Most people go to Macau to gamble. I go to Macau to eat Portuguese egg tarts.
The former Portuguese colony officially became part of China in 1999, as one of two Special Administrative Region (SAR) of China. It still maintains a high degree of autonomy and runs its own currency, education and legislative systems. The official languages are Portuguese and Cantonese, even though almost all the citizens are Chinese, with only 2% or so being Macanese, a mix of Chinese and Portugese ancestry.
Besides the casinos, of which there are many, including those along the new Cotai strip touted as the Las Vegas of the east, the other main draw is the mix of Portugese architecture and culture here, the result of more than 400 years of Portuguese interaction with the Chinese.
So in the morning of 13th Mar 2011, we took the bus back from Kaiping, China to the Border Gate in Zhuhai and crossed back into Macau. That was about noon, and we had a few hours in the Macau Peninsula before taking the 530pm fast ferry to Hong Kong, the third leg of this trip.
We headed out by public bus towards the ruins of St. Paul’s Cathedral, which was the main highlight of this UNESCO heritage area. It was crowded. You get all sorts of tourists, Westerners, Asians (mainland Chinese, Indonesians, Filipinos) all posing in front of the impressive façade, the only remains of the cathedral. Around the area, within walking distance, lies the Outer Walls of the old Fortress, whose interior has now been transformed into the ultra-modern Macau Museum.
That done, we walked down the narrow streets leading out from the cathedral towards the Largo do Senado, a pedestrian square where neo-classical buildings give the area a charming feel. And the mild weather adds to the general atmosphere. Interestingly enough, there was a protest by what appeared to be marginalized old wives (or something, neither of us spoke or read Cantonese).
The walk from the cathedral to the square was interesting enough, through the throng of human traffic, mostly camera toting tourists and souvenir hunters. The souvenirs here are the almond cookies and wife cakes and Portuguese egg tarts, of which I bought plenty. Almost every other shop on the stretch is a bakery selling these sweets.
Evening. An easy ride to the harbour, and we are on the fast ferry to Kowloon, Hong Kong. Next up: Hong Kong skyline by night and the symphony of lights in Hong Kong Harbour.