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Macau People and other Macao General Tips

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Macao General Tips by Ewingjr98

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Ewingjr98   
Time for a punkie smudge.


Real Name: JR
Lives In: Top of the World, US
Member Since: Aug 29, 2000
VT Rank: 167

 
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General Tips: Macau People
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  • Updated by Ewingjr98 on Sep 29, 2004
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  • Macao - Macau's Chinese culture
  • Macau's Chinese culture
  • by Ewingjr98
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  • Favorite Thing: Of Macau's 450,000 residents today, only 20,000 are Macanese (Portuguese/Chinese mix) and a minuscule 1,000 are full-blooded Portuguese. Macau was a Portuguese colony from 1513 until 1999, so the influence of Portugal here is still very strong. The food has an interesting blend of eastern and Portuguese, and there are still two official languages: Portuguese and Chinese. The money is of course the Pataca, which is printed under the authority of the Chinese government.

    The people here seem to be more laid-back and friendly than their neighbors in big-city Hong Kong. The culture seems more rich and unique, the architecture more diverse, and the food more tasty.


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    General Tips: Money in Macau
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  • Updated by Ewingjr98 on Sep 29, 2004
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  • Favorite Thing: Money in Macau is similar to Money in Hong Kong for multiple reasons. First, despite the fact that Macau (and Hong Kong) has been reunited with mainland China, they maintain their own unique currency. Second, the Macau currency is valued at almost exactly the same rate as the Hong Kong Dollar (1 Macau Pataca = 1 Hong Kong Dollar). And finally, Macau Pataca and Hong Kong Dollars are both legal currency in Macau (but not in Hong Kong!).

    Unfortunately, Patacas are somewhat difficult to come by in Macau. Many ATMs will not distribute them and stores will often not give them as change for your Hong Kong money. Luckily it doesn't matter if you use Patacas because HK$ are accepted everywhere, and they are even distributed at all Macau ATMs. I received a 10 Pataca note and a few one Pataca coins as change from a taxi ride.

    The only place Patacas are REQUIRED in Macau is at the slot machines in the casinos! They will not take HK$ (but the cashiers will exchange your HK$ for Patacas!).


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    Comments for Ewingjr98 about Macao
    Lunaina Sat Feb 17, 2007 07:30 UTC
     JR Ewing in person!! I liked your Macau tips and photos, brings back memories to my trip! Thanks!!
    VeronicaG Thu Nov 16, 2006 01:52 UTC
     Macao seems to have a nice selection of forts, temples, churches, shopping areas and other sites that would be interesting to visit. It was wise of you to avoid the $80 fee to see the city. Now that's being travel savvy...regards

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