"Macau -- great break from Hong Kong!" Macao by Ewingjr98

Near Senado Square

I spent only one day in Macau, but it was very pleasant and enjoyable. I was pleased with almost everything about this small city, especially the architecture and the food. The Casinos are unique, but certainly not the purpose of my trip to Asia.

We took the ferry from Kowloon to Macau, and the ride was just over an hour. Upon arriving at the Macau Port, we were immediately accosted by a guy wanting to drive us around the town to show us the major sights for only US$80! We wisely said no and decided to show ourselves around the city.

We began by walking toward Fort Guia, but soon found that there is no easy way to get there from the port. We hailed a taxi and were happy to see the base fare was only 10 Macau Pataca (US$1.25)instead of 16 HK$ (US$2) we were used to. We soon realized that the offer of $80 for a day was outrageous.

We arrived at Fort Guia and spent a few minutes admiring the view and getting our bearings in the city. The lighthouse here is very impressive and the chapel is ancient.

Then we walked through the town for a little ways enjoying the side streets before catching another cab to Leal Senado. This is an amazing central shopping area of the city that looks almost like a Mediterranean Europe town. We had lunch at a nice little restaurant that offered fried noodles as the specialty.

Then we continued walking around the area until we stumbled upon the St Paul's (Sao Paulo) Cathedral ruins. This is probably the most photographed spot in Macau and it was thronged with tourists.

Sao Paulo from Monte Fort

Beside Sao Paulo Cathedral is another large fortress called Monte Fort that offers great views of the cathedral, downtown, and China.

Our next stop was Ama Temple on the western side of the peninsula. This is a huge old temple complex.

We then took a taxi to the newer parts of the city near Kun Iam Statue (not the temple of the same name) and stopped for a beer. As it got dark, we went to Macau Tower and watched the sun set.

From Macau Tower, it was a short cab ride to the Lisboa Hotel. We didn't do much gambling, but I won a few dollars on the slots. Casinos here are very much different than in America. At the entrance we were x-rayed and searched. They didn't take my camera, but they put a "no pictures" sticker on my camera bag. The casino itself was very odd -- you would have to see it to understand...

We got dinner at a great little restaurant on a side alley. We were the only Westerners there and we attracted much attention. We had a wonderful dinner of stir fried beef and seafood with rice and beer.

Next, we moved back to the Lisboa Casino then caught a cab to the Casinos near the port preparing for our journey. There wasn't much in this area so after 20-30 minutes of strolling, we decided to head to Hong Kong. The 2nd class cabin was booked on the ferry, so we ended up paying extra for a first class seat which included a light dinner.