Taipei

Eva and I made a weekend trip to Taiwan at the end of October to get out and see other places.  Taipei is a very short flight from Hong Kong and is everything the latter isn't: calm, relaxing, and full of good food.  We happened to arrive in Taipei during Asia's largest gay pride celebration which was particularly special since Taiwan had just announced the move towards legalizing Same-Sex Marriage.

What do the green beans symbolize?

Eva playacting tragedy.

A fresh bubble tea.

The guaranteed way to lose all the skin on the roof of your mouth. Soup filled dumplings.

Mid-Autumn Festival 中秋節

On the day of the full moon during the 8th month, the Chinese celebrate the Mid-Autumn Festival.  It is a day that is characterized by eating mooncakes, fruit, and BBQ.  Families get together to hangout outside and tell the stories of the day.  We went to Tin Hua on Hong Kong island to see the dance of the Fire Dragon.  Dating back to 1888 when the old fishing village was plagued with a series of catastrophes, they created a dragon covered in incense to chase away the bad ghosts.  The dance lasted 3 days and takes place during the mid-Autumn festival.  

Macau

When you go to Macau from Hong Kong, you barely notice you've crossed through immigration.  The two former colonies have taken very different paths since rejoining the mainland in the late 90's.  Macau has largely been integrated into China and adopted many of it's social policies, while Hong Kong has been much more resistant.  Macau has also taken advantage of it's unique position to transform from a colonial backwater to the adult playground of Asia.  As a traveler, Macau gives two things Hong Kong doesn't: historical quarters from before the 18th century and casinos.  Also the best grilled pork sandwich I've ever had.

What's left of poor Saint Paul's cathedral.

A little corner of Macau for relaxing away from the tourists.

The House of Dancing Water didn't have much in the way of plot, but certainly gave more than one's fill of spectacle.

A quick selfie outside the place we walked away with a free sushi dinner from!

End of the Hong Kong Summer

Teriyaki Eel Bento Box.

Turtles are good luck.

Cliff jumping in Sai Kung.

Fantasy drafting in the library.

The hungry ghost festival left overs from the street.

Some nice flowers for Eva's birthday.

The Lantau Vertical race.  A trail race to the top of Hong Kong's top peak in absolutely sweltering heat.  The Lantau Buddha can be seen in the background.

We made it!