As we had plenty of time to spend in HK, we decided to go a little further afield, we both wanted to visit Macau, as we'd never been there before. It is just a day trip from HK but you do need your passport and immigration card. We went to the China/Macau ferry terminal in Kowloon and booked ourselves onto a ferry.
After passing through immigration we boarded a surprisingly modern and comfortable ferry. Seats are allocated with life jackets under the seats and a safety card in front. It was just like being on an aircraft except the seats were far more spacious and comfortable. The journey was smooth and took about an hour, there was a tv on board the ferry and a refreshment counter. We filled in our immigration card for Macau whilst we were sat in our comfy seats and before we knew it, we were there.
When we came out of the ferry terminal there were no end of taxis, tour buses, rickshaws and tuk-tuk type contraptions which would take you into town. We decided that we would walk and set off in the general direction of the centre of town. We passed the Sands Casino and the newly built Fisherman's Wharf which is a many themed entertainment centre by the water. We had grabbed a street map at the ferry terminal which showed how to get to some of the sights.
Macau is also heavily populated but has one big noticeable difference to HK... They drive like maniacs!!!!! I sincerely believe that the most dangerous thing to do in Macau is attempt to cross the road, there are motorbikes everywhere and the general traffic makes no attempt to stop, even on crossings.
We did manage to get into town without mishap, but only just.
Macau is the other Special Administrative region of the People's Republic of China and the population is about 95% Chinese. This area was leased to Portugal in 1670 and is the oldest European colony in China. It was transferred back to the PRC in 1999 but Portugese is still an official language of Macau and some of the buildings here have a definite European flavour.
Macau is best known for gambling and hospitality. There are many large ornate casinos and hotels to cater for the high rollers who come to visit. Tourism and gambling account for over 50% of Macau's GDP and the gambling revenues in Macau are greater than those on the Las Vegas Strip, but there is more to this place than gambling.
We went into town and visited the ruins of St Paul's Cathedral. Building commenced on this cathedral in 1582 and was completed in 1602. It was the largest catholic cathedral in Asia and as such, was bestowed many expensive gifts from the royalty and hoity-toity of Europe. Destroyed by fire during a typhoon in 1835, all that is left of St Pauls is the ornate south-facing stone facade of the building and some unearthed tombs behind the facade which have been preserved. There is scaffold behind the facade with metal steps which enable you to climb up and observe the hustle and bustle of the street below.
We strolled the streets, past shops and food sellers, tiny temples crammed inbetween other buildings and sunny squares surrounded by European style buildings. There was building work going on as there are some new hotels and casinos going up. One of the things that I was bemused by is that on these buildings, just like the HK skyscrapers, they use bamboo scaffolding!!!! Don't get me wrong, I have nothing against bamboo, but when you are used to seeing metal scaffolds, bamboo looks a bit too flimsy to be propped up against a skyscraper!!!!
We walked along the waterfront and got a decent (despite a bit of murky weather) view of the Macau Tower. This is based on Auckland's Sky Tower and was comissioned by Macau billionnaire Stanley Ho Hung-Sun after a visit to Auckland. Built by a New Zealand company, it stands 338m from ground to the top.
We couldn't resist a visit to Sands Casino and we had a little flutter on the many fruit machines there. I am no gambler and never play on fruit machines but this place was full of people who are obviously addicts. We won nowt worth keeping but I was amazed at the amounts of money that people were feeding into these machines with very little reward. Sands was plush and massive, whoever got the carpet contract for that place has probably never had to work since..
We strolled back to the ferry terminal and managed to avoid getting run over. We had a mad dash through immigration and a quick stamp of the passport before just making it to the ferry.....phew!!!
The good thing about Macau is that it is a full day out but easily accessible from HK. They have their own currency but are happy to accept HK dollars. Tourism has grown here over the last 10 years and the people of Macau are gearing up for another bumper tourist year in 2007.
Here are some pics from Macau. The view from St Pauls and St Pauls facade. Euro-style buildings, the Macau tower and Bamboo scaffolding..