Macau
Macau, to those of us from North America, it seems like Asian Vegas with its own strip, ostentatious hotels, and casinos abound. But Macau is more the glitz and gambling, Macau offers a deep, rich Portuguese influenced history.
Once again our brood of 4 found ourselves afar and took advantage of a short ferry ride from our current home in Hong Kong to Macau. We left on a blustery Saturday morning hoping for better weather in Macau, but alas we were not going quite far enough to escape the grey skies we had awoken to. The ferry ride on TurboJet only took about an hour and unbeknownst to me while I was booking, we ended up in an upgraded and air conditioned cabin with meal service. It really is ashamed that the meal was, well was hardly a meal worth eating.
We arrived around noon to the sounds of the Macau Grand Prix. You could hear, but not see (they don't want anybody sneaking free peeks) the sounds of engines being revved to their maximum effort and the sounds completely filled the air, it was race weekend. Had I known, maybe next year. Our hotel was on the Cotai strip, this is the Asian Vegas part of Macau with enormous gaudy hotels and casinos. The room was expected and nice. We had a decent view of the Cotai strip and The Parisian Hotel and Casino. The girls loved the pool.
After we were settled we headed out to explore the strip for ourselves and guess what; if it is compared to Las Vegas its because the both the Venetian and the Parisian are just about exact duplicates of their Vegas counter parts. And yes we ended up taking a gondola ride through the Canal Shops of the Venetian (remember the weather was not cooperating). The Gondolier was an Italian with a great singing voice. We were treated to O Sole Mio and That's Amore.
We hit the pool, had dinner and off to a show. The show was a spectacle showcasing the acrobatic efforts of the actors. Centered around the folkloric story of the Monkey King, people were balancing, contorting and throwing themselves around the stage similar to a Cirque de Soleil show.
The next day was all about Macau, well first we slept in real good, then it was all about Macau. After breakfast in bed we made our way across to the peninsula and to Senado Square. Senado Square was in its day and remains today as a major gathering place in Macau. On the day we were there (raceday Sunday), a large television had been erected and was broadcasting the 64th running of the Macau Grand Prix F3 live and many people could be found in the square, hens tilted to the screen taking in the fasted-paced action from the track.
We decided this would be an appropriate place to jump off and explore the oldest parts of Macau. First we would need sustenance and so our adventure would take us to Bao Mesa, a Portuguese restaurant not far from the square. I would be remiss if I didn't mention the Portuguese sausage we ordered. It arrived in a flaming clay pig and the staff finish off its doness to your liking at the table. It was delicious, most delicious, although Juliette didn't seem to sure about it.
After lunch it was off to main event, the ruins of St. Paul's. Getting there was a little crazy, there were about a zillion people who thought that the same day would be the best day to see the same ruins. In fact we had to stop for a quick ice cream on the way there to replenish our forces.
There isn't much left of St. Paul's, just the crypt (which sounds way cooler then it actually was) and the front facia. Built by the Jesuits in the 17th century most of the church was destroyed by a fire during a typhoon in the 1800s, only the front wall remains.
It doesn't seem to matter where we go sometimes, but Amélie ends up being more interesting to the tourist then the attraction they came to witness, or experience. She has been asked numerous times to have her picture taken by complete strangers and most times she is very gracious about it. Other times it just gets to be too much and she politely declines.
Atop the adjacent hill is the Macau Fortress or Fortaleza do Monte. It was originally constructed to protect the property of the Jesuits at the time in the 17th century from pirates. It was later claimed by the governor of Portugal and used in the defence of Macau itself. Today it is a museum. While the museum costs to visit, you can stroll the gardens on top of the walls for free.
After a long day of sight seeing we headed back to our hotel for a delicious hotpot dinner. The next morning came to early and we were headed back home to Hong Kong.
Photo credit: the image looking through the circular portal was taken by Amélie.
Look below for a couple of short videos highlighting our Macau adventures.
