4ever Discovering
A Much Needed Escape to Macau
Another Weekend Getaway; Another Country Checked Off of the List!
Emily and I worked hard to finish our report cards, and decided we both needed a little getaway as a reward when they were all submitted. They can be very stressful to complete with a deadline, so every time we hit the ‘submit’ button, a huge weight is lifted off of our shoulders. What better way to treat ourselves for a job well done than to fly to another country on our list? We booked our flight to Macau, and prepared to gamble away our hard earned money at Asia’s very own ‘Las Vegas’.
That’s right, Macau has actually surpassed Vegas and claimed the title as the city with the highest revenue for gambling. I found this hard to believe, mainly because I had never really heard of Macau before coming to Asia. I figured Vegas was where everyone went to gamble; but, we can’t forget about all of the people on the other side of the world. They aren’t going to fly all the way to America to gamble. Macau has 33 casinos, and attracts many Chinese tourists every year. They say 50% of the population are tourists coming to gamble (that means this place rakes in a TON of money). Emily and I fit right in with all of the rich people! We are working girls now, you know!
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Just like Hong Kong, Macau is its own country and is a special administrative region. That means the laws are different than China, and as Canadians, we don’t need a visa to visit. Bonus. Macau is the only place in China where gambling is legal, so you can imagine why all of the Chinese tourists make their way here. Because this country attracts a ‘wealthier’ clientele, you can imagine the price of a hotel around here. Emily and I thought we found the cheapest one, but it turns out it was still pretty expensive for us! There are no hostels, and we think Airbnb is illegal (still not 100% certain on that). Sometimes you need to pay a little extra to look the part, right? It was a nice change to have a hotel room to ourselves, rather than sharing a dorm with 10 other people. This weekend was all about splurging.
The casinos aren’t the only tourist attraction in Macau (well for us anyways). Emily and I love to see the different architectures and diversity in every country we visit; that’s why we love Europe so much! We were very excited to find out Macau was the first, and last European colony in China. In the 16th century, Portuguese traders started settling in Macau, eventually becoming a colony of the Portuguese Empire. Although the power was transferred back to China in 1999, there are still signs of Portuguese culture everywhere you go. The buildings are colourful, the food is amazing, and all of the signs are written in Chinese and Portuguese. This was a win for us because at least it is using the English alphabet. With our French, Emily and I were able to understand a bit of the signs (and mainly reminded us why we love the Latin culture and can’t wait to go back). It’s something about the colours, the laid back attitude, and the language the appeals to me the most. It’s a lifestyle I can definitely live with, especially with siestas every afternoon!
If you’re travelling to Macau and not just interested in visiting the casinos like us, there are many tourist sites to see on the island. Most of the casinos are located on the Taipa island, so we spent most of our time on the main peninsula (away from all the crazy gamblers). We started our day bright and early, and believe it or not, Emily and I did NOT get lost this time! Macau is small enough we could find our way around with ease (thankfully they have signs in English pointing you towards all the tourist sites). As long as we could find the signs, we were in the clear. With that being said, we did A LOT of walking. So much, I think I might have broken my fitbit. We cleared 35,000 steps in one day walking around the island. The alternative is a bus schedule we didn’t really want to figure out, or the taxi fares we didn’t want to pay. But, if you are ever planning to visit here, remember it is possible! Walking is the best way to get a real feel of the city. We wandered through some parks and old streets where we found some cheap, delicious food.
Emily and I started by visiting St. Paul’s Ruins, and eating the infamous egg tart along the way (I know, it doesn’t sound very appetizing, but it was sweet and delicious). Now, we aren’t big history buffs, but I do wish we learned a little more about the sites we saw. I don’t know who St. Paul was (maybe a disciple?), but his ruins were massive. It looked like a giant gate with so much little detailed engraved in it. Then we made our way to Senado Square (probably one of my favourite places). This is where you can get the real feeling of Portugal; all of the buildings are colourful, and the floor is checkered. It definitely took me back to our days wandering around Europe.
**It is ideal to come here in the morning when everyone is still sleeping. I guess with all of the gamblers, people spend their night at the casinos and take their sweet time sleeping in. We came here in the morning and it was basically empty! Then we walked through in the afternoon to go back to the hotel, and we could barely walk with all of the people. I couldn’t even recognize the place. CHAOS.
