Epilogue

My Macau adventure was over two months ago.

A week after I returned home to Malaysia, I attended my convocation. Two weeks later, I started my first job.

I’m so far keeping in touch with three people: Ricky the Indonesian, Chennie and another girl from China.

I’ve not kept in touch with any of my Malaysian friends after this trip was over, and neither have they with me. (Told you it was pointless to have mended things.)

Would I go back? If the friends I made with then are going back, I would seriously consider it.

I feel like I’ve changed from this experience. I feel bitter and wary of people. I haven’t grown more independent back home, but now I think I have less fear if I were to travel by myself for a short period of time (say, travelling to Singapore by bus or something).

But I’ve also known people from other countries, people who can be a lot like me in many ways. I accomplished what I came here for, even though I had to do it alone. I didn’t lose weight, but my body was a bit more toned from all the walking. I was actually practising a healthier lifestyle there. I have a better appreciation of my family now, though I don’t think I quite demonstrate that yet on the outside…

In short, I did change. Some for the worse, some for the better

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I’d like to thank you for reading about my first personal journey. Especially you, you and you, for reading and letting me know that you did. I appreciate that a lot.

I supposed this is the end of this blog…

Places I’ve Visited In Macau

1. Senado Square
2. St Paul’s Ruins
3. The Wine & Grand Prix Museums (they’re next to each other in the same building)
4. The Venetian Macao
5. Art Museum
6. Macau Fisherman’s Wharf
7. Taipa Village
8. New Yaohan (touted as the only department store in Macau…)
9. Red Market
10. Maritime Museum
11. St Dominic’s Church (at Senado Square)
12. Lou Kou Mansion (at Senado Square)
13. Cultural Club
14. Leal Senado
15. Macau Tower! (best tourist spot, in my opinion, besides Senado Square)
16. Museum of Macau
17. Fortress Garden (above the Museum of Macau)

Places I Wish I Visited
1. Hac-Sa Beach
2. Coloane
3. Guia Hill (there’s cable car there connecting from some nearby garden)
4. The night market near Red Market
5. A-Ma Temple

It may seem I’ve visited a lot of spots, but remember I was there for a month. And also, Macau is a small place so really, a lot of these tourist spots are near by each other. You can easily visit half the spots I’ve listed in 3 days!

Travelling Lessons Learnt

1. One towel is not enough for a 1-month trip.

2. Bags, plastic or recyclable, big or small, are a great way to keep things orgnised.

3. No matter your intention or expectations of reading a book for dull moments in a trip, chances are you will not need it and to lug one around can be tiring. (I found this to be untrue later on in my my trip, but no matter.) Journaling is a better way to spend boring moments. Or buy a book when you’re there instead. (Books are expensive in Macau, though.)

4. Pack more t-shirts! Or get a bedrobe.

5. Never travel with people whom you won’t trust your life with.

6. One can find great gifts or souvenirs at the grocery shop.

Macau Shopping

I love to shop in Macau. It’s cheaper than shopping in Malaysia. Here are some things I observed about shopping in Macau, from a Malaysian perspective:

1. The sales assistants are very friendly, especially the ones in branded outlets.

2. There are no proper malls there that I know of, except for the Grand Canal Shoppes in The Venetian Macao. Their shops are usually stand-alones.

3. To shop for branded products, go to the Grand Canal Shoppes and Senado Square.

4. To shop for non-branded products, go to Senado Square and the shoplots nearby the Red Market (Mercado Vermelho or Hong Kai Si in Cantonese).

5. Macau Fisherman’s Wharf is disappointing if you’re looking to shop there, because there are empty shoplots, more than half of all the shoplots. You might enjoy taking pictures of the faux volcano and Ming Dynasty buildings, though.

6. When shopping at stalls (like the ones found around Senado Square), you should haggle a bit. But don’t haggle without intention to actually buy the item. If you’re not sure you want it, walk away and think about it first.

7. Grocery shopping in Macau is fun too. There are lots of products not available in Malaysia. They can even make great souvenirs!

8. Hong Kong dollar is accepted in Macau although the Macanese currency is pataca. The exchange rate in retail is HKD$1 = MOP$1, but the actually foreign exchange rate is HKD$1 = MOP$1.03. So if you plan to do a whole lot of shopping in Macau (and you should, shopping is considerably cheaper, unless you’re from places like Thailand or Indonesia) you should change for the local currency. It might look like a small difference, but if you changed HKD$1000 = MOP$1047 (approximately). That extra $47 can buy you a meal.

9. The Macau main post office is at Senado Square, so it’s easy to send some postcards or buy some collector’s item’s stamps.

10. Shopping in Macau are usually outdoors (except in the Venetian Macao) so best to come with umbrellas and handkerchiefs to wipe your sweat if it’s summertime!

Day 12

10 July 2008
0540
Hostel room

I’m wondering what are my faults in this situation. Though I believe I have valid reasons to feel the way I do now, I think, or I like to think, that I can see how I contributed whether on my own doing or their own assumption to this:

1. I am considered unreasonable an petty for things they think are small issues (so they say to SL).
2. I am assumed to have read the e-mail EM sent to Von (a conflict between these two people that is awkward on my part because Von is my good good good friend, as you’ll see as my story unfolds), which explains my behaviour to them and also maybe a good reason for them to isolate me.
3. They do not seem to think I should say I’m tired or hungry when they’re not, because if I’m following them then I have to do as they do.

Or am I honestly being so difficult that I just don’t see it? SL would’ve told me, surely? I may not know her that well before this trip, but I have always known her to be direct and honest in times where I wouldn’t have been. And so what if I know them longer than SL? They have proven me so wrong; friends of 3 years can easily dissolve into frenemies in 2 weeks. And I don’t think SL is planting stories in my head deliberately. Besides, she does not have any motive to do me so; we have not known each other well enough to offend each other.

This whole thing transpired without ever uttering a single word of it between us. It was all entirely relayed by SL, because we never confronted each other. They would rather choose to keep quiet and talk among themselves about what they think I’m wrong about than to talk face-to-face with me. Looking at the status quo, I have no right to voice out my disagreements since not even doing it has seen me being isolated already.

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