Getting tarty in Àomén

 

Ruins of the Church of St. Paul

Apparently I'm in the midst of the travel season. Regular readers might recall that last month I took my daughter to Wakayama 和歌山 in Japan for a long weekend when she was visiting us for the holidays. At the beginning of February I'll take a week off from work so the wife and I can do some domestic holidaying, with the itinerary completely in the hands of Shu-E. And the two of us will be hitting the road again during the upcoming Lunar New Year holidays. 

And for this past three-day weekend, in celebration of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. you might be wondering? We two used the federal holiday to visit the former Portugeuse colony of Macau 澳門. The "Vegas of Asia" is easy to reach from Guangzhou 广州, being only a 90-minute ride on the high-speed train from Guangzhou South railway station 广州南站 to Zhuhai 珠海站: 

From the latter station it was a simple matter of changing some money from Chinese RMB to Macanese pataca, then passing through immigration and customs into the Special Administrative Region, a "one country, two systems" status similar to that "enjoyed" by Hong Kong 香港, but without the drama surrounding the latter. Once in Macau we took a taxi to our hotel located in the central penisula. And while Macau might be rightfully noted for its food, hunger overtook me at the hotel, where I settled for an English-style "all day breakfast". I would do better later on:

After dropping off our bags at the Sofitel Macau at Ponte 16,  Shu-E and I walked to the Largo de Senado area, home to Macau's most important historical building, the 18th-century Leal Senado ("Loyal Senate"), so-called because the legislators at the time refused to recognize Spain's occupation of Portugal between 1580 and 1640. It now houses the Civic and Municipal Affairs Bureau (IACM):

The Senate Library was unfortunately closed but we still enjoyed our first taste of colonial Portugal within the building's walls:

Inside the entrance hall is the IACM Temporary Exhibition Gallery, where the current exhibit focused on the local hawker culture:

A mock up of a newspaper kiosk, back in the days when most residents got their news from papers and magazines:

Capturing the facade with a bit less glare:

From there we meandered up to Macau's most striking sight, passing the sunny yellow baroque Church of St. Dominic, which dates from 1587. Alas, a private service was being held at that time so casual visitors were not being admitted:

The narrow streets were packed with visitors:

The Ruins of the Church of St. Michael, Macau's most iconic sight. The facade and stairway are all that remain of the Jesuit church built between 1602 and 1640 by Chinese craftsmen and Japanese Christian exiles. The church was abandoned in 1762 after the expulsion of the Jesuits, and it served as the home of a military battalion before being destroyed by fire in 1835, leaving only today's picturesque (and crowded) ruins. The facade is currently partially covered due to ongoing repair work:

While my wife found a shaded spot at the bottom of the staircase to have a rest, I walked up to have a closer look:

Looking up at the ruins from the rear:

The ruins of the Chapel of St. Francis Xavier (1662):

The saint in question, who played an important (though ultimately futile) role in Japan's feudal period. This figurine is part of the collection of a small museum located behind the facade:

An early-19th century bier, a frame on which dead bodies were conveyed to the grave:

My attention was drawn to this depiction of the 26 Martyrs of Japan 日本二十六聖人, whose crucifixion in Nagasaki 長崎 in 1597 signaled the start of the Shōgunate's crackdown on Christianity and the eventual expulsion of the Portuguese and Spanish from Japan. I visited the site of the executions in Nagasaki way back in the spring of 1992:

Back at the staircase. The skyline in central Macau is dominated by the bizarre Grand Lisboa casino and hotel:

At times walking the streets it felt more like being in a crumbling European old town than in a southern Chinese outpost:

The exterior of the Cinematheque Passion, Macau's arthouse cinema:

Taking a break and sampling Macau Beer, the light but refreshing local brew:

Shu-E would take a lot of selfies during our brief three-day visit:

Returning to the Sofitel to finish checking in:

The view from our room on the 17th floor:

With the sun now set it was time to return to the streets in search of something to eat. We ended up at the small but lively Hong Kung night market:

We settled on a seafood restaurant for some lobster and oysters...:

...before finishing with some grilled meat on skewers:

Returning to the Sofitel at the end of Saturday:

Sunday morning:

Local currency, amounting to roughly USD$80. Hong Kong dollars are also accepted in Macau:

Walking the old streets after breakfast:

Our first destination that day was the Macau Museum, located inside Monte Fort. The museum provides an interesting overview of the former Portugeuse colony's history:

A folding screen depicting Portugeuse administrators on a hunting trip:

A recreation of people residing on houseboats:

A Macanese feast:

A wedding sedan chair used to carry the bride to her new home:

Chinese marionettes:

A pair of modern ceramics, depicting Guangzhou's own Canton Tower 广州塔:

Looking out over the city from the fort:

Our hotel could be seen in the distance:

Taking aim at the Grand Lisboa. Alas, the cannons were fired but once, during a failed attempt by the Dutch to seize the territory in 1622:

From next to the Ruins of the Church of St. Paul we hailed a taxi and had it drive us to the old village on Taipa Island 氹仔. We were dropped off a short walk from Our Lady of Carmel Church:

 

But we weren't there to visit another old house of worship:

Instead, the two of us plunged into the crowds on Rua de Cunha, the main pedestrian strip:

It was here we bypassed the long queues and instead found a quiet table in a Portuguese restaurant. Portugal is famous for its fine wines, so naturally I ordered a bottle of Super Bock beer:

