The Hotels in Macau 2

When I arrived at one of the hotels, another car was arriving. It was obvious that it was meant for the big spenders, not someone who won't even bet one dollar at the casinos.




But there is nothing to stop me from looking at the forest of what is supposed to be Christmas trees outside of the hotel.

And admire the result of hours and hours spent  by its designers in front of the drawing boards or the computer to give some form to the hotel architecture.





I was met by this tiny toddler waiting for his mom, wondering what she was doing.

This is the check in counter.

And one of the lights beside it.

The carpet gave one a warm and cosy feeling

Simple but not monotonous.

And full of texture.

This is what I found when I came out of the loo.

I like the banana tree bathed in soft yellow light in one of the shops





and also the Christmas decorations on the pine needles.






This one was found outside one of the casinos. A candle surrounded by "apples"..






More apples with "nipples" around an erect tube with fluffy flowers on top. Any "biblical" or "Freudian" connotations, I wonder?

The display outside of a Japanese restaurant

The display outside another Japanese restaurant





A display outside a third Japanese restaurant.

The display outside a winery.

An antique Yashica with a prismatic top view finder in one of the shops.





A Nikon with a powerful lens. I could freely indulge in this "fantasy" through the glass display window.

After having got my ticket for the show at night and done my share of aimless wandering,  I crossed the streets.

This is the famous Venetian which I never previously visited..




with its Italian Renaissance style façade

its mock "Ponte di sospiro" and carved columns.

It was surrounded by water.

with real gondolas moored to one of its its fenced side with striped mooring poles in blue and red.

I entered and was met by this dome with paintings.

St. George fighting the dragon?

Another mythic Roman hero?

Under the dome was a what appeared a carved golden sphere with a winged lion at its side

It circumference ring supported by naked ladies with firm breasts

On its four sides.

The fiery Sagittarius aiming his arrow at the bottom of one of the ladies?

This is the way towards the welcoming mouth of the global Venetian "lion" from America with its huge appetite for gamblers' "blood"

but the way towards it was lined with Christmas decorations on each of its columns.

Even the floor tiles are designed for optical illusion. A number of steps leading up towards from left to right. Or is it from right to left? Or just one plain horizontal surface?

This is one of the famous indoor streets leading to one of the several "canals".

Medieval windows alternatively open and closed, perhaps done deliberately for "variety", which after all is the name of the game ofgambling casinos.

Flowers on the window ledge, done Mediterranean style.

Ah, three gondolas.

A gondola coming with a Filipino singer cum boatman instead of true "Italian" gondolier but in traditional gear with a white shirt, tight fitting  black trousers tied around the waist with a brightly colored red sash, with a straw hat on his head. I heard him sing  a song most famous to many Chinese" "O sole mio".

Even a blonde female "gondolierere". It feels so odd to see her standing there oar in hand,  rowing two middle-aged oriental gentlemen and turning a corner in front of a shop with huge white Chinese characters against a red background selling the most traditional style Chinese wedding cakes, moon cakes and other traditional Chinese food.

Whether or not it felt odd, the water is a beautiful blue

with shadows playing upon its surface. Doesn't this one look like a human figure in rapid motion, perhaps doing a swing in a dance?

and sparkling with a row LED lights

More play of shadows in blue, green, white, yellow and red.

I can never have enough of such light play. I could stand there all day doing nothing but gazing at the endlessly changing but fleeting reflections upon the surface of the water.

Gold on blue.

More gold on irregular wave patterns

Even more patterns of gold and blue.

After an extremely late lunch of Oxtail braised Portuguese style and
some deliciously freshly fried Singaporean pan cakes served with spicy
curry chicken and a further stroll along some of the other streets at
the mall of the Venetian where you find all kinds of brand name stores, I
crossed the streets again to the other side to wait for the start of
the show. When I came out, I found this young lady posing for a group of budding learner photographers under the guidance of their tutor . I took a quick snap as I passed her rapidly  and then walked across the streets. 

It was quite late in the afternoon and the lights were getting dim

 There were fountains everywhere.

As it had become quite dark pretty soon, they put on the lights. These were in blue.





These were all gold.





These were in red.





I like the shimmering gold.

I like the graceful curves of the falling jets against the yellow lights.

which turned the ponds into a sea of shimmering gold.

I also like the blue turning purple.

especially when surrounded by rings of gold.

As there was little to do, I made a quick tour of the casinos but didn't gamble and strolled around. I found these interesting patterns in brown.

and some other geometric shapes in combination.

and this ball of water which looked strangely like an eye-ball!