My brief trip to Hong Kong is now over and there is only a week left to my month-long vacation. Truly, HK has changed since I last went there at the age of 7. It was very modernized, and seeing all the high-rise buildings and their gigantic airport, made me think that there's something wrong with the other countries I've been in. HK was really impressive and I would have loved to stay longer.

I think I burned through quite a bit of blubber with all the walking there.

Macau, on the other hand, is only nice for those who like simply staying in the casino strip and spend most of their time in hotels and casinos. For someone like me, who prefers going out and photographing the land/cityscape, it doesn't have much to offer. Sure I took some pictures of the casinos and that Beijing Water Cube reproduction, but  definitely enjoyed HK more. I'm not a gambler, but a viewfinder.

After all, sights and views are free, and far more beautiful.

I wasn't able to get as many pictures as I would have wanted though, but I will see if I have some that can posted here on DA. I haven't posted photographs for so long. I think it's only time to put some up.

Perhaps I am simply odd, but one of the things that truly amazed me was when I returned here in the Phils last night. We just arrived at my sister's place, and I was about to open the gate to park the car, when I noticed that it was so bright outside. That was weird because there are almost no street lights in this village (the Philippines is stuck in the middle-ages in that way), and yet it was so darn bright that I could see the grazing fields for the local rancher's cattle.

I could even see the blades of grass!

I looked up then, and saw that there was a full moon lighting the whole place. Well, I don't know if it was a full moon but I'm sure it was really close to it.

And at that moment, I felt humbled as a human being.

I just came from a city where they could light up the night with all the ads and shop lights of a bustling metropolis. High-rise towers sparkled there, and neon signs blared their messages to the tourists and other passers-by. Of course, that impressed me because it was never that bright and cheery in California, and yet... I couldn't see the moon there.

Sure, I didn't notice because the sky was blocked by all the tall buildings but once I returned here, in this underdeveloped land with little lighting... the moment I saw that distant celestial mirror in the sky that had lit up the night for millions of years.

I was amazed.