Back in the ROK...and it's not too bad so far. I have had almost 2 hours to kill at the airport before my bus which is less than stellar, but free internet with the purchase of a $1 bottle of water is okay.

And I'm okay with eating Korean food again after the culinary wonderland of Hong Kong.

Christmas Eve I wound up in an Irish Bar attempting a Celtic-Fusion rendition of Mac the Knife, which won me a weird Rugby shirt that makes my arms look comically spindly.

I start with my weeks of teaching 30 hours soon, but I think I'll muddle through okay. I'm not teaching anything new, and after teaching 4 writing classes last semester, I just have one this semester and that's a lower level class so the correcting will be of single paragraph essays, not 5 paragraph essays...which is better, much better when you have a stack of them.

Tomorrow I have a heap of planning to do, but I do feel refreshed from this trip, even if I had an unexpected layover in Beijing last night due to a late plane from Hong Kong. They told us about 5 different things, ran us around the airport, but finally coughed up a nice room (though not the dinner they promised)...I had changed money, so I was able to have a couple Tsing Tau beers before bed, reminding me that Korea is the only Asian country that can't make a tasty beer.

Hrmmm...doesn't take long for the bitterness to creep back in.

But I have only a single page for VISA stamps left in my Passport...I must've been doing something the past 10 years.

I should head out and get something to eat before I go wait for my bus...and sweat all the way back home.

Merry Christmas everyone...it's not a bad life over here, but I miss you.

Met up with my friend Chris from HS and her friend yesterday.

Day revolved around getting back into the Dim Sum restaurant...4 hour wait this time, so we visited a temple, a nunnery, and strolled along some shopping streets. Loose plan for today, but it as of yet early...so plenty of time for plans.

This hotel smells fresh, has clean linen, and a view of the next door park.

Not only that, there is a thrift store next door (The is a Salvation Army Hotel)...so I picked up some cheap books.

I love thrifting.

Had a very enjoyable evening last night. Good, authentic cantonese dinner followed by a good, authentic Guinness...all seasoned with good conversation and great smiles.

Today I got a leisurely start, even though I had intentions of "making the most" of a day in Macau. And while I am still a firm believer in getting started before noon (and not trying to start coming up with endless new options, Ms. Hill), when 8 a.m. feels like too early to move, I say, "don't move."

Had Vietnamese twice today. This morning I stopped in at a restaurant near my hotel and had noodles and pork and mushroom ball soup. Simple but nice. In fact, I've been very pleased that my tastebuds haven't been permanently razed from the excessively spicy (and uncreative) food in Korea. Been enjoying subtle flavors oh so very much once again.

The ferry to Macau was nice, though I do lament that Asian ferries don't seem to give an outboard option the way that European ferries do. Given that it was the weekend, and the only legal place in China for people to gamble (the ferry actually had to announce that it was illegal to smoke AND gamble on board) the customs line was long and I didn't touch my feet to Macau pavement until after noon. I got a bus and found the old town square surprisingly easy, though it was packed as Disneyworld. In fact, because of the Portuguese architecture and cobble stone streets (walked upon by throngs of Asians) it really kinda felt like Disney world.

I had read about a great restaurant in my guide book that I wanted to try for lunch, but I kept seeing these people chewing on these porkchop sandwiches as I threaded my way towards the ruins of some church. And once I actually came within smelling distance of the shop, I knew there was no putting off lunch. A simple, well seasoned (and very fatty) pork slice on a light on the inside and crispy outside hardroll (really can't think of anyway to improve on them: they were plain but perfect) and I was extatic...and for 2 bucks! I CAN afford to eat at expensive restaurants (or at least sit down restaurants) when I travel now, but I'm a peasant at heart. Street food and crappy diners are still my favorite places to try when traveling. I also had one of Macau's famous egg custard cups...good, but nothing special...and tried their almond cookies, that were very reminiscent of my my mom's almond cresents.

After seeing the nifty church and fort, I grabbed another pork sandwich, and strolled very pleasantly south through a still very European section minus the gobs of mainland tourists.

The downtime was necessary though as I had plans to take down the biggest casino in the world...The Venice. Macau's version is three times the size of Las Vegas's version (though still smaller than Italy's version) and although I was kept at bay by policemen protecting the President of China's motorcaid (name escapes me currently) for a good half hour on the side of the street, I made it in and did some recon before making my plan.

