This is my first visit to Macau and Macau always give me the feeling of being an insignificant younger brother overshadowed by Hong Kong, not just in size (a mere 29km2 compare to over 1100km2 of Hong Kong) but also in terms of its economy. Incidentally, Hong Kong’s previous colonial ruler Britain also eclipsed Portugal (Macau’s colonial ruler) as a maritime power.
Getting to Macau from Hong Kong is easy. Just get down to the harbour at Sheung Wan and buy a ticket. Just be careful not to take the ferry that goes out to Taipa, however. After clearing Hong Kong’s customs, one is required to get a seat number (like those on an airplane) before boarding and this should be done more than 15 minutes because ‘unclaimed’ seats are issued to those who have either missed the earlier ferry or those who wants to take an earlier ferry out. Be really careful when boarding because the seas are quite rough in Hong Kong. On both the outgoing and returning trip I have noticed people that fell when the ferry rocked. The trip takes about an hour.
After clearing the customs in Macau, you will be greeted by touts who would offer taxi tours to bring you around. My advise is to ignore them if you only want to visit the Ruins of St Paul (大三巴) and the Macau museum since it’s only about 500 ~ 600 meters out from the Grand Lisboa. The only issue is getting yourself orientated so you can find your way to the destination. To get to the casinos, just hop onto any of the shuttle buses provided by the respective casino which is about to leave.
The entire income of the whole Macau Special Administrative Region [SAR] probably comes from the casinos alone. There’s so many of them and I didn’t bother to check them out nor try my luck. I walked through the Grand Lisboa and felt it’s no different from Genting. Gamblers however, may beg to differ.
Macau is simply Las Vegas of the Orient and Sin City. Next to the casinos you can easily find the multitude of pawn shops (for those who are out of luck), and there are also many shops selling expensive jewelry and watches for those who have made a killing. Around the casinos you really don’t see much of the housing.
Prostitution is legal in Macau as it is in Singapore. The difference is that there is no restriction to soliciting. Strewn on the floor outside the casinos, I noticed ‘name cards’ touting massage services and spas. On one card it claimed that the girl is from Singapore. I have no doubt these masseurs are nothing more than prostitutes.
There are also restaurants and retail shops in the casino. I had lunch at the restaurant in the old Casino Lisboa located right next to the famous infamous ‘Race Track’. There are no horses or dogs racing here but rather it is where the prostitutes – mostly from China – congregate and walk around non stop in a loop. I often seen them approach or winked at the men who looked at them.
I noticed on the map, which I have lost, that there is also a zoo and a university. Unfortunately we didn’t have time to visit Taipa and we only spent time at the Ruins of St Paul and the Museum. It took me awhile to get there since it is not so straight forward nor is it visible at street level. Again, there was a never-ending hoard of tourists from China.
I had originally wanted to spend a few days in Macau and I am glad I didn’t. Frankly I think there is nothing much though on hindsight I regret not visiting the Venetian. Perhaps I would save that for a second trip.
Anyway, I haven’t got much to show for it except these photos. Maybe I’ll come back again in a few years.