macau landscape. source: see-ming lee link to photo: http://www.flickr.com/photos/seeminglee/8698207921/
so…who’s heard of macau? i had heard some stories (mostly along the lines of vegas on steroids), but had yet to talk to anyone who had been. and then my friend, kate, was sent over for an entire month for a work project. bingo. read on for her recount of the this many-faced city.
first impressions
i was sent to macau, china on a work trip in february 2012. i had never heard of macau before i was told to board a plane in three days, so i spent a couple of days researching the macau and hong kong areas of china before i left. i found out macau was the las vegas of asia, except about ten times bigger and with much higher stakes poker. hong kong was a very western city with a large mix of ethnic and religious backgrounds. so i shoved as many work pants and sweaters into my suitcase as i could and headed out!
once i landed, i had to figure out how to get from hong kong (where my flight landed) to macau. commercial airlines do not fly to macau so i needed to take a ferry. i recommend anyone traveling to macau from the US stay the night in hong kong before and then figure out the ferry the next morning! you’ll be exhausted after a long plane ride and that way you can look up the ferry schedule in the morning and not have to wait – the ferries run about once every two hours. however, since i had to report to work the next morning, i had no choice but to wait for the ferry the evening i arrived in hong kong. i just missed the 8pm ferry and had to wait two hours in the hong kong airport until the 10pm ferry. not ideal, but i made it!
grand lisboa casino in macau. source: By WiNG (Own work) [CC-BY-3.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0)], via Wikimedia Commons from Wikimedia Commons link to photo: http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File%3AMacao_Hotel_Lisboa.jpg
i had never been to asia before, so there were lots of memorable moments. when i arrived at the casino in macau (we were investigating fraud at a casino, so i worked and lived there), people started taking my picture for no reason. i think it is because i’m tall and beautiful – ha!
i also liked watching my male coworkers interact with the very aggressive prostitutes in the casinos. if any male decides to visit macau, you must prepare yourself for continuous cat-calling in mandarin. one prostitute followed a coworker up to his room and knocked on his door!
asian gambling is much different than in vegas. no one drinks any alcohol – in fact, we had a difficult time getting an alcoholic beverage in the casinos. they drink tea and smoke cigarettes and concentrate on their poker game.
interestingly, macau was a portuguese colony and there were many catholic churches and beautiful cathedrals. i was in macau on ash wednesday and walked to a local catholic church for mass. there were a ton of nuns at the church – all of different ethnic backgrounds. they mostly spoke mandarin and some english, but they were very friendly and wanted to hear about the catholic community in the united states. they let me keep a psalm book in mandarin with a photo of pope benedict to give to my grandfather. he loved it!
st. paul’s ruins in macau. source: taken by stephanie (creative commons) link to photo: http://www.world66.com/asia/northeastasia/china/macau/lib/gallery/showimage?pic=asia/northeastasia/china/macau/st_pauls_ruins_1
i was not a fan on mandarin cuisine, but it was fun to get to try it in asia. there are a ton of high end restaurants and shops on the casino strip and each casino had a food court with a mcdonald’s, pizza and kentucky fried chicken – for some reason the locals seem to love KFC!
must-see sights
if you are going to visit for a day, you must spend a day walking around the casinos and people watching. i had so much fun walking through the casinos. the shopping is also fabulous; there are a wide range of shops, from high end like prada and gucci to cheaper local stores. however, the clothes are designed to fit asian women – so if you’re tall of curvy, nothing will fit. but accessories are still available and one size fits all!
senado square in macau. source: taken by lao loong. link to photo: http://www.world66.com/asia/northeastasia/china/macau/lib/gallery/showimage?pic=asia/northeastasia/china/macau/macau_largo_di_sen
if you like religious churches and cathedrals, macau has some very beautiful sites. i walked around the town one weekend afternoon and saw a handful of different churches. the downtown square area is also fun. i just missed chinese new year by a week, but the decorations were still hanging on the streets. there was also a traditional dragon dance in the square when i went – i’m not sure if they perform every day or if it was a random dragon dancing event. there are tons of cute china and stationary stores in the square. i would recommend walking around the city during the day, it can get pretty dark and confusing at night – the streets aren’t very well lit and the landscape is pretty hilly. you can definitely see the city of macau, outside of the casinos, in a day.
i also had fun experiencing a night club in a casino. unlike the gambling, the night clubs are very similar to vegas – think lots of glow sticks, glitter, dancing and alcohol. most people visiting the casinos are from mainland china or hong kong and can speak english, so you’ll make friends on the dance floor. techno music and avril lavigne were hot when i was there!
macau tower. source: By WiNG (Own work) [CC-BY-SA-3.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0)], via Wikimedia Commons from Wikimedia Commons link to photo: http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File%3AMacau_Tower_2009.jpg
who should go
i would recommend anyone who is into gambling and likes to focus on the strategy and competition, as opposed to the social aspect. the gambling looks pretty intense. i didn’t get to visit a spa at the casino, but i heard they were very nice. the night clubs were also fun – so anyone into dancing and glow sticks would also have fun in macau. if you’re already planning a trip to hong kong, macau would be fun to see in a day or experience a night dancing and eating out, but i wouldn’t recommend planning a long vacation to macau, unless you really like the casino experience.
what to pack
i recommend packing layers. it can be cool in the mornings, but gets pretty muggy by afternoon. don’t forget eye drops and nasal spray – smoking is allowed everywhere, so your allergies can flare up if you’re not use to cigarette smoke. i would also bring a computer/iPad to communicate via email with friends and family. the internet in the casino was free and with the time difference, calling home is difficult. a small purse or something to keep money close to you is a good idea as well as pick-pocketing can happen. and lots of books/movies for the long airplane ride.
mandarin food in macau – photo by kate
last thoughts
you are probably going to stick out in crowds – so embrace the tourist mentality. most people were very friendly and helpful. and knowing a few phrases in mandarin before going would be helpful as well. most casino employees knew english, but taxi drivers, and local store owners did not. if you’re up for an adventure and aren’t afraid of experiencing new and different cultures a trip to macau would be for you!
old portuguese quarter in macau. source: taken by stephanie (creative commons) link to photo: http://www.world66.com/asia/northeastasia/china/macau/lib/gallery/showimage?pic=asia/northeastasia/china/macau/old_portugese_quar