A Tale of Two (or More) Cities

Rua do Gamboa, Macau 2014

When I was little, the few memories of visiting Macau I held were of sweetly flavored Portuguese egg tarts, crumbling almond cookies being baked en masse in the streets, and candy colored buildings that evoked Disneyland. The former Portuguese colony was always something of a long-held curiosity, and my innocent associations almost subconsciously rejected the assault of contemporary images of Macau as the new hedonistic paradise, the Las Vegas of the East. Really, I had only visited perhaps once or twice in my life as a child, and yet there was something so vivid and nearly tangible of Macau’s past allure that I couldn’t quite let go of it as I prepared for my recent trip, the first time since I was a child.

Swapping Ego for Empathy

Imagine the scene of Atlanta’s gridlocked highways a few weeks back during the snowstorm. This is the usual Shanghai — congested and charmingly manic. Then picture the opening credits of The Walking Dead. The sight of an empty Hongqiao Railway Station was comparably eerie. I usually find myself strategically meandering past throngs of tourists and businesspeople, and jostling for a position at the ticket booth. This time, however, it was the week of Chinese New Years — a catalyst for the largest annual human migration in the world. Shanghai and its people were taking a well-deserved breather.