The learning journey 学习之旅 (4)

The last day in Hong Kong. Few of us decided must have Dim Sum. So we skip breakfast at the hotel and have Dim Sum at a nearby restaurant.

The Dim Sum tasted alright but most important was the feeling of the atmosphere of Hong Kongites morning habit of yam cha (drinking tea with Dim Sum).










After our Dim Sum breakfast, we packed our luggage to leave for Macau. Before proceeding to the harbour, we stopped at the Diocesan book shop at the Catholic Center. It looked impressive. However, besides the religious books, statues reminding us this was a Catholic-run bookshop, the sales personnel and shop staff did not make us feel the same.

We left Hong Kong by 4:00 pm ferry and arrived at our Macau hotel one hour later. It was situated away from the city center at a residential area. This gave us an opportunity to have a feel of the lives of Macau's local community.

The first stop of our visit was the Diocesan Youth Pastoral Center. We have a meeting with the youths and toured the impressive center catering solely for young people. It was equipped with library, meeting rooms, kitchenette and activities facilities.

The meeting ended at about 10:00 pm. We decided to go for a night "pilgrimage" to St. Mark's Square. It was situated inside a grand complex with hotels, canals, shops, cafes, and the heart of the complex is, do not be so naive, the Casino.

Yes, it is the newest Casino complex in Macau, The Venetian. It consists of many wings with many squares and canals. It uses the names of saints to name after the squares. St. Mark is one of them. The artificial blue sky covering the squares and canals, gives you the illusion of bright day light.


Pictured at St. Mark's.
圣玛谷广场

The artificial blue sky makes it a city never sleep.
人造蓝天变成了一个不睡城

这是在香港的最后一天，我们几个团员决定不在酒店用早餐，而出外到一家酒楼吃点心。那里的点心还算不错，但最重要的还是我们体验到道地香港人吃点心的习惯和气氛。(看最上二图）

早餐过后，我们收拾行李，要到澳门去了。在到码头前，我们到香港公教进行社书局参观。这是教区所开设的一间相当有规模的中心。除了里面的教会书籍，圣像，圣物品等有天主教或教会的感觉之外，我们没有在这里的销售及工作人员身上看到或体会到这种感觉。

我们乘搭下午四点的渡轮离开香港，约一个小时之后，到达了澳门的宾馆。这宾馆远离市区，坐落在一个住宅区里，所以我们有机会体验到道地的澳门生活色彩。

我们活动的第一站是晚上拜访澳门教区青年牧民中心。我们和当地的青年会面，并听了他们的活动及组织的报告，也参观了这座中心。这里有图书馆、会议室、活动设施及厨房的设备。

活动在晚上十点结束，我们决定到圣玛谷广场“朝圣”。这广场坐落在一个宏伟的中心内，里面还有好多运河、商店、餐馆、酒店、咖啡座等，呵呵，不要受骗，这个中心的心脏，就是一个赌场！

是的，这就是澳门最新的赌场，威尼斯赌场了。它是一个非常大的建筑物，分成好多部分，也有很多广场，都是用圣人的名字命名的。圣玛谷是其中的一个广场。它的人造蔚蓝天空，给你错觉，这是一个靓丽的白天。

The Venetian, Macau.
For sightseeing only. Gambling will doom you.

澳门威尼斯赌场。
参观景点。赌博将是自取灭亡。