Macau - A slice of Portugal in the Orient !

 Macau - A slice of Portugal in the Orient ! 

Macau is situated on a tiny Island just off mainland china. It has a rich and interesting history due to its 400 years of portuguese colonialization which is visible even today post its attaining independence and becoming a separate state. Its poticially interesting as well because this very tiny and highly densely populated area just like Hong Kong, follows a one country 2 system approach I.e. it has its own law (Macanese law) but also adopts mandarin as the official language and is considered a Specially administered area of China which means that some chinese administration also applies. It also has its own currency called the Macanese Pataca although Hong Kong Dollars are also widely accepted due to its 1:1 ratio. 

Macau is a strip divided vertically into 3 islands, Old Macau, Taipa and Coloane. Each one has its own charm and seems to come from a different era. Coloane is where I stayed mainly to get away from the hustle , bustle and stay away from crowds. And it was mission accomplished. The area which is toward the southernmost part of the island is almost like a nature reserve with a couple of old fishing villages still existent today. In this area the hills meet the sea and if you stay at the Grand Coloane resort which is where we stayed you get exactly this view from your hotel rooms. The beaches per se are not the best , due to the narrow shore and rough waters but you still get the benefits of being by the sea which is a gentle sea breeze right thru the day and the hills and greenery on the other side. There isn’t much to do on the Coloane side other than relaxing. Perhaps visiting the Giant Panda park to view some of these exotic animals , and visiting the village of St Francis Xavier (also called Vila Coloane) where you can see a couple of old taoist and buddhist temples and churches from the portugese era. However, if you do visit this village you can visit the very famous Lord Stows Bakery which is world famous for their Egg tarts. Made hot and fresh in the morning visit around 9 am to get the freshest tarts and other snacks. You can also get glimpses of the chinese city of Hengqin from the bay side at this village which is literally across a narrow strait of water. I would recommend spending a day or two in Colaone if you’re looking to get away from the crazy tourist crowds, traffic and just soak in some nature. Miramar restaurant in this area is famous for their authentic portuguese cuisine (although there are many restaurants in Macau now serving fusion cuisine of Oriental and portuguese) but it can be a little pricey. 

The Cotai strip in the section that separates Old Macau from Coloane. This is the ultra modern part of the city and in stark contrast to Coloane. With all high end shopping malls, eateries and boutique stores get ready to be transported to something of the Las Vegas strip. There are three complexes in this area worth checking out and which are walking distances from each other.  The londoner themed around london with a replica of the Buckingham palace and Big Ben, the parisian with the eiffel tower replica and the venetian with the classic gondola rides available inside the mall. Every complex has within it a massive food court , thousands of shops / stores, casinos and other entertainment happening. So even if you do not intend to shop, walk around this area and capture some picture perfect moments. Another couple of things definitely worth doing in this area are the musical fountain show and cable car ride at the Wynn palace hotel located 5 mins walk from the Londoner. Both are free to public and offer nice views of the fountain display and the city from a height respectively. You can end by grabbing dinner at one of the food courts or restaurants within the complexes. The whole area can take upto 2-3 hours to check out on foot. 

Old macau town - this is by far the most interesting part of the city especially if you are a history and culture buff. The old macau town is the most densely populated area in the world with buildings containing choc a block apartments and condos and small shops and restaurants on the ground floors. A great place to start exploring is at the ruins of St Pauls (also called Mater Dei) a 16th century church row in ruins except the front facade. Take a virtual tour in the VR room and visit the adjoining musuem for a nominal fee. The musuem is very well maintained and explains the entire history and culture of Macau with beautiful exhibits and samples. From this area walk down to the famous town square called Senado square to purchase some trinkets and souveniours and from there onward to St Dominicks Church , na Thca temple and Se Cathedral all located close to each other. This area also makes for a good lunch stop. Post lunch I’d recommend to walk to another part of town called St Lourenzo. This is a little off the beaten path but offers some less known but equally charming sites such as Grand Lisboa lotus shaped buildling, The Mandarin House, A Ma temple and church of St Augustine. A Ma temple is typically the last point on this route and is by the river side, across the river lies the town of Wanzin which belongs to China. All in all, it's about a 20 mins walk from one part to the other that takes you through beautiful narrow winding cobbled roads, portugese style edifices and local marketplaces. Its like transporting oneself back through a time capsule. Grab a coffee and snack at one of the kiosks near the A Ma temple. You can then walk over from this area to the Macau Tower which is another 15-20 mins or so. This itinery makes for a typical 5-6 hours in total and you can comfortably head back by 6 pm or so to spend a relaxed evening.

Reaching There

Macau is well connected to many other cities across SEA via airlines such as Air Macau (its flag carrier), scoot, among others.  THe airport terminal is pretty small and immigration and other formalities can be completed fairly quickly. If arriving from Hong Kong, one can also opt for a ferry or a bus which takes about an hour or so. 

Getting Around

Taxis are a convenient and fastest way of getting around. There is a good public bus system and a LRT as well but if you are unfamiliar with the system then taxis are fine. All rates go by meter,  and can be flagged on the road or via an app. (note Grab doesn’t work in Macau and HK). Walking is also a good way to get around as streets are very pedestrian friendly in Cotai strip and in old Macau all the sites are pretty close to each other and in narrow lanes. Do note that old macau unlike the Cotai strip is very undulating so there can be steep ascents and descents. Streets are very narrow and so are the pedestrian walkways.

Currency

The official currency is Macanese Pataca. HKD is also widely accepted by all business establishments and even taxis on a 1:1 ratio. 

Weather

Macau experiences typical island weather so it can go from very hot and humid to rainy pretty quickly. Hence prep accordingly with an umbrella,  jacket but wear loose and comfortable clothing in general. 

Food

This is a very interesting aspect of Macau because the two dominating food choices are chinese (local) and portuguese food due to the past influence. However, there is also fusion food that I saw which I found very interesting. For instance a Bacalhau Fried Rice (Cod Sea fish which is popular of Portugal in a typical chinese style fried rice) for instance. Other chinese cuisines like Sichuan, Hainan, and of course Japanese and cantonese are also very popular. So are bakeries and confectionaries dishing out bread based snacks, puff pastries and the popular egg tarts. These small little bakeries can be found in all parts of the city and the stuff is truly delicious. If you are looking for any other specific cuisines Macau has it all to offer. Either look up google for specific restaurants or visit a food court where you’d find other international cuisines as well such as italian, mexican , Indian and more. 

Shopping and Souveniors 

Shops selling souveniours are located at all tourist parts of the old city which I talked of earlier. Rates are quite standard so it’s only a matter of choice then. Vendors may bargain a little, but not too much. In addition to the standard stuff, something of macau ceramic  (called Kraak back in the day) is a great gifting item. 

So all in all, Macau is a place where one can spend anywhere from 3 days to a week depending on the pace at which you’d like to do stuff and you can see all of it. For me , the best part was that there were no touts, taxis honestly went by meter, the road ways are fantastic and everything is within 10-15 mins distance and there are no traffic jams even on a weekend. That is every tourist’s dream come true. I’ll sign off with that :)