Macau!

With the visa I had issued in Hong Kong earlier this month I got 2 entries with 30 days each. I used up my first entry when I returned from Hong Kong and alas it was now time to use the other one as my first 30 days are running out on Sunday. I have always wanted to go to Macau. I am really fascinated by the entire colonial periode for some reason and especially in the Asia/Pacific area. I wanted to go this weekend, but my family decided to go to Qingyuan again, so that only left Monday and Wednesday, but Wednesday is day of the dead and in Macau that is a public holiday. Then there was Monday.

My alarm clock rang at 0630. The other day Lindsey told me that she gets up at 6.30 every morning. I asked her whether it is still dark at that time. I usually get up at 8 every morning. Needless to say I struggled to get out of bed and gather power to put on my clothes. Nonetheless, I suceeded and by 7 I was on my way to the metro station. 

It was a nice morning. It reminded me a bit of those September mornings when I took the bus to school at 7. I must admit, I am not hating the weather at the moment. It is perfect. Not too cold, not too hot. 

Anyways, the 20 minute walk to the metro station woke me up. 

I was a bit concerned whether I'd find everything. I only had one day to discover Macau, so I made a list of what I wanted to see, and found out all practical stuff so I would waste as little time as possible. However, it was really hard to find out how to get from Shenzhen to Macau. All of the websites I had been looking at looked old and not updated at all. I had found out from my hostparents that I needed to take the ferry from Shekou. I know there is a stop on the metro line called Shekou Port, so I assumed that was the one. Then last night, one of my Chinese friends got me all confused when he said that there is no metro stop at the ferry terminal. 

I looked it up on google maps before I went to bed, and was relieved when I saw that the Shekou Port metro stop is just next to the terminal. 

Shekou Port is only a few stops away from me, fortunately. I arrived and went out exit C, which thankfully lead me straight to the entrance of the ferry terminal. Now, honestly, how complicated is it to put on their website: exit at exit C and you will see the terminal? - Not that difficult, hey?  

I bought my tickets and got on the very first ferry at 8.15. A round trip ticket cost me 320RMB. So not bad at all. 

The terminal is very small. There was a lot of people waiting, and no seats at all. However, I only had to wait for a little while since I arrived in perfect time. 

Before boarding the ship I had to fill out a departure card, because I was now leaving China. I cleared customs and boarded the vessel. An hour later I began seeing buildings and the iconic Macau tower. We had barely stopped before all the passengers rushed to the doors. Of course, a passport control was also needed in Macau, which unfortunately didn't go as quickly as when I left Mainland. I don't know why but there were so many people waiting. It took me a good 30 minutes before I finally had the pretty blue stamp saying Macau. As soon as I entered the arrival hall I was approached by men holding out maps and saying: 'taxi'. Very determined, I ignored them and continued to the info center, where I gathered a few maps and set out to explore Macau. As I walked out I was met by several women promoting the different casinos. On my right side there were numerous shuttle buses waiting to take passengers to their accomodation. I should have taken a photo because it was quite spectacular, but I was just too overwhelmed. 

I know that Macau used to be a Portuguese colony, which was why I was rather disturbed when a car almost ran me down from my right side. They drive on the left!? I still don't understand why.

Traffic in Hong Kong is quite tolerable. Most people stop at the zebra crossing and people won't run you down or honk the horn at you, as they do in Mainland. Yet, Macau is a different case. They must have inherited it from their former Portuguese rulers, because their driving is far from tolerable. 

When I saw on google maps how small Macau really is, I decided that I'd try to walk as much as possible to see as much as possible. It took me around 20 minutes to reach what is known as downtown Macau from the ferry terminal. During those 20 minutes I made a few photo stops. For example I stopped at A Praca Flor De Lodao, which is a square with a massive golden lotus flower. I think I have seen it before on a photo or something. 

I also stopped at Casino Grand Lisboa, which is a massive building shaped like a flower and with a golden surface. 

One thing I have been really good at in these past few months is picking the most inconvient days to go sightseeing. I went to Hong Kong during the Chinese national holiday when the streets were packed, and of course I go to Macau just weeks before the grand prix, when they are preparing the roads and setting up seats etc. meaning that I had to take a minor detour as one of the main roads was closed for pedestrians. 

