Macau

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We took the Macau ferry from Hong Kong to spend the day. Our first stop was the Macau Tower, which provided great views of the surrounding area, even though it wasn't a very clear day. It was fun to watch the people bunji jumping from the top of tower. There is also a skywalk thing they have, where you can walk outside along the ledge surrounding the tower (secured in, of course.) It's a pretty neat idea, even if that ledge did get in the way of some of my pictures.

We stopped at a random restaurant for lunch, and the food was amazing. Macau is known for it's salty cod and Portuguese custard tarts, known as natas. So good...

We had a taxi take us to the Ruin's of St. Paul's Church, and we're all pretty sure he took us for a ride. If you don't want a cabbie to rip you off, it's a good idea to have a map out and follow the route on the map - that'll make them less likely to drive you around in circles, or take the longest, most ridiculous route so they can get a bigger fare.

I really like the Portuguese architecture in Macau, and they have a nice pedestrian shopping area with the coolest pavement. The mix of Chinese/Portuguese culture there is a neat vibe that makes me want to go back.

Of course, no trip to Macau is complete without visiting a casino, so we went to the famous Venetian. Being inside such a decadent building felt a bit odd after traveling through the city and seeing all the run-down buildings that people actually live in. But of course, such wealth and extravagance cannot possibly exist without a lot of poverty alongside it. We ran out of money at the casino pretty quick, and my damn bank card wouldn't work in any of the ABM's in the casino. It kept saying "non-sufficient funds", which really bugged me. I thought for a bit there that all my money had been stolen from my account, but no, my bank was just being difficult because I've never used my card at a casino before. And while I told my credit cards I was going to China, I didn't notify my bank, so that probably also had something to do with it. Oh well, I guess I should be glad that we weren't able to blow more money than we did.

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Photos

Headquarters of the Macau SAR Government
SAR = Special Administrative Area

Avenida da Praia Grande
Love the pedestrian walkway.

Macau Tower Square
You can see there's still a lot of construction in Macau.

Macau farmland
As with Shenzhen, I really liked that I could see farmland from the tower within the city. And again, I really hope they don't build over it all in the next few years.