Macau – Travels with Ali

~ Exploring Macau’s Iconic Casinos: A Visual Journey ~

During all the times we have been to Macau, we have never visited the famous casinos. This is something that has been on my list for a while.

Macau’s economy relies heavily on gambling. Macau has 61 casinos of which the biggest is The Venetian Macau. It’s surprising to note that Macau is the gambling capital of the World, the hotels and casinos are much larger for one thing.

Walking back from dinner on our first night, we passed by the MGM. So we stepped inside to take a look. There were several sculptures of lions, on display. As everyone knows the lion is the symbol of MGM.

The MGM Hotel

I loved the amazing detail of these lions, there were many more too.

Neither of us are gambling types which is fortunate, otherwise the temptations would be too great!

The artwork at the MGM is stunning, I could have stayed a night or two here quite happily. It felt more like a museum than a hotel.

Most of the casinos are located in Taipa and the three biggest are The Venetian, The Parisian and The Londoner. We managed The Venetian and The Londoner, but our senses were overwhelmed and we didn’t get to The Parisian. I did feel as if I had visited three cities in one day.

The Venetian

The Venetian in Macau was built to replicate The Venetian in Las Vegas. To say it is astounding would be an understatement. My first impressions on walking to the canals section were that the weather had improved and turned warmer. Realising that it was in fact a false ceiling, I had the feeling I was an extra on The Truman Show.

It was a Sunday the day we visited and also a festive holiday and the crowds were out in force. When I looked up I was momentarily confused as to what the dark holes in the sky were. I thought at first they were drones. I have to say it was very disconcerting.

I’ve now been to Venice!

As we left The Venetian, I looked up to see the striking ceiling, with such complex designs.

**Ceiling of The Venetian depicting signs of the Zodiac**

The Houses of Parliament from The Londoner in the background.

The Houses of Parliament and Big Ben at The Londoner

After a while Anthony said he had to get out, it was getting to be claustrophobic! They don’t make it easy though to find an exit, everywhere just seemed to lead to more labyrinths.

Before heading over to The Londoner I managed to take a couple of photos of the Eiffel Tower at The Parisian.

The Londoner

We stopped for a drink at one of the many cafes inside and watched The Changing of the Guards.

Big Ben

I enjoyed visiting The Londoner, the architecture is unbelievable. I can’t imagine how it would be to stay in a place like this. For one, the cost would be extortionate and also I think it would feel too overwhelming.

I’m happy that we visited some of the casinos but I doubt we would go back, Macau has so much more to offer. If you visit and want to see some fabulous art, I would suggest one of the big casinos.

~ Exploring Macau – A Visit to Taipa ~

After flying from Bangkok to Hong Kong, we immediately took the bus over the new HKZM Bridge. This is something Anthony has wanted to do for a while. Normally we would take the ferry, but after researching how to buy tickets, this was such an easy way to travel. There is no need to pick up your luggage as this is arranged for you. All we needed to do was follow the signs at the airport. Everything went smoothly and the bus ride was very comfortable. Our hotel was just a short taxi ride away.

HKZM Bridge (Hong Kong – Zuhai – Macau – Bridge) s a 55-kilometre (34 mi) bridge–tunnel system consisting of a series of three cable-stayed bridges, an undersea tunnel, and four artificial islands. It is both the longest sea crossing and the longest open-sea fixed link in the world. The cost of construction was US$18 billion and is meant to last 120 years. Source: Wikipedia.

We were staying at Crowne Plaza, Macau. Possibly one of the few hotels without a casino! Our room was on the 21st floor and we had amazing views over the sea and looking towards China. Although there was massive construction going on below for more reclaimed land.

Macau is a special administrative region of China. It is the most densely populated region in the World with a total of 710,000 people. It consists of three regions, Macau Peninsula, Taipa and Coloane. These three regions are connected by road bridges. There has been so much land reclamation over the last century that Macau has tripled its land size.

One of the places I wanted to revisit was the old Taipa houses. The last time we visited they were not open to the public. These houses were built in 1921 to house the wealthy Portuguese families.