After seeing Senado Square, we walked south until we made it to the water. We passed some churches and temples along the way, which was pretty cool to see the two cultures combined. Emily and I are just used to seeing temples, I was a little taken aback when we walked into a gothic church. The waterfront was our reference point if we were ever a little confused on which way to walk. Here you could see the Macau Tower, which to be honest, was a pretty ugly tower. I don’t know why it is a big deal, especially because it doesn’t even light up at night time. Shanghai has a much nicer skyline! But, many people come to the Tower to bungee jump off of it. Emily and I sat and watched people take plunge as our entertainment in the afternoon. It was pretty awesome! I wanted to check out the price, but I do want to save my first bungee jumping experience for New Zealand. Emily will have to get over her fear of heights for that one (or I will just have to give her a little push for courage lol).
Along with the beautiful architecture, another attraction is the Fisherman’s Wharf. We were surprised to find ourselves in ‘Little Rome’ with the miniature colosseum they had. We joked about how diverse this country was, and how we could be in China, Portugal, and Italy all in the same day. It was even funnier when we visited the Parisian Casino, and took our picture with their Eiffel Tower as well. So, we added France to the list! 4 countries in one weekend sounds like a time well spent to me! After taking our pictures with the colosseum, we were feeling a little tired from all of the walking. We headed back to the hotel to take our siesta, and stopped at the Monte Forte for a higher view of the city. It was a long way up, especially in the heat, but the view was worth it at the top (it always is).
Now, I know you’re dying to know: did we gamble? Of course we did. After a little afternoon snooze, Emily and I grabbed some 7-11 beers and started our night off drinking by the waterfront. We realized this must be an uncommon thing to do, because on a Saturday night, the only other people around us were late night runners. Everyone else drinks in the casinos I guess. That was our plan, until we found out they don’t give free drinks to people playing the slots. That was a bummer; we couldn’t afford the buy-in at the tables, let alone understand their rules. The most popular game here is Baccarat, but don’t ask me how you play. Our plan to drink free at the casinos was a bust, but we still took the time to venture to Taipa island to see what all the fuss was about. The oldest casino in Macau is the Grand Lisboa. This is where we tried to drink for free and spent our money at the bar instead. We thought this casino was amazing; however, it was hard to compare it to the ones in Taipa.
This area has so many big time casinos, we didn’t really know where to start. Emily and I went into the City of Dreams, the Parisian Casino, the Galaxy, the Venetian, and walked past the Studio City Casino. They were all amazing! Of course, they were all hotels as well, but I don’t want to know how much it costs to stay a night there. The Venetian is the largest casino in the world, so naturally this is where Emily and I went to spend our money. The weirdest thing about casinos here is how they only accept Hong Kong currency. You would think they would take their own Macau dollars, but we had to change our money over to gamble. Most people visit Macau as a day trip from Hong Kong, and just take the ferry across. I guess locals don’t really spend their time here, so they make it easier for their tourists. After we exchanged our money, we found a slot machine that looked appealing and started gambling away. Obviously we went to the one called ‘Goddess’, and won big time! This was Emily’s first time at a casino, and I have to admit, it’s a pretty impressive place to start! At one point we were up almost $50, but then realized we didn’t want to take any Hong Kong money back to Taiwan to exchange it. Believe it or not, this was a time where we had TOO MUCH money in our hands. So, to take our gambling experience to the full effect, we kept playing until we lost it all. We each spent $10, and is lasted us almost an hour. Not too shabby if you ask me!
Our weekend getaway to Macau was just what we needed to refresh our brains for the last term of the year. We had an incredible weekend, and didn’t think about report cards or our students at all! It was the perfect remedy for those mid-semester slumps we sometimes get. It is important to find the balance between work and playtime. For me and Emily, we need a little more playtime than work time (remember, we are still new to this ‘adulting’ thing). Something important to know about Macau is the FREE shuttle buses that take you from casino to casino. That’s right, free (our favourite word). This is how we traveled between the two islands, and even took the free shuttle bus to the airport. I’m telling you, if you are paying big bucks to gamble at their casino (or $10), these people will do whatever it takes to make you feel comfortable. Plus, you are saving money on a taxi, so you can spend more money gambling. I see their plan.
We loved Macau! A lot of people only come here for a day trip, but I think we could have even spent one more day. Just like Vegas, they have a lot of live shows and Cirque-du-soleils to see. Unfortunately we did not have the time (or the money), to do everything. We have to wait for our rich husbands to take us back here! If you ever come to Macau, take the time to tour around the historical sites, get a feel of the Portuguese culture, gamble your money away at the largest casino in the world, and DEFINITELY try the subway here. Usually Emily and I always try to local foods, but once we got a taste of subway, we managed to go twice in two days. No shame. They didn’t have sub sauce, but this was as close to perfection as we could find. Macau’s subway will always hold a special place in our hearts. EAT FRESH.
