Macau -Naples Lite (And a Bit of Paranoia)

I checked the weather reports last night, and it seems that a Typhoon warning is in effect - We've already seen results of it, and it is only getting worse. Since that is the case, I decided to see Macau a few days early.

I think that if it were not for the weather warning, I wouldn't have chosen to go on a Sunday. Too busy. There were many families with suitcases on their way to Macau - sort of like going to the cottage in reverse. I would have definitely chosen mid week.

I went to the Hong Kong-Macau ferry terminal in Sheng Wan to buy a return ferry ticket. There were so many different ticket sellers that I chose what seemed to be the cheapest one. First of all, it ended up being exactly the same price and secondly, it will lead to confusion later when I tried to get back to the terminal.

It is a good thing I have taken to carrying around my passport - I had completely forgotten that I would have to clear customs going into Macau (and leaving HK) - thankfully the line went relatively quickly.

I don't generally like watercraft of any kind, particularly ferries. One reason why I haven't been to Greece or the Philippines yet is because both have such a dreadful record when it comes to ferry accidents. I've also noticed that whoever designs ferries never designs them with rapid escape in mind (remember the Estonia ferry disaster of 1994? over 900 people died because they couldn't get out). There were only two exits on either side of the ship, toward the center. Only two rows of people could go through each door at any given time. There were two exits toward the front of the ship, but only one person at a time could go through them and anyway, they only led to the bow of the ship. I didn't see any life rafts either. Yes, I'm paranoid; you are probably reading this and wondering why and how do I manage to travel so much without having been put in a straightjacket yet? Well, after watching upteen different episodes of 'Air Crash Investigation' and 'Mayday', I've realized that if there is a problem with your air or watercraft, you are pretty much screwed; I have taken the tactic of falling asleep during any boat ride longer than 30 minutes; that way, if shit happens, I won't be awake to suffer the consequences. I try to use the same tactic during major turbulence.

Anyway, on with the show.

So I wake up just as we are about to dock at Taipa Terminal. As soon as I got off the ferry, I slammed into a wall of humidity that was even harder and more intense then yesterday. I knew then that the anti-stink preparations taken this morning would be in vain.

Macau is an attractive place, I must say. It has a totally different vibe than Hong Kong. The differing cultures (and fortunes) of the countries that colonized these two parts of China is readily apparent. Hong Kong, as I said before, is organized Chaos; orderly, yet disorderly, prosperous, Chinese with a distinctly English feel. Macau reminded me of Naples in the sense that it was slower paced, plodding along in a leisurely, slightly disorganized pace, and with a very mediteranean feel. Of course, being a former Portuguese colony, English was not spoken at all, which was bound to make things more difficult. I was also stared at a bit more here and one lady pointed at my afro and made a comment about it in Chinese (not in a mean way - she seemed more curious than mean).

It is cool to wander the streets there, though, and I was able to see some of the more famous Unesco - listed sites here. The ruined facade of the Church of Saint Paul was pretty cool. I was also able to check out St Michael's Chapel and cemetery. Beautiful place with monuments in Portuguese and Chinese. Three old women waiting outside the cemetery gates greeted me as I went in. I figured that they were hired to keep the place clean. It wasn't until I was leaving and all three stuck their cups in my face that I realized that they were begging. Considering how much I gave them I should have asked for a picture, but I was too confused by what happened and in a hurry to get away from them that I just left.

After three hours in Macau, I was ready to leave, basically, because I was hot a hell and soaked through with sweat. I hailed a cab and asked him to take me to the ferry docks. " Hong Kong ferry?" he asked, and I answered in the affirmative. We were at the ferry terminal in no time at all, and I noticed that it certainly looked larger than when I arrived this morning. After walking around the terminal for 30 minutes, I realized that I was actually at the wrong terminal. There are two - one in Macau proper, close to all the (tacky) casinos, and one in Taipa, where I had actually disembarked. 30 minutes and 60HKG later, I arrived at the proper terminal. If I ever return to Macau, I won't make that (costly) mistake again.

Macau is cool, but I like Hong Kong much better.

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