Macau - so lovely, that I visited the city 3 times in 2006!

Asia » Macau
January 15th 2007

Published: January 14th 2007

Macau became a colony of Portugal after the Portuguese reached Macau in the early 1550s. On 20th Dec 1999, Macau was returned to China, and ever since, Macau is a Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China. Prior to 2006, the last time I visited Macau was in 1997 with my family and grandma. We only spent 3 hours in Macau, as we were on our way from Zhuhai to Hong Kong. It wa... Read Full Entry

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Lau Chau Sang

autumncs

Born in Hong Kong and currently living in Singapore, I am a guy who loves travelling. Like many "travelholics" at TravelBlog, I'm so addicted to travelling that once I stopped travelling I will have withdrawal symptoms. Hence, to cure my addiction, I have to go somewhere at least once every 2 months. (I must admit that it is an expensive addiction. Haha. But at least addiction to travel is healthier than addiction to drugs/smoking/drinking...) I started using TravelBlog when I was doing my internship in Canada in 2005. (For older photos before my Canadian internship... full info

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Largo do Senado at night

A-Ma Temple

The temple has more than 500 years of history, as it already existed before the Portuguese found the city. The temple is dedicated to A-Ma (also known as Tin Hau or the Goddess of the sea) and the temple has influences from Confucianism, Taoism, Buddhism and various folk beliefs.

A-Ma Temple 2

Chinese people often burn incenses because they believe the gods will bring luck to their loved ones as long as the incense is still burning. To extend the duration of the burning (and hence the duration of the luck), people extend the length of the incense, and eventually the incense evolved into a conical shape. Each of this conical incense can last for a month, and the person who burns the incense can write their messages and wishings on a small piece of red paper and hang it on top of the incense.

A-Ma Temple 3

Chinese buildings, esp temples, always have stone lions at the front door to scare away evil spirits and bring luck and prosperity. According to legend, if you turn the stone ball in their mouth, you'll get good luck. Chinese sculptors are really skillful, because when they carve the mouth, they leave behind a piece of rock in the mouth and carve the rock into a ball right inside the mouth... (The stone ball is made larger than the mouth's opening so that the ball can't be taken away...)

Moorish Barracks

Located a short distance away from A-Ma Temple, the building was built in 1874 to accommodate an Indian regiment from Goa to reinforce Macau's police force. Now it serves as the HQ of the Macau Maritime Administration.

Moorish Barracks 2

A well-preserved gun in the building lobby. (The lobby is the only indoor area open to the public.)

Penha Church

Built on top of Colina da Penha, also known as Bishop Hill, is a Chapel of Our Lady of Penha which was first built in 1622. The chapel today dates back to 1837 when it was completely rebuilt along with the Bishop's Palace. Since the chapel is on top of a hill, the panoramic view here is one of the finest in Macau.

Penha Church 2

View of the Macau Tower and Sai Van Bridge. (The area in front of the church is an excellent place to take photos.)

Penha Church 3

Virgin Mary and the Macau Tower

Macau Tower

After taking so many photos of the tower, I finally have the chance to go up the tower! One highlight of the tower is a transparent glass floor where you can walk and admire the view below. (Not recommended for those with phobia of heights.)

Macau Tower 2

View of Macau and Zhuhai from the tower

Macau Tower 3

Have an appetite for extreme sports? You can try bungee-jumping, mast-climbing, or walk along the edge of the tower. (But to do so, you need to pay A LOT.)

Macau Tower 4

Those who tried the "Skywalk" include Fiona Xie and Ben Yeo, 2 famous TV artistes in Singapore.

Avenida da Praia (in Taipa)

Formally the waterfront for merchants and sailors, the avenue has been converted into a walking promenade and the houses were converted into the Taipa Houses Museum. (Due to reclamation, the waterfront is now part of a lake.)

Church of Our Lady of Carmel

Located in Taipa, near the Avenida da Praia, is a pastel and white neo-classical church built in 1885.

Pak Tai Temple

Also located in Taipa is a Chinese temple dedicated to Pak Tai, another popular Chinese god.

Rua da Cunha

This street is popularly known as Food Street because of the many restaurants here and on nearby streets, serving Portuguese, Macanese, Indian, Italian, different kinds of Chinese and even African food... (However the street is a bit quiet because it's a week-day.)

Sun Yat Sen Memorial Centre

Dr Sun Yat Sen is known as the founder of modern China, as he was actively involved in the revolution to topple the corrupt Qing monarchy. When China became a republic in 1911, he became the first president. Macau is the place where his family had settled.

Lou Lim Ieoc Garden

Chinese pagodas and Portuguese buildings blend harmoniously in this beautiful garden near the Sun Yat Sen Memorial.

Lou Lim Ieoc Garden 2

An interesting mix of east and west elements is seen here - a Portuguese building with a Chinese balcony

Kun Iam Temple

The temple is dedicated to Kun Iam (Guanyin in Mandarin or Goddess of Mercy in English), and it is one of the largest and most popular temples in Macau.

6th August 2008

guy
non-member comment

thats good
Thats really cool

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Macau - so lovely, that I visited the city 3 times in 2006!

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