Travel Tales Part 3 - Macau

For our Memorial/Victoria Day expeditions off of Hong Kong island, Rachael and I were able to include a day trip to the former Portuguese colony and current Chinese SEZ of Macau. I must admit, thanks to my love of Mozambique gained while in Africa I am just a sucker for anything Portuguese. I can't explain it, it just is. So when I realized that my travel guide for Hong Kong, picked up at Narita on my way out of Japan, was a guide for Hong Kong and Macau, there was no way I was going to pass up any chance I could get to add this stop to my journey!

So on the Saturday morning we headed down to the harbor for the hour-long ferry that would take us there across the South China Sea. Here is our first view of Macau - and the casinos that line the waterfront - as we headed into port:

The tower is just a tower, an adventure destination those sporty types who like to rappel off of tall buildings, i.e. neither Rachael nor myself. As were are also less than enthusiastic gambler, we headed instead down to the southern tip of Macau to the village of Coloane for a feast of a Portuguese lunch in a small local cafe.

Rachael in the plaza;
Coloane architecture and a local shop (I haven't seen dried fish like this since I was in Africa)

After lunch we headed back to Macau proper to explore the Largo de Senado (the town square) and the ruins of the Church of St. Paul

From the ruins we headed up to the Fort, passing by this scene on the way. Not only is this an 'official' dog W.C. but also a place for people to 'walk' their birds - since songbirds learn songs from one another, owners will bring their birds to public places like this so that they can expand their repertoires. I would love to have a spot like this in San Francisco!

In between the square and the ruins we passed through a maze of shops where the old and new came together in a big way. In among the Hang Ten and H2O shops were sellers enticing customers with two of Macau's favorite delicacies - a type of butter biscuit and dried meat, strips of which were cut on request off for taste-tests. While we gave these two a pass, we did fall for egg tarts, the other famous macanese sweet treat. Yum!

We also got to ogle at some of the, well, unique stores and advertising banners. Feel like buying your next best party outfit at a store called Ick? You can do it in Macau. How about some Tough Gear for the tough life of today? Make sure you're prepared!

One of the most fascinating parts of Macau, though, was right at our feet - the decorated mosaic paving stones found throughout the territory, in Coloane (like this boat) and around the Largo de Senado. I was able to snap pictures of only a tiny sample of all the different shapes and designs. I could go back just for these!






What can I say, our day in Macau was too short - an adjective that describes my whole time in both Japan & Hong Kong. I'm already looking forward to my next trip over! While it was great to travel by myself - I think I really needed to stretch my wings again by hitting the road on my own - next time I would like to go with Nathan by my side. Not only so that I can see his Tokyo (and introduce him to Dana's babies) but so that I can show off what I have discovered of Hong Kong and Macau. And so we can discover whole new places of our own together too!

By the time I got back, I was wiped out to say the least. At least I wasn't the only one - after I picked the lady up from Pet Camp, we both crashed out mightily when we got home!


Of course, I've been up to plenty of knitting too, but I think that can wait for my next update...

Megan