For an American, you dont need a visa for Macau.

I think Macua gives the same number of days per entry as HK (90 days). So just get a mainland visa (even though ****s ****ed up to get multiple entries right now, should go back to normal after the Olympics) and take some trips around the mainland for fun, or I think you could even just go to HK, so you wouldn't need to get any visa.

All you need is that stamp on your passport that says you left (for my Mainland China Visa).

I go to Macau once a month, and usually will just walk across the border then walk right back into China, just to get that "stamp" saying I departed China. Ive never had any type of problem doing this.

they gave myself and myironthumb 180 days on entry to macau and the same when we got to HK. (edit: we are from the UK)

We stayed in the lisboa which was pretty sick though a bit over the top with the garrish decor in the lobby/reception area. Ended up dropping $2k USD in the softest game i've ever seen (20/40 in the grand lisboa (though it's really 10/20)). there were 4 of us there overall so we just donked about a ton, i called a 4bet AIPF with T5s and missed wtf and also limp shoved K5s but missed again. Make sure to get ask the waitresses for small beers and ham sandwiches as they are all free.

oh yeah some of the dealers are really hot aswell.

peteyy, there is usually always a space at at least one of the tables and if not they seem pretty open to opening new tables if there's a list building.

In HK now, will try to post a proper TR when i get back to thailand.

Hot pot on Go Street as much as possible. It's amazing.

Korean bbq over there is luxurious, you're so well taken care of and it's tasty as hell.

Lol, 50 a person? Sharkfin and birdnest soup every meal eh?

I took 9 people out to a traditional huge hot pot feast my last night in Beijing trying to blow through my extra RMB. Rounds of beers and amazing meal, 24 $ american.



Don't eat sushi BTW, but everything else is safe.

I figured Id post this...this was from a PM I received the other day..

I know there are some others out there livin in China, so lets get some good info going. The Thailand thread was one of the funnest threads for me to read, so I hope we can get some cool trip reports and info on here, like they have in the Thailand thread....




i am thinking to move back to asia
and it will take time to find good job, i would like to play poker during that period of time.
1. what's the cost of living in china (good apartment, internet, ultity bill....etc)
2. how do you get your money into china, ATM card?
3. if i want to stay there for longer term. what do i need to get? travel visa only goes for 3 month.
4. any unusual stuff i should know about?
now i'm debating if i should go to china, taiwan.[/QUOTE]

1.) Very nice apartment in a gated community in the "suburbs" of Guangzhou runs me about $700 USD (thats including my utility bills too)- 3 bedroom / 2 bath / yard...In the city, obviously more expensive...Internet/Phone for the whole year I think was around $150 USD..Internet works pretty good but isnt always consistently fast...

2.) You can open a bank account very easily, as long as you have a passport...you may need a temporary residence form - You can get this from a local police station, as long as your visa is valid.

Technically Foreigners MUST get this if they stay in China longer then a certain period of time. It is also a law to always have your passport with you at all times- screw this, Id be too scared to lose my passport, but I always have a copy of my passport/visa, and also my temp residence form with me at ALL times. Ive never had ANY problems regarding this.

3.) Visas- if obtained in USA give you a 3 month stay. I got my new visa for this year in Hong Kong and they'll only give you 30 days (sucks but I just take a day trip to Macau or HK for the day, each month, since its so close to GZ)...So basically you just need to leave Mainland China and get a "stamp" that you departed.

Also the visa situation right now is pretty ****ed up with Olympics...they wont give anyone a multiple entry visa until the Olympics end....

4.) Ive never been to Taiwan so I dont have info for you regarding that, but China is awesome man, and the people are very nice and friendly...IT IS NOTHING what western media depicts it as and u can have somewhat of a semi balla life style here. Things are getting much more expensive though, and with the USD fallin everyday, it doesnt exactly help things here.

EDIT: F George Bush for basically making China change their "fixed" exchange rate of 8.2 the other year...since he thought this would bring more jobs back to the USA...

Going to macau this weekend, what were your rates for people who stayed at the Grand Lisboa? And did u guys make a reservation be4 hand or just show up and get a room?

What are some other hotels around the Grand Lisboa, that weren't a couple dump, but were not over priced?

Anyone been to Jiuzhaigou?

I just saw it on a travel program and it's gotta be one the best looking places in the world that I've ever seen.

I'm looking into living in HK/Macau too at the end of the year. My GF is from HK so I thought it be more fun. Considering I missed out on a friend's tour in Macau when she performed for 2 months, I thought I move a bit closer so I won't miss out on all the fun and parties

Anyone else interested in living in Macau?

Not sure about Macau specifically, but after I finish school next year, I could completely see myself moving to China. I loved it. Good luck if you go that route.

