Macau During National Week

  Macau, Macau
Thursday, October 2, 2008

When I was first in Macau just over a week ago, it was pretty tough. A typhoon resulted in cancellation of all ferries going there from mainland China or Hong Kong. I took a bus that just dumps you near the border. No one spoke english and I speak enough Mandarin to politely get food or the bathroom, but not the immigration office. One problem was that I didn't realize Chinese don't recognize the name "Macau" they call it "Au-men", so when I was asking for Macau they really had no idea what I was saying.

This trip to Macau is much better since I am with someone who speaks Mandarin. It is a huge national holiday week for China, so the place is packed with Chinese tourists. It was very difficult to get a hotel, but I found a very pricey resort that would overbook and took my chances.

So on my way out of Asia I spend two days here. Unfortunately it is a Chinese holiday, National Day, and Macau is FULL of tourists. Nearly all the tourists here are from mainland China or Hong Kong, some from Taiwan. They are here to gamble and to a lesser extent shop. For several hours after I leave the airport, I see not a single other Caucasian. On my entire two days, of the thousands and thousands of people I encounter in the streets, maybe 30 are Caucasian, 2 black, 5 Indian.

Macau was a Portuguese colony until 1976. There is still a great deal of Portuguese influence, from street names, that are all Portuguese, to food and architecture. The first time I passed through Macau I was alone, so I got by speaking and reading Spanish (close enough to Portuguese), Mandarin, and English whenever someone spoke it.

Macau is really in impressive array of modern buildings, which are all dedicated to the gambling business, which is greater in volume than Las Vegas.

Macau Gambling

                           

Tourist Pics

                                    

Nightime

Very Lively at Night

A visit to one island, Taipa,

Taipa

 that is very slow and quaint relative to the main tourist/gambling area was great.

Cookies in Taipa

                                                            

"Fired low quality vegetables"

                                                              

Fins for Sale

Much of Macau reminds me of the West Indies, steep hills, narrow streets, schoolkids in traditional uniforms. Except these kids are all Chinese instead of black.

View From Hotel