Taipa

There is still a wonderful Mediterranean feel about Macau. With cobbled stone streets, louvered windows and street signs in Portuguese, you could imagine you were in Portugal. Being very near Christmas, there were hundreds of poinsettias lining the stairs and walls.

Old Taipa Houses

We only went into one house, all houses were free to enter. To have indoor plumbing on this tiny island would have been a blessing indeed!

When they were first built, there would have been a view over the sea. Since the land reclamation, there is now a wetland.

It was past lunchtime by now so we headed back to the main streets and found a cute Portuguese restaurant.

This was actually on the ceiling of the restaurant. I thought it must have been hard on the artist’s arms to paint this.

Our delicious lunch.

I hope you enjoyed visiting Taipa with me, next up I will be posting about Macau’s famous casinos.

I’m joining Jo on her Monday Walks also!

A Day Trip to Macau

In December while we were in Hong Kong for a week we had a day out in Macau. Macau is very easy to travel to from Hong Kong for a day, overnight or more. It was a Portuguese Colony until 1999 when it was returned to China. This city still retains much of its Portuguese influence with many of the buildings having been restored and renovated over the years. It has a reputation of being the Las Vegas of Asia with the most number of casinos outside of Las Vegas. But that is not why we decided to spend the day here! Macau is rich in history and has numerous restaurants, cafes and bars to choose from.

The Grand Lisboa by day and night

We headed out from out hotel around 10.30 and took a taxi to the ferry terminal in time to catch the 11.15 am Jetfoil to Macau. There is now a bridge across the two cities. We decided against the bridge even though it says it only takes 45 minutes to cross by the shuttle bus provided. This time does not factor in immigration at both sides and other stops along the way.

The Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macau Bridge

Zhuhai section of the bridge
(Source: Zhang Youqiong/For China Daily)

This is the world’s longest sea spanning bridge and measures 55km. Construction began in December 2009 and it was first open to the public in October 2018.

Our first stop of the day was to have lunch. We wanted to go back to one of our favourite restaurants – Fernando’s in Hac Sa Beach, on Coloane Island. This restaurant is always packed and we hadn’t booked! But as usual with any Asian restaurant they will always find you a table. We had a bit of a wait but preferred to sit in the main dining area rather than at the front. We have been going here for many years and it seems nothing has changed – in a good way. The food is always delicious and service fantastic.

I had to post this picture of the foosball table as I can remember this being here since we first visited in 1990. Whether it is the same one I have no idea.

A delicious traditional Portuguese lunch and of course Portuguese wine!

After lunch we had a short walk along Hac Sa Beach and then took a bus back onto the Macau Peninsula. Macau is made up of three islands, Coloane, Taipa and Macau Peninsula.

From where the bus dropped us off we walked up to the Guia Fortress. The fort and chapel were constructed between the 1622 and 1638 and the lighthouse around 1864. It is now a UNESCO World heritage site.

Typical painted apartment buildings and the Guia Fort

It was quite a walk up there for me anyway! But once at the top it was definitely worth it.
The bridge below is the Taipa Bridge connecting Taipa to Macau Peninsula

The bell outside Guia Chapel, established by Clarist nuns

On our walk back into town we stopped to walk through the Chapel of St. Michael, built in 1875 it has a beautifully landscaped cemetery.

Then into the town to the ruins of St. Paul. This is now just a facade as it the church itself was destroyed by fire in 1835. Although is it still quite majestic to look at.

Close by is the beautiful St. Dominic’s Church. Founded in 1587 by three Spanish Dominican priests who originally came from Acapulco in Mexico, this church is also connected to the Brotherhood of Our Lady of the Rosary. (Source: Macau Tourism)

Senado Square

There is so much more to do and see in Macau but I think we had exhausted ourselves by now and were in need of drinks and food. After much debate with a reluctant taxi driver we ended up outside the AIA Tower. A quick look at Google and I saw that Sky 21 was located at the top. We were just going to stay for a cocktail or two but after seeing the view decided to stay for dinner also.

It was an extremely busy day and you can only do so much in one day but I think we gave our visitors a good idea of Macau and how different it is from Hong Kong, not just culturally but architecturally too. It’s a 24 hour city so there was no problem for us getting a ferry back at 11 pm.