Zhuhai

I can't believe it is October already! The last two weeks have been busy. The climb up the mountain in Coloane was great. It actually was more like a big hill than a mountain. And thankfully, no cobras or other snakes were spotted. When we got to the top of the mountain we went to A-Ma temple. It was a beautiful temple. There is a huge statue on next to the temple that overlooks the island. I noticed yesterday we can actually see the statue from the school (though it is quite small in the distance). I also found out that a lot of people in Macau think that Coloane is bad luck. I think it has something to do with it's history. It used to be a place for pirates many years ago. They would watch ships go by and loot them. It is pretty populated now, but no where near as many people live on that island as Taipa or the main part of Macau.

Last weekend I made another trip to Zhuhai. It is the city that is closest to Macau in mainland China. The first time I went there, I was just there for several hours. This time I spent the day there. I wanted to do something fun for my birthday, so I decided Zhuhai would have some funs things to do. Several of us went to the Lost City Waterpark. It was great! There were many different waterslides. I also got to ride a zip-line through the park. They also had a great canal that you could float around the park on a tube. All this set in a valley that is surrounded by hills covered in trees. It was hard to believe that this place existed so close to Macau. The only thing negative I could say about the place was one of the slides was kind of dangerous. I should have known...they make you wear a helmet to slide down it. Needless to say, the helmet did not help! I have a sore neck now because of it...but it was worth it because it was fun!!

On the way back we went to the cheap shopping mall. It is crazy how many different things you can buy there. None of it is high quality, but if you are looking for cheap knock-offs of anything, you will find them there. Anyway, while I was there my neck was bothering me, so I decided to go for a massage since they are really cheap as well. It was the worst experience of my life! I felt like I had been beaten! In between punches to my back, the guy kept talking to me in Mandarin. I told him I couldn't understand but he kept on talking. I think he was asking for more money. He would pull money out of his pocket and point to it. I played the dumb foreigner because I knew I would have to pay at the counter when I left. My friend Rachel also went and had a similar experience. So I guess the moral of the story is, don't go for cheap massages in China!

I have recently found out that there are about 8-10 amusement parks in the Zhuhai area, so I will be going back soon!

There are pictures posted on the Picasa website, so be sure to check them out!