Macau Baby! Macau!!

A short ferry ride from Hong Kong is the town of Macau. Along with Hong Kong, Macau is the other Special Administrative Region within China and with that status comes all the other goodies. You must go through customs to enter Macau, it has its own currency, its own international country dialing code, and its own government. Macau was a Portuguese colony for 400 years before being handed back to China in 1999. It was used as a base for Jesuit missionaries and it was here that the first bible was translated into a Chinese language.

Macau consists of a large peninsula that is connected via a very long bridge to two islands, which appeared to almost be merged into one big island. The city is really known for 2 things. Its old town district with its colonial architecture in tact, and gambling. It's historic district has been remarkably preserved and has even managed to gain a UNESCO world heritage listing for the entire district. Walking down the white and black stone swirled streets, you would be forgiven for thinking that you were in Lisbon. Street vendors even sell the small custard pastries which are famous in Lisbon, although I must confess the quality of the one I tried did not delight my taste buds as much as my first one in Portugal 3 years ago.

The center of the historic town is the Largo do Sendo. This area is a famous venue for different events and politicians still flock to it for rallies. It is surrounded by historic government buildings and of course, a Starbucks. Churches are dotted across the town and the ruins of St. Pauls vies for the top tourist attraction.

While one side of Macau is a tribute to the Portuguese Jesuits bringing the word of God to Asia, the other side of Macau is all about vice. More money is gambled in Macau each year than in Vegas. It is no secret that the Chinese like to gamble and this is probably the only place in China where they can do so legally. Although the town was only home to a few smaller casinos to begin with, development has really picked up the pace. There are loads of new casinos on the peninsula and others are nearing completion on the island. If you look around at the names though, you might swear you are in Vegas. Some of the new casinos calling Macau home include The Sands, The Wynn, The MGM Grand, and The Venetian. The Old Lisboa Casino still stands, but next door is the new centerpiece of Macau gambling, The Grand Lisboa. As you drive over the bridge and enter the peninsula from the island, you are greeted by the Grand Lisboa front and center. The hotel and casino towers over the other buildings. The building is in the shape of a Lotus flower, which is the symbol of Macau. At night, all of the different lights glow in different colors to accentuate the tower, while the bulbous base produces a display similar to a giant curved jumbo-tron. It all seems to be constructed of individual light bulbs, and is really quite remarkable.

I went into a few casinos, but resisted the temptation to try out my "sure-fire" roulette strategy. I didn't have the budget to risk it. Maybe after I get a job again:) Interestingly enough, they don't even gamble with their own currency, they insist that Hong Kong dollars are used. I must have been there during the slow season because there was way too much space in the casinos and some of the newer ones haven't even opened yet. Macau was fun, but I only had a few days there. I left on a ferry to take me to an airport on the mainland where I caught a cheap flight to Beijing. Thus began my 2 day journey to get me from China down to Indonesia.

---

---