澳門! Debate! Fun!

As I promised, here is the story of my trip to Macau (澳門 in Traditional Chinese). I went there to judge at the North East Asian Debate Open, or NEAO. Fortunately, a friend filled in for me at work, so I was able to attend the whole tournament, Saturday to Monday.

Saturday saw me up at 4:30 to catch a 8:00 flight. After an uneventful travel experience -- hurray for emergency exit seats! -- I arrived in Macau, got some Macau dollars, and took a cab to the hotel.

Just as in Malaysia, the different currency took me aback for a day or two, especially since they accept three different currencies there, and use two (Macau patacas and Hong Kong dollars) interchangeably... in Macau, that is. Outside Macau, their dollars are pretty worthless... when I got back to Korea, I could only change back my Hong Kong dollars.

The best word to describe Macau is opulent. As you can see if you browse through my full photo album (linked at the end of the post), my hotel was a grand relic of the hotels of the past, a monument of faded opulence which today was actually pretty gaudy. Compared to the rest of Macau, however, it was just normal. This is the Las Vegas of Asia: a city of casinos, bright lights, and buildings trying to outdo each other with flashy lights or statues.

The epitome of Macau is the Venetian Macau, which was the site of our Saturday night break party. To put things in perspective, you have to know that the Venetian, which is a hotel and casino, is the fifth-largest building in the world by surface area - and with a surface area of almost 1 million meters square, it has about 3 times the floor space of the West Edmonton Mall. The picture to the right is the roof of a first floor hallway. In the shopping mall on the second floor, the high roof was painted to resemble a cloudy sky and the shop fronts looked like the quaint streets of a European city centuries ago - well, plus a Nike sign or two. It was a neat place, but altogether too manufactured for me.

As I didn't go to Macau to sightsee, I didn't get out much. I did, however, eat some good food. You have already seen a taste of Macau. We had delicious egg tarts, which were served by the tournament after the grand final. I also went with a group from Korea to have dinner at a wonderful Portuguese restaurant. We told the owner to pick out dishes for us to share, and enjoyed (among other great morsels) a delicious baked fish. I also enjoyed some late night curry noodle soup - absolutely delicious.

And of course there was the debating! I was judging, not competing, so I got to enjoy the experience rather than being nerve-wracked for the whole time. I had a great time. The adjudication team (whom I knew most of before the tournament) picked me to judge the out rounds and the final, so I was pretty thrilled.

What resolutions were debated? I happen to have a full list! (A note to non-debaters: THBT = This house believes that; THW = This house would.)
R1: THBT parents whose children are grossly obese should be penalized for child abuse.
R2: THBT China should support United Nation sanctions on North Korea.
R3: THBT energy companies of developed countries operating in developing countries should adhere to the environmental standards of their countries of origin.
R4: THBT EU should sanction its members for denying practice of religious freedom in public.
R5: THW ban beneficiaries of public welfare from entering casinos.
Quarter-Final: THBT African Union should monitor and be responsible for the security in Somalian waters.
Semi-Final: THW shut down websites of political bloggers that spread lies.
Grand-Final: THBT drug addicts should only be eligible for social welfare under condition of rehabilitation.

NEAO

After the final banquet, it was back to Korea on the red-eye flight - after all, the kids won't teach themselves English. Now that I'm back, it almost feels like it didn't really happen. I'm so excited when the debate trips become my real life, rather than the weekend escapes!

PS - Check out my photos by clicking the link to the right!