Macau: China, Portugal or Vegas?

We took an overnight bus from Yangshou to Zuhai in order to cross into Macau (or as the Chinese Government calls it - the Special Administrative Zone of Macau). There were few people on the overnight bus and, amazing despite the rocky and noisy trip, we managed to sleep through most of the night. Other than arriving three hours later than we thought (making the trip a 15 hour one instead of a 12 hour one), the trip was uneventful.

The border crossing from Zuhai into Macau is very easy, but hectic. There is an exit area from The People’s Republic of China, followed by “no-man’s land” and then an entry area into Macau. We covered the whole area by walking. We then obtained a 30-day no fee visa on arrival at the border. Nothing to it but a long line up.

Macau has different money than The People’s Republic of China (Macau uses the Pacata as well as the Hong Kong Dollar) so our first task upon entering Macau was finding an ATM. We found one with relative ease and then took a cab to a Best Western. Given the high cost of accommodations in Macau, we decided to cash in some of our Best Western travel cards. In retrospect it was a good move, as the cost of food and excursions blew our daily budget. Best Western nights are saved for when we want to treat ourselves and give ourselves a break from some of the less comfortable accommodation. However, we were a little disappointed with the quality of the hotel, which lacked in the cleanliness and amenities departments. We were also disappointed to find out that computer access is limited to their executive class guests. Throughout the past two months we’ve noticed that most hotels and hostels, even the most basic $10/night dive, provide internet access for their guests. We’ve since conveyed our opinions to Best Western in a strongly worded email (only after being asked for our opinion, of course).

We arrived in Macau on the day of the Dragon Boat Festival and were able to watch some of the dragon boat races in the harbour. We kind of stumbled upon the races while exploring the area, looking for a place to have lunch. Macau made a big deal about the festival – there were signs and promotions everywhere and it was a holiday. But in reality it didn’t seem to be that popular. The grandstands were half empty and there was no atmosphere to the event. Moreover, most of the teams we saw competing seemed to be from neighboring Asian countries and universities, rather than local teams or teams from China. The difficulty in arriving on the day of the Dragon Boat Festival is that it is a major public holiday and nothing was open. This meant that we ended up eating lunch and dinner at the Casino Hotels, which was a fairly expensive and unsatisfying option, since Macau is supposedly known for its cuisine.

Nowadays, Macau is all about the casino glitz, and the race to build bigger, higher, more extravagant hotels and casinos. But we enjoyed walking through the city and exploring its backstreets, baroque churches, fortresses and Chinese temples. Armed (as always) with a map and our travel guide, we took a self-guided walking tour of the area that had us zigzagging through narrow alleys, climbing steep hills and trying to decipher street names in both Chinese and Portuguese. The European influence evident throughout Macau can be traced to the Portuguese, who first settled there in 1557, making Macau the oldest European settlement in Asia. Portuguese is still an official language in Macau, and is used for street names, signs and addresses throughout the area. The highlight of this walking trip was the ruins of the Church of St. Paul. Only the façade and long steep stairway remain from this cathedral, which was originally built in the early 17th century. From the second storey of the façade we could see incredible views of the old quarter and the winding pedestrian streets. We also enjoyed walking up to the old fort, which is situated atop the highest point in Macau. The fort now houses a museum on Macau’s history but unfortunately it was closed on the day we visited.

The Portuguese influence is also evident in Macau’s cuisine, which is a fusion of Chinese, Portuguese influences, blended with flavours from other the Portuguese colonies in Africa, India and South America. One of the signature Macau dishes is called African Chicken, which combines the best flavours from Thai and Indian curries with a peanut sauce. It was excellent. Another local specialty was pressed, smoked and sweetened meat. It wasn't as good.

We also explored Macau’s new architecture by visiting some of the new Las Vegas Style Casinos, including Wynn and the MGM Grande. Macau is trying to establish itself as the Vegas of Asia, but the casinos and atmosphere in Macau are very different from those Vegas. In Macau, gambling in taken very seriously. No booze, no frills, no thrills, no bells, and definitely no whistles. The casinos are very posh and elegant, and have all the designer stores, but it is all about the games, and not necessarily the ambience or amenities. For example, it wasn’t unusual to see young Asian women playing $300 hands with business-first expressions - no conversations, fun or laughter. The games were also different – not a lot of blackjack, mostly Caribbean poker and baccarat. I’d stick with Vegas, but it was definitely cool to see. Rebecca especially liked browsing through the stores, and I think she was tempted to cut the whole trip short in exchange for a couple of new Prada bags.

The other big architectural attraction is the Macau Tower. And it is hard to miss - at 338m tall, the Macau Tower is the 10th largest freestanding structure in the world. We ascended to the observation decks on the 58th and 61st floors but were not brave enough to try any of the thrill seeking activities offered such as bungee jumping (at 222m, the highest bungee jump in the world), walking on the skywalk (harnessed in to ropes, walking on a railing-free track 61 stories up), or climbing the tower mast (to the very top of the TV antenna). The view from the top is awesome, and even a little scary since you are forced to stand on glass floors, looking down to the ground.

There is definitely a lot of money pouring in, likely from the Vegas casino owners, and Macau has undertaken a few gigantic engineering feats. In addition in ambitious land reclamation projects, they have also constructed huge bridges connecting Macau to Taipa Island, where further new development has begun. However, most of the buildings in Macau had a dilapidated appearance: rust stained, chipped, dirty, with clothing hanging from bars covering the windows and balconies. Only the downtown area, with the new casinos, hotels and office buildings, looked new. The rest of the buildings looked like they had all been hastily put up during a two-week period in the 1960s.

It seems like most of the tourists who come to Macau are ‘nouveau riche’ Chinese, who come for the gambling or the duty-free shopping. While the new casinos are definitely stunning buildings, in our opinion, Macau’s appeal lies in its colonial roots: we encountered far more tourists enjoying Macau’s unique history, architecture, and cuisine. Otherwise, it’s just a lacking Las Vegas.

Jun 13, 2008

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