I was there two years ago and it was amazing. You need to plan a 5 day trip to Jiuzaigou, Huanglong from Chengdu. It takes about 10 hours to get there and just the bus ride will be quite an experience. They were constructing a new highway while I was there but the road that I was on was pretty narrow and you spend much of your time traveling on cliffs with rivers and lakes hundreds of feet down. One screwup by the driver everyone was guaranteed to die. I was just at the grand canyon last week and its total ***** compared to Jiuzaigou.

I'm looking for a flight from HK to BKK. Any tips on a good travel agent or a good airline to book through? The only one I know is Thaiairways and the flight was pretty pricy through that one.

I don't know if it'll get me a cheaper price but I'm trying to book for 5 people.

Its much cheaper to fly from macau on Air Asia. I think air asia will start flying from hong kong soon. It should be around $100 each way.

I just read that earthquake (7.8) in Chengdu was felt all the way to Bangkok? Anyone feel anything? I'm in Guangzhou and didnt notice anything...


Anyways went to Macau this past Sat, and played the "20/40" NL game at the Grand Lisboa. People were pretty awful. Some were constantly asking questions, and the dealers even handed out pamphlets showing how to play. At the table, maybe 3-4 people actually knew what they were doing. It drew a pretty decent number of spectators who seemed interested in what was going on.

Most of the dealers weren't that horrible, what slowed down the game more, were the in-experienced players who constantly kept asking questions. Some dealers were pretty bad....a dealer handed a pot to a losing hand and then the floor was called to clarify. She thought a person with 10-7 won against K-K, on a 6-6-10-7-Q board. Some players even thought the 10-7 won...

Seemed like there was a lot of talking about peoples hands, and even some advise to other players during the actual hands That was pretty ****ed up.

I think it is just going to grow, bigger and bigger. A guy at the table told me, Grand Waldo Casino (Same place who held the Pstars tourney) now had a few live tables. With time, things will get much better. If you can stand Cantonese click clacking, and play poker for a living, it would def be a place Id wanna live a few months. One annoying ****ty thing, was you cant wear a ****in baseball cap (forwards) throughout the casino. Also, gettin harassed by some transexuals outside the casino at 5am was pretty annoying too.

So was that 20/40 smallest game they have there these days? I think before they had 10/20 also

How about the dealers english skills? Is it hard for them to understand what you are saying to them?

By the "20 40" game I really mean the 10 20 game, sign up is for the 20 40 game while the blinds are really 10 20. Speaking English isn't a problem in most cases, Hotel and Casino staff speak English, Portuguese, and Cantonese.

for those of you that live in HK, how much do you pay monthly for rent, food and other expenses? I'm just wondering what the average expat is paying, if your super baller thats cool too.

I dont live in HK, but my friend pays $1300 USD a month for his small crappy studio in causeway bay. Rental costs can be compared to NYC...so basically pretty ****in expensive

Is hong kong the best place in the world?

no

HK is too expensive...

Can there really be "a best place in the world"?

It is all personal preference...

i dunno if my personal preference is similar to anyone else, but lots of cute chinese girls (HK&Macau&China), loose-passive poker games (macau grandLisboa), highly paid casino jobs (not really anywhere but Macau is competitive), cheap accomodation (not HK or Macau) and readily available ganja (Holland, Thailand) would be perfect for me.

I really hope Thailand goes ahead with opening some mega-casinos!!! In the meantime, Macau will have to do. At least it's a little cheaper to live than HK, but no shopping. Thank goodness that the ferry to HK only takes 1hr!!

wow i think food in macau is way better than hong kong.

I just completed this trip about a week ago. We saw almost everything we listed on our itinerary plus a few more. It was an incredible trip and helped a lot that my friend grew up in China and speaks fluent Mandarin.

In summary, the best sight I saw on this trip was Huangshan (Yellow Mountain). A lot of climbing and very tiring but well worth the trip. The most disappointing was Xi'an and the terra cotta warriors. I feel that if you've seen one picture before, you've seen it all. It's not like LiJiang or Huangshan where it's difficult to capture it in a photograph.

Since we entered everything into BillMonk, I could come up with an accurate number for everything we paid for on the trip. It came out to just under 6,000 USD for me including flights, hotels, cabs, entrance tickets, drinks, food, and etc for our 5 week stay in China/HK/Taiwan.

I feel there's still a good 3-4 weeks left of sightseeing to do in China so I'll probably visit again when I hit south east Asia the next time.

Whats the max. buy-in on these "20/40"(10/20) games at Grand Lisboa? Is it HKD$2000 or HKD$4000.

Also would like to know what is typical buy-in that players there make? Do they make max or min buy ins?

HK$2000 = 100BB
The Players here like big stack poker. >>90% only make full buy-ins

I think it just may be.

seeya there next year!