i'm visiting my previous home of macau, a fascinating hybrid of portuguese, macanese, chinese, philipino, and many other cultures, with its extravagant catholic churches, its unique breed of short-tail cats, its beautiful blue and white ceramic tiles, and chaotic alley-ways filled with air-conditioning cages, laundry and scooters.
it has remnants of glamour from the past colonial era, yet it is slowly decaying under the heat and humidity, and the new casino development.
the locals are embracing this inevitable change with ingested pride, while continuing the tradition and lifestyle they've always known.
to me, as a past-resident, coming back after more than 5 years, i had feelings of relief, disbelief, re-assurance, and fear ... i am scavaging the remains of my childhood memory of macau, amongst the new monstrosity that is slowly swallowing the city's culture, history, and most heart-breaking of all, dignity.
for more photos : http://tianqinsheng.blogspot.com/p/macau.html