Land of the 50-story Lotus Blossom

Another very full, very interesting day.

The group met in the hotel lobby at 6:45 AM. After a very quick breakfast, we walked to the subway and traveled several stations to Sheung Wan. We made our way through another vertical shopping mall to the Macau ferry (everything was closed, since it was still only 7:30 AM). We actually had to clear customs and immigration, since Macau is another “semi-autonomous” region, with its own currency, government, etc. The country is tiny—only about 10 square miles—but has a really interesting history. We boarded an 8 AM hydrofoil, and sailed across the South China Sea, observing the scenery along the shoreline (beautiful islands, rugged mountains, but terrible air quality—really thick brownish gray smog, like L.A. on a bad day).

Arriving in the City was exciting, as the boat passed under a new bridge and along a waterfront with Las-Vegas style buildings, including a giant volcano, a 1000-foot space needle, and a 50-story building shaped like an enormous lotus blossom.

After disembarking, we cleared customs again and entered Macau. We took a local bus into the historic center, which is known for Portuguese colonial buildings dating back to the 1500s. The architecture was really charming, and reminded me of Mexico or Puerto Rico---bright colors, beautiful wooden windows, ornamental iron railings, ceramic tiles—as well as really interesting pavement patterns, fountains, and artwork. We spent several hours walking through the historic district—parts were “pedestrian only” and other parts had motorbikes and cars racing through, honking at people to get out of their way. As the morning went on, the streets got busier and by noon it was really lively and crowded.

We visited several historic churches, each with its own story. A few had small museums, with historic religious artwork and objects. Lots of photo opportunities, particularly when you could align these crumbling apartments with laundry hanging everywhere with the enormous lotus blossom skyscraper that was being built in the background. The walk took us up some very steep streets to a historic fort and museum, with amazing lookouts over the City. Macau is not as prosperous as Hong Kong, but it doesn’t seem to have abject poverty either. Mostly just modest, sort of rundown looking apartment buildings, with lots of interesting stuff happening on the ground floor of each building---including auto repair shops.

Our walk took us to the site of a historic church built in the 1500s and burned in 1835. All that’s left is the façade of one wall—the rest is just rubble and historic markers. The place was really popular, tourists everywhere, many visiting from Indonesia and the Philippines. From this point, we walked several miles on twisting streets until we came to a Buddhist temple. We had a short visit there and then had a great lunch at a Macaonese restaurant. Some of the highlights were cod balls, oxtails, and African chicken.

After lunch, we boarded another City bus and went down to the Casino district. We didn’t actually go into the casinos, but instead headed to a new development along the waterfront called Fisherman’s Wharf. Strangely enough, this is an Orlando-esque entertainment complex, with buildings that are meant to replicate places like Ancient Rome, Ancient Egypt, Amsterdam, Miami Beach, and New Orleans. It was an odd contrast to the craziness and authenticity of the old city a few blocks away. We were also the only people there! We did enjoy some good ice cream, and got some great photos. I asked the guy at the information desk what was inside the giant volcano (I think it must be a roller coaster or a theater or something), but all he could say was “Lava.” I think that was the only English word he’d been taught.

We went back to the ferry terminal around 5 and caught the 6 PM boat back to Hong Kong (same deal with clearing customs and immigration). By the time we got to the hotel it was 7:30. I went back out to get some food, and instead found myself on a street where hawkers in front of every storefront were trying to lure me in for a massage. As nice as that sounded, I don’t think it was the kind of massage I was looking for! And I was hungry and tired. I grabbed a snack inside a huge mall (with a mere 700 stores) called Ocean Centre, and headed back to the room to write this.

It’s funny traveling with planners—I think we share a common gene in our DNA. We all reach for our cameras at the same time, take photos of the same things (like the Macaonese dog toilets), and love riding public transportation. I think we could walk through these cities forever.

Some photos from today's trip are in the post below, called "MacWow"