Note the Lotte Giants jersey, which I picked up when we were in Busan back in October 2024. My choice of apparel greatly pleased a South Korean family who were sitting next to us during breakfast that morning at the Sofitel, especially as their teenaged son was wearing a Giants cap:

I had the leitão (roast suckling pig), while Shu-E went for some seafood:

After lunch it was back on Rua de Cunha:

From there we walked to the nearby Taipa Houses-Museum, a collection of pastel-colored buildings dating from the early 1920's that were originally summer residences of wealthy Macanese. One of the houses is now a museum showing how the local elite lived, while the others are reserved for rotationg art exhibitions (and a restaurant):

While I was soaking up the old colonial atmosphere, my wife's attention was drawn to the massive casinos in the distance, especially the Venetian Macao, the largest casino in the world and the largest single structure hotel in Asia:

What a change from Taipa Village!:

Inside the massive interior we made our way to the ersatz Venice, complete with its own canal and gondolas, though the water had been drained for maintenance. Here I am saying "WTF?!":

We then moved on to the London fantasy world, complete with its own Big Ben. Shu-E has a friend who used to like to visit this area back when she couldn't afford to travel abroad, saying it made her feel like she was overseas. But it's a bizarrely distorted view of the British capital, one in which all the shops are dedicated to the selling of name brand goods and all the pedestrians on the "street" are Chinese:

Lord Nelson looks down the the road at the Eiffel Tower. If it all seems very Vegas-like it's because the massive complex is owned by the Las Vegas Sands company:

We hailed a cab for the return to our hotel, which seemed very sedate in comparison. The view before he headed out for the evening:

This time we took the free shuttle to the casino area around the Grand Lisboa:

The reason for going there was for Shu-E to see the Tree of Prosperity at the Wynn Palace. "Glitter(ing) with 24-karat gold and brass leaf, (it rises) from the floor in a glamorous display of stunning art, music and illusion":

And my wife recorded it all for your enjoyment. The opening brought to mind the alien attack in Independence Day:

We ended the evening back in the Largo de Senado area, where I had another Macau Beer to go with the Yangzhou-style fried rice I ordered for dinner, before we walked back to the Sofitel:

Monday, MLK Day and our last few hours in Macau. After checking out and leaving our bags at the hotel for safekeeping, my wife and I headed out into the streets for a final look around. The architecture of the neighborhoods we passed through looked very similar to what you see in Taipei's 台北 older districts:

Our first stop that morning was at the A-Ma Temple 媽閣廟, one of the oldest in Macau (the present temple dates from at least the 16th century). It was here that fishermen once came to pray to the sea goddess (known as Mazu 媽祖 in Taiwan) for good weather and safety while out on the water. It's still a popular site of worship for devotees (and tourists):

A shrine to Guanyin 觀音, the goddess of Mercy: 

True believers pay for massive coils to be blessed and then slowly burned. No doubt mosquitos are kept at bay:

The main hall:

The wife beseeches Mazu for something good, I hope:

With Shu-E leading the way we moved on from the Taoist temple to our next destination, the very Catholic Chapel of Our Lady of Penha. The view from the church grounds included the Macau Tower Convention and Entertainment Center, with Taipa off in the distance: 

The chapel sits atop Penha Hill and was constructed as a place of pilgrimage for Portugeuse sailors in the 17th century, though the present building dates from around 1935:

In the courtyard a marble Our Lady of Lourdes casts a wary eye in the direction of a modern day Sodom and Gomorrah (depending on your opinion of casinos and legalized gambling): 

A couple was posing for their wedding photos:

One can never escape the Grand Lisboa: 

Looking very much like an elderly American tourist pointing out his hotel in the distance. The only things missing are sandals with ankle-high socks. Sadly, it's probably just a matter of time: 

The final stop on the Macau itinerary would be the Mandarin's House. The ancestral home of author and merchant Zheng Guanying 鄭觀應 was built before 1869, and contains more than 60 rooms laid out in the labyrinth pattern favored in many Chinese buildings of the time. Though predominately Chinese in style, some Western influences can also be seen in the decorative motifs: 

The last thing we did before retrieving our bags from our hotel and taking a taxi to the border was to have lunch in a small restaurant. My final meal in the Macau SAR was a pork chop bun, and for dessert the signature snack of snacks, the pastéis de natta, a warm egg-custard tart with a flaky crust. The latter was purchased from an ordinary bakery on the way to the diner from the Mandarin's House, meaning I didn't have to wait in a ridiculously long line outside a more renowned establishment:

The train from Zhuahi to Guangzhou South was faster than the one we had ridden a couple of days previously, taking less than an hour. But the middle-aged women arguing loudly in Cantonese over where to store their bags, the old man in front of me reclining his seat all the way back to my lap, the several passengers nearby watching videos on their phones without the courtesy of earbuds, and the sight of people cutting in line to exit the station (travelers are required to scan their ID cards at the turnstiles) was a weary reminder that we were soon back in China (though to be fair the subway ride back to our residence was surprisingly quiet and uncrowded): 

And that was our MLK three-day holiday weekend. Macau was very different from the two times I had visited neighboring Hong Kong (1993 - when it was still British - and 2014) - an odd but fascinating combination of crumbling old world architecture and Las Vegas-like excess. There was surprisingly a lot to see and do, especially in the historic central peninsula area. I would like to return one of these days to see more, especially Coloane Village, which we didn't have enough time to visit. Perhaps we might even stay in the Venetian to get the full kitschy experience.