Vignettes of the World
My Travel Journal
My heart skipped a beat when I came to a closeup view of the USS Iowa. It was stately, to say the least. Under generous sunlight the USS Iowa breathes an aged but assured glory. Its imposing image is immediately evocative of battle scenes. I …
I noticed that the Los Angeles mornings were always somewhat hazy. The day was young and the wintriness was gentle. In fact, it felt almost as if California was still easing into the fall. For it was even warmer than Hong Kong at this time …
It has been over a decade since I set foot in the United States, the country that I also consider to be home. There was urgency in returning this time because my driver’s license has expired, and every ten years, the renewal requires an in-person …
Before you head out on the Senado Square, perhaps it is worthwhile to visit the Tak Seng On on Avenida de Almeida Ribeiro. This was the street where many pawnshop businesses set foot during the late Qing dynasty in Macau. The streets of Rua de …
In this two-day trip in Macau, I visited a host of significant historic heritage in the Macau Peninsula area. The following is an itinerary for those two days. There are relatively less historical sites in the Taipa area, and that is for another occasion. Macau …
Right across from the St. Augustine’s Church is the Dom Pedro V Theatre, built in an exceptionally beautiful style of neoclassical architecture. Its elegance, being distinctly cultural in character, is a nice change of scenery from the multitude of churches that I saw in Macau. …
Not far from the St. Joseph’s Seminary and Church is the St. Augustine’s Church and the St. Augustine’s Square. Following the footsteps of the first Catholic missionaries, the Jesuits, the Augustinians also made their way to Macau in the 1580s. Other Catholic missionaries that came …
Its name Igreja e Seminário de São José in Portuguese, St. Joseph’s Seminary and Church was a church of the Jesuits. The seminary was founded in 1728, while the construction of the church building completed in 1758. As with the St. Lawrence’s Church, St. Joseph’s …
A historic tour of Macau would not be complete without learning about the heritage of the Christian faith in this small city. Perhaps it is fortunate that with the ills of western colonialism also came the light of the Christian faith. Different catholic orders have …
Once you have drunk the water of Lilau Square, you would never be able to forget Macau. Throughout Macau, a main urban feature is the squares. Lying at every significant junction in the local neighborhoods are these squares that carves out a concentrated space, usually …