Macau II

Macau certainly had old world charm. It was a little surreal - we couldn't tell if we were in Europe, Asia or Mexico.

Things that made the place feel European:

Old churches like this:

Or, at least church facades. The coolest church facade I have ever seen, actually! It had a mixture of Asian and European figures - dragons and virgin mary's and devils, oh my! 

Streets like this:

Piazzas and courtyards like this:

Things that made it feel Mexican - 

Beautiful buildings like this:

Forts like this:

And churches like this:

Things that made it feel like Asia: 

Speedboats like this:

Signs like this (SUPER DELUXE PREMIUM SPECIAL BUSINESS VIP LOUNGE):

Houses like this:

Casinos and hotels like this:

Streets like this:

Me like this:

The island portion of Macau is to the south of the peninsula that is attached to China. Mind you, all areas of Macau are a SAR (special administrative region), which basically means it is NOT China. No visa required, etc. What do you get when you have an island nation with the freedom to do whatever they want next to the most Chinese people anywhere? CASINOS! There are no gambling laws except that they encourage it. Here is what happens when you do that:

Venitian

Grand Canal

Grand hall?

the GALAXYYYYY

Macau verdict: charming, gaudy, Asian, and western at the same time. A unique place, really. We had some great food (see Jordan's post). One of my favorite dishes being the African Chicken (go figure). Macau has done a really good job of separating the stupid casinos from the real city, which I appreciate. They are reclaiming land at a massive rate and putting all the casinos to the south of the city. They could REALLY use public transport, which is coming in several years - we saw the intense construction undertaking. All in all a great experience, even though I lost $80 at roulette. It was my first time and I only walked away down $80! I say that was a success and I had a good time. As did Jordan.

I am sure this little corner of the world will destroy itself eventually, but I hope it takes a really long time! Also, can I tell you how weird it was to see PORTUGUESE on street signs (highway and local) in Asia?!

Day in Macau

We spent the day in Macau (arrived via an approximately one hour turbojet boat/ferry trip). It's much smaller and calmer than HK but still rather busy and a lot is happening all the time. There is a good amount of Portuguese influence left (well there are really just street signs and food left from their influence) so we made sure to sample their culinary influences (below: Portuguese sausage, African chicken, bacalao with potato, coffee pudding and Macau beer). We ended the night at the Venetian casino and played a  few rounds of roulette. Upon losing we rushed back to the ferry terminal to learn that the next few boats were sold out (until 230am) but we found a solution ....super luxury class tickets for a small upgrade fee. Needless to say, they served a proper meal on the journey. We arrived back to HK greeted by one of the strongest downpours we have ever seen.