau proper. The entire area is referred to as “Macau”, and the gambling-specific area currently under development is “The Cotai Strip”.

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