the kids are alright

although they all seem to have inflatable devil forks and wear very odd (but matching) clothes; strangely the the strength in numbers doesn't make them look any more normal. They do have very serious looks on their faces, so guess it's not as funny as it looks... It does answer the question many of us have asked while shopping here: who the fuck would wear that?, obviously the answer is the yoof, in matching sets of three or four. I tracked the devil forks to a youth fundraising bazaar for caritas, lots of yoof running bingo stalls, selling biros that don't work (macau uni student union), and parents running unidentifiable chinese thing on a stick (salty pig/fish/chicken/other) stalls. It was slightly sinister when i got there; it was twilight and quite windy, the bazaar was winding down and the bunting and stall banners were whipping in the wind, oddly dressed teenagers were running around and distorted announcements kept coming over the PA.

I got so lost today that i bought a compass, it made life easier and life became easier still when i got another one and realised that the arrow on my chinese one points south...I saw the lou lim loc garden; v. pretty, pond full of fish and terrapins, so full in fact that it looked like a carp farm, big trees, winding paths, a victorian pavillion on the edge of the pond, hefty fines for spitting at the fish (i think. the signs are in chinese and portuguese).

i wandered down tiny back lanes with shops selling chinese antiques; "you like? we can make in different colour for you." not antiques quite yet, but they were genuinely chinese, and some were quite nice, about the same price as the same thing from ikea but more chinese and older looking. I saw many pretty buildings; thirties - seventies apartment blocks with ornate balconies, early 19th century buildings, colonial style, shutters and arches. Became tired, bought compass, found myself in the three lamps area, little streets converging on a roundabout with children playing in the middle of it, looked at bad clothes, discovered I had been walking north, bought new compass, went home, had bath for long time.

I have been looking for a pair of trousers since i got here, but have little luck, most chinese men dress like pro golfers, neat casual, polo shirt with chinos, the other option is to look like you have enlisted in the army of a small and highly impractical nation with a fondness for devices that have to kept in separate pockets; "ha, you may have me hog-tied, but you missed the small knife in my left inside ankle pocket.". blue jeans are the only middle ground and they all suck. got to get to HK, I think. I've been scoping out tailoring options, not too pricey, hard to say about quality, will prob. get a good suit made in HK later. Get digital camera next pay.