Roulette has (almost) always been good to me. They had automated wheels ringed by computer screens where one could place their bets. I slipped HK$100 into the machine and started my interior strategy which focuses on 17 Black and the numbers in the center third. I clicked the $1 button and started poking away at numbers on the screen, noting that there was a $10 minimum bet...but alas, Red 5 was standing by, and took away...ALL $100 OF MY MONEY...seems that the $10 minimum was translated to $1 on the screen, so I had bet the whole wad in one go.

I recouped my nerves by playing some video poker for a bit, but no money (in fact, I lost another HK$50), so I cashed out, and headed for the door...but there was another roulette table...and this time I played a single chip on 17 Black and hit. I always replay a winning number, so I was down to a profit of HK$190 when I left the joint, and to rub salt in their wounds I took their free shuttle bus back to the ferry.

Yeah, that's how I roll.

Bought ear plugs for tonight...though there was nothing too interesting keeping me up last night as way of noise, but noise there was.

Been just exploring on boat and on foot. The boat ride was nice, though not exactly a sail (though they did have them raised), had a great breakfast of lox eggs benedict, walked around HK central scoping out possibilities for tonight and the near future, visited the free zoo (hit Lemur feeding time), and was recouping in a Starbucks and am now off to dinner with the lady who sat down next to me.

As a simple man, I require very little else.

I didn't plan for this trip.

I did buy a lonely planet, but it assured me that December was the low-season and that I'd be able to hagle for room prices.

It also did not quite make clear that the majority of the budget rooms at the Chungking Mansions were flop houses for the displaced minorities of Hong Kong.

So that's where I spent the night last night, and while I did not have any bed bug bites, it could be that they were scared off by the angry shouting matches that occured directly outside my 10X4 room. (I was amused that the small TV include had a remote control...like there was any place in the room I couldn't reach it.) Still for $120 Hong Kong dollars (about $15) in a MAJOR metropolis, you can't complain, right? Well, the weird draining noise I heard in the night, was actually water draining into my room from a mysterious pipe in the corner. The volume wasn't particulary worrying, but it's mysterious source was.

So I decided to make sure I tried to get into a good room today. All the recommended rooms, however, have been booked up long ago, so I'll be staying in a very active "love hotel" this evening and the next two. I had to pay extra to not have to move out each day.

However, I had the best damn meal I've had in quite some time for lunch. A dim sum restaurant that recently gained a Michelin star (Michelin only goes to 3, and doesn't dole out even a single star lightly). I took a number, came back in an hour, waited another half, but then gorged on 6 different types of dim sum from eggplant stuffed with pork, to vermicelli noodles stuffed with pigs liver. All at regular Dim Sum prices of about $1.50 per serving of 3 dumplings.

Today was largely a hunt for lodgings, made complicated by the fact that I was looking for a room for a German guy who wasn't satisfied with his "good" Mansion room, so I could take those over. He agreed to the whore house and payed, but then balked at the thought (or rather thought his arriving girlfriend would more so than the colorful denizens of the Mansions, so I've got that room, and am quite frankly happy to have it for $50 a night as everything else was looking to push $120 or more, and many with no rooms at all for Saturday and Sunday.

And it's near the Dim Sum place.

Nice guy though, and the day walking around was quite pleasant if not exactly a touristy day in Hong Kong.

I did, however, book a space on the only authentic, restored Junk (chinese sailboat) in Hong Kong for tomorrow morning. And if I get up in time, I just may make it out for the free Tai Chi classes too...but I'm not betting on it.

The light show starts in just one hour at the harbor...but I don't think I'm going to make it tonight...plenty more time...plenty more time.

Tomorrow is my final day of exams, though this year is complicated by numerous students missing due to being quarenteened with the swine flu.

I still have a dozen papers to correct from another class, but really there's only a few students who are really on the borderline, so the exam grading itself shouldn't be too bad.

I still have to get ready for Hong Kong...need cash and have to figure out what to pack, something I'm still awful at after all these years. Going to try to go really light, but as a big guy in cold weather...that's hard to do.

Today was actually a really nice day, I was wiped out yesterday and feeling just crappy in general, but rebounded nicely.