We began this trip with mixed feelings. Cath's father, Vince, passed away at Glen Innes hospital in the early hours of 29 August. He was 94 years old.

The family gathered at his side at the end. We were in Glen Innes for 10 days. There was much to do in those days and much emotion: loss, grief, sorrow and worry. The funeral, burial and wake were a great send-off for a country gentleman and a great bloke.

We returned home on 3 September just a few days before our scheduled departure on 7 September, Cath's birthday.

Due to Cath's diligence in the previous weeks we were mostly packed for the trip. The feeling of loss and the physical and mental exhaustion of grief tempered the usual enthusiasm and excitement of a long overseas holiday.

On the afternoon of 6 September we took the train to the airport and spent the night at the new Rydges Hotel at the international terminal. Our flight to Hong Kong was at 10:30am the next morning so we had decided to stay at the airport to avoid the rush on Friday morning. Jude, Liz and Joanne joined us for celebratory drinks and birthday dinner for Jo and Cath.

The flight to Hong Kong was about 9 hours. Our destination was Macau, the former Portuguese colony on the west side of the Pearl River delta. There is a ferry service from Hong Kong international airport to Macau. It is actually an international transit service. We did not pass through Hong Kong immigration or customs. We went to the Turbojet desk and booked ferry passage for 10pm, the last ferry to Macau.
Turbojet retrieved our checked luggage and loaded them on to the ferry for us to pick up in Macau. The ferry ride took about an hour. The delta is quite wide. As we neared the outer harbour of Macau we were dazzled by the lights of the various hotel/casinos lining the eastern side of the island.

Macau is called the Las Vegas of Asia and with good reason. This view was further enhanced by a tropical thunderstorm behind the city illuminating the night sky with shafts of lightning. Very impressive!

We passed through Macau formalities with yawning immigration officers barely looking at our passports, collected our bags, stepped out into the tropical heat and humidity, and taxied to our hotel. The Ole Tai Sam Un Hotel in Macau does not have a casino. However, it is a modern 2 star hotel near old Macau and while you could barely swing a cat in the room it is clean and well air conditioned. It had been a long and difficult 2 weeks. It had been a long day of travel.

Thus, as the clock showed 3 minutes past midnight in Macau (2:03am in Sydney) we collapsed into bed and fell fast asleep. Our journey had begun.