I turned right, down Avenida do Infante D. Henrique and followed it all the way to Senado square. Here I stopped for a while and bought a pack of Oreos for brekky. Then I sat down and enjoyed the open square and the sun. For a second I forgot where I was and thought I was sitting in Praco do Comercio in Lisbon. South Western Europe had suddenly appeared in Asia. I took a wee look around the small shops where a precious sales assistent commented on my hair and told me it was beautiful. She put the biggest smile on my face and she loved it. I entered a St. Dominic's church and had a small rest while admiring the interior. I saw some Chinese taking photos where they were pretending to pray and it made me upset. I somehow felt that they were mocking the catholic religion. 

One of the reasons why I really wanted to go to Macau was to finally go to a church again. I can't even remember the last time I visited a church. It's not because I am really religious, it's just because it makes me so calm. I don't why, but whenever I am in a church it is as if all of my worries and concerns disappear. 

After having spent a few minutes in the church I continued walking towards the Ruins of St. Paul, which can probably be said to be the icon of Macau. It was once a cathedral, dedicated to the apostle Saint Paul, but today only, what appears the be a gate, remains. 

It is truly remarkable and definitely worth visiting. 

After taking a few photos I began walking around in downtown, and then finally decided to walk towards the Macau tower. So far I definitely liked Macau. It was a fair walk to the tower. In total the area of Macau island in 9.3km2. It is quite small. The area of Macau (including Taipa, Coloane and Cotai) is 29.5km2. It is not big at all. 

It is not difficult to find the way to the tower, just follow it. However, when you get up close, you see that it can indeed be difficult for a pedestrian to enter the tower and convention center which is linked to it. I walked through several parks before I finally found a pedestrians tunnel which took me under the main road and lead me straight to the entrance. This took me a good 20 minutes to find. I didn't want to go up the tower. I judged it worthless since I couldn't afford to do the bungee jump I had originally inteded to do. The Macau tower is 233m, making this the tallest bungee in the world. Unfortunately, not for me this time. Instead I found a Toys R Us and bought Michelle's birthday present. She has been a good kid lately, therefore I bought her a ballerina Barbie, as she herself loved to dance ballet.

Then I took the bus back to downtown. I would have walked but my tired backpacker feet told me otherwise. Now this was interesting because the driver spoke no English. I was 20 cents short, but he let me on anyway. I figure it was because he couldn't tell me to get off the bus. It is rather lucky that my Spanish is so developed that I can read and understand Portuguese because quite a few places the signing is only in Cantonese and Portuguese. 

I got off at Grand Lisboa and walked down to the waterfront from there. My feet were well sore and I had pretty much seen all I wanted to see of Macau, so I decided to walk back to the ferry terminal to see if I could get on an earlier boat (the lady had given me a ticket to the one at 8.45pm and it was only 2pm)

My last sight in Macau was just off Avenida Dr. Sun Yat-Sen, and was the statue of Kun Lam, the Goddess of Mercy and Queen of Heaven. A massive golden statue right by the water. 

As I continued to the ferry terminal, I noticed just how many casinos there were popping up from everywhere. 

I also briefly visited the Fisherman's Wharf, but with shops as Enzo and outlets with overpriced D&G etc. I quickly left. 

Fortunately, I was allowed to jump on an earlier boat. 

I enjoyed my day in Macau. It is very different to Hong Kong. Hong Kong is so multicultural and the occasional caucasian is not uncommon where in Macau it is a bit more rare. I was definitely being observed most places I went (well except for the touristy spots) but mostly because foreigners are expected to go for gambling and I with my worn out sandals, stuffed rucksack, ripped leggings and vintage dress looked nothing like someone who could afford gambling of any kind. Hence, I attracted quite a few looks. 

Macau is said to be the Vegas of Asia. I might have agreed if I had gone to gamble, however, I like to call it a drop of South West Europe in Asia. Everything reminded me so much of Portugal and Spain. The little squares with cafés where you can sit and enjoy drinks, the waterfront, the long bridge little different from the one in Lisbon .. I had such a weird homely feeling. 

Then I got off the boat and it was like I had gone from Lisbon to Budapest within one day. Ah well, I'll always have Macau!