Day Trip to Macau

Last Saturday Yami, some friends, and I made a wonderful day trip to Macau. For those who don't know, Macau used to be a Portuguese territory similar to how Hong Kong used to be British. Macau was also recently handed back to China but the Portuguese influence has remained. It is only a 1 hour hydrofoil ride away from Hong Kong which depart about every half hour.

Today Macau is the gambling mecca of Asia with cash flows higher than that of Las Vegas. Wynn, Sands, MGM and several others have casinos here. Unlike Las Vegas, the casinos have not long been the focal point of the city so there is a lot of character left and the casinos are separated from other parts of the city.

The language of Macau is Portuguese and Chinese and the money (which is 1 to 1 with the Hong Kong dollar) is the Peso. It is so odd seeing signs and hearing announcements in Portuguese so far away from anything else European. I guess it’s similar to HK’s English influence but Macau just feels more unique.

For this trip we decided to skip the casinos and take in lunch and some sights. We had an outdoor lunch at a Portuguese restaurant with yummy Sangria and did some exploring. There are remnants of the old fort and the remaining façade of a church. The streets feel very European - winding, narrow, cobblestones, etc. The architecture also has a strong European influence, though the new buildings are a little too polished.

We ended our trip sipping Galão (Portuguese style Latte) at a little café that had a smoke and espresso bean smell that must have been imported from Portugal.

Next trip to Macau will be to the casinos… I hope they have dime roulette and dollar blackjack.