Blogs from Macau, Asia - page 3

My first trip to Macau was back in 2006, almost a decade ago. From that time on it has been one of my favorite destinations. It has a certain charm to it that makes one feel at home. And if you happen to be there during winter or spring, walking is the best way to explore the city. Macau can be described as a blending of cultures and lifestyles. Having been under the Portuguese Colony for a long time left an undeniable influence on Macau, from churches to cobblestones steps to food, museums and even language. In 1999, Macau was handed over to China and is now a Special Administrative Region of Republic of China- a little bit of history there for you. In order to boost tourism, Macau became the “Las Vegas” of Asia. It ... read more

And a quick 1h flight later, I was out of Guangxi and in the so-called Special Economic Zone of Zhuhai in Guangdong, gateway to Macau, gambling capital of the world, and Monte Carlo of the Orient. (Or should Monte Carlo be more aptly known as the Macau of the West these days?) I had read about the exorbitant room rates in Macau itself (USD50 upwards for crappy singles and shared baths??), so my plan was to base myself in more affordable Zhuhai, and cross the border daily. Plus I get the added bonus of a cheaper flight to Zhuhai, and the chance to check out the spill-over prosperity in this border city, which in its own right offered some interesting nightlife. But the game (literally) was Macau -- once an absolutely sleazy backwater with smoke-filled rooms ... read more

I returned to Macau as part of a class field trip during my History of Hong Kong course at Hong Kong University. I liked Macau a lot the first time I visited back during a cloudy day in 2009, and I like it even more with blue sky. Macau is a delightful blend of Chinese and Portuguese, epitomized by the infamous Macau egg tart which is a cross between the Portuguese custard tart and Chinese egg tart. So delicious. The first stop on our organized tour was the Ruins of St. Paul. Then we visited the Macau Museum and Mount Fortress, from which there are some incredible views of the city. We had some free time after that to roam around the pedestrian shopping district, distinguished by its wavy patterned street and colourful old historic Portuguese ... read more

Macau is only an hour's ferry journey from Hong Kong and easy to get there and away in a day, so it is easy to forget it is a separate country (when you buy the ferry ticket, they are very clear that you need your passport). Because of its proximity I was expecting it to be similar to Hong Kong, but it could be a different continent, never mind a different country: because of its history as a Portuguese trading post the architecture of the old centre is in the European colonial style, reminiscent of South America. Portuguese and Mandarin are the official languages, so all signage is in those two languages and then (sometimes) English, and the people look different to those in Hong Kong due to historical and current Portuguese and Goan (another Portuguese ... read more

"Proxima paragem: Avenida General Castelo Branco" gracchia l'altoparlante dell'autobus. E' la mia fermata. Passo di fronte e mi inchino davanti alla barocca Igreja do Nossa Senora de Fatima ma tiro dritto e mi dirigo senza più nessuna esitazione verso il luogo in cui ho deciso di giocarmi tutti i risparmi di una vita dedicata al lavoro: il canidromo di Macau! Il programma prevede di starmene beatamente seduto in tribuna fumando acri sigari del Guangxi, sorseggiando pessimo baijiu marca "verga di toro", scommettendo su un branco di levrieri alla disperata rincorsa di una finta lepre appesa ad un carrello. Sfortunatamente gli astri mi sono avversi e ci si mette il capodanno lunare a privarmi di cotante emozioni: una settimana di chiusura totale e cani disoccupati ad annoiarsi nelle loro gabbie; mi ritrovo allora in città con una ... read more