Notes from the Road: Macau, China

David Fatum

I played a few tournaments this month, but easily the highlight of the month was the week spent in Macau, China. I was invited to be on Team USA and participate in the Asia Bullshooter held in Macau; the “Las Vegas” of Asia.

The journey is no short one, but one that was worth every minute of the 26 hrs. of travel time that sees stops in L.A., Taipei, Taiwan and finally in Macau. Macau is an amazing little island just of the south east coast of Mainland China.

It was the last area of Chinese territory that was actually under foreign control (by the Portuguese) up to 1999, when Macau and Hong Kong (British rule) were returned to Chinese control. These two areas maintain independence from complete Chinese control with their own currency and law system until 2048, under an agreement reached in their return from European rule.

This independence is what makes Macau a special place in Asia; gambling is its main source of revenue, which by far surpasses Las Vegas’ yearly take from people’s mis-fortune. Macau is the home to the world’s largest Casino, the Venetian, along with other casinos familiar to Americans, such as the Sands and the MGM, to name a few.

The culture shock was instant after stepping off the plane; it was obvious that Rob Heckman and I had landed on the other side of the world. The first thing you notice is everything is backwards – they drive on the left, the escalators go in opposite direction and everyone has a scooter instead of a car.

Okay, not everyone, but almost, as they were everywhere – and it seems there are no traffic laws at all except that the most aggressive driver wins. The money was an 8 to 1 exchange and everything is a lot cheaper, a typical cab ride was $3 U.S. with tip, while a dinner was about $4 U.S. The streets were full of people and jewelry shops; it seems there were at least five jewelry stores in a block, and that was just one side of the street.

We spent two days exploring the city and its history, but the highlight was the day in the shopping district. It is alley-way after alley-way loaded with small shops of hand carved jade and ivory, to knock-off goods and restaurants; the smells and sounds were amazing, and it seemed to change every 5 ft., ranging from rotten fish to fresh flowers, with the constant sound of scooters honking and price arguing.

The Asia Bullshooter was billed as the “jewel of soft-tip darts” in Asia and did not disappoint at all. It was hosted by Joesph Kwong of Asia Darts Assoc., and I need to simply state that this was the best ran and best overall tournament I have EVER been to in my span of twenty years playing darts.

The event lasted three days, over which I never saw any arguments, a dirty table or issues with time of play. The efficiency of the events and the extremely friendly staff made each day a delight to play darts. I would insist anyone who is excited by great darts and world travel to put this tournament on your list of “must do’s” before you leave the game.

Each event consisted of four levels: A, B, C and Women’s divisions, and I have to say the A level had a minimum of 60 percent of the people in attendance in it. The level of play in Asia was extremely impressive and the attitude was even better. People view the game as a “challenge” and work hard to become very good at it. They did not offer excuses nor complain about losing and simply relish the chance at playing top players, as they view it as “challenging oneself.”

The first event, Hammer Cricket, saw Americans taking 3 out of 5 of the top spots, with Johnny K being the best finisher in second place. I, myself, got a taste of how good players are by placing 5th, while shooting a 6.6mpr over the ten round game, to be simply dismissed by the 7.9mpr average of my opponent.

Unfortunately that was going to be the best event for the Americans as individuals, as the tournament became the Philippines show after that, with their players winning the Men’s and Ladies Singles, Doubles and international team challenges.

Our American team of Johnny K, Scott Kirschner, Colleen Eldredge and myself, placed second in the 16-team event, after a missing a chance to seal the victory in the third leg.

I have many stories and pictures to share, but not the space here to do it in this article, so I will have the pictures with me for all to see.

Needless to say, I will not be eating any Chinese food for awhile and will never look at scooters the same. Soft-tip darts may have been born in the USA but it lives and thrives in Asia.