Macao was really surprised, although it was assumed that it was not interesting at all «under-country», where to see especially and nothing, especially after Hong Kong. In fact, it turned out differently, although I was in Macau for only a few hours. Of course, it is impossible to draw any more meaningful conclusions after a cursory visit, but at least I wanted to come back here for another couple of days..
Macau is a former Portuguese colony (only 1999 has ceased to be) and at the same time Asian Las Vegas, where crowds of people come to play in all kinds of casinos. Since gambling houses do not catch me in any way, I just walked around the city. Macau consists of 3 parts - Macau (Macau) itself on the mainland and Taipa and Coloan islands, on the first of which there is an international airport.
We go to the Macau Peninsula by MT1 bus
Macau Science and Exhibition Center
Block skyscraper
Asian straw hats are also popular here
Cool Casino and Grand Lisboa Hotel
A few more pretentious houses
Porsche salon
Much more modern Toyota models are used for taxis.
There are already more bikes here than in Hong Kong
While walking, I had completely different sensations: looking at the cobbled narrow streets and colonial architecture, it seemed as if I had drifted into southern Europe, but as soon as I stared at the mirrored skyscrapers and noticed the inscription in Chinese, everything began to resemble Hong Kong. Macau has turned out to be a rather interesting mixture of Asia and Europe, such that from time to time you get lost, not quite understanding where you really are. Perhaps that is why there is some kind of special atmosphere, which I cannot even describe in words yet, it is somehow especially pleasant to be here.
But if you take a closer look, then there are less pretentious buildings.
European style building
Senado Square / Largo do Senado
Sun umbrellas
Fountain at Senado Square
Right next to the Chinese market square
I'm not sure, but it looks like shark fins are selling
Among the grayness, you can see bright Portuguese colors
Portuguese instead of English
Chinese takeaway food
I liked this street very much: a hill and colorful houses
Narrow cobbled Europeanized street
On the streets of Macau
On the streets of Macau
Ruins of St. Paul's Cathedral’s)
The Chinese are cut into stone scissors, who will climb the stairs faster
Chinese temple next to the ruins of the cathedral
Spiral incense - enough for the whole day
Macau is a mixture of different cultures
What the cathedral was like 150 years ago
A colorful guy, like from a Shaolin movie
Entrance to the Portuguese Fort Macau
Portuguese Macau
Portuguese Macau at sunset
What Asians love to do the most is to be photographed.
Try a piece of my shnyazhka, eh?
Leafy fried sweetmeats, haven't tried 🙂
The Lisboa building is visible from almost every corner of Macau
Nice cobbled street with shops
Cheerful school building in Macau
Cycle rickshaw, would you like?
Initially, I thought that I would see something very similar to Hong Kong, only much smaller (Macau's territory is not large). But unlike Hong Kong, you can safely walk here without fear of colliding with someone. The only exception is a few streets near the fortress and the ruins of the cathedral, where the tourist area is located with all the ensuing consequences. But even there, all this crowd is somehow more idle, perhaps because no one is in a hurry, since they are on vacation. And also the feeling of crampedness, which does not leave you in Hong Kong for a minute, disappeared somewhere, I sighed straight out calmly. By the way, you can breathe and the truth is much easier here..
Outside the city center and on the neighboring island, everything looks a little different, but I was there only by bus, passing from the city to the airport. Freshly built residential buildings, mixed with casinos, stand not clinging to each other, and around them there are free spaces and not yet developed territories.
Some nuances, so as not to forget yourself, and to everyone else to note
First, a little clarification, Macau is not a separate country, but an autonomous region of China, with its own economy and governance. A visa in Macau is not needed for a period of less than 30 days, this applies to citizens of Russia, I don’t know about other countries.
The easiest way to get to Macau is from Hong Kong by ferry. The ferry departs from three locations: Kowloon Peninsula, Hong Kong Island, and Hong Kong Airport. Ferry cost about 150 HKD (600 rubles), travel time 1 hour.
Hong Kong-Macau Ferry
Everything inside the ferry is very civil
I'll tell you how I did it, this option is good for its budget. Since the air ticket to Bangkok from Macau is two times cheaper (3100 rubles with luggage) than from Hong Kong, it was decided to go to Macau by ferry. I sailed from the Kowloon Peninsula, so I ended up at the Macao Ferry Terminal). And in order not to lug around the city with things, I went directly to the airport on the Taipa island on the AP1 bus, he goes there alone from the Macao ferry terminal. At the airport, I handed over my belongings (the luggage room is located on the second floor on the left side), the price is 10 MOP / hour (40 rubles) or 80 MOP / day (320 rubles). By the way, for those who need air tickets, I advise you to buy through Aviasales.com and Skyscanner.com..
There is no metro in Macau, and all movements take place by buses and taxis. Since the territory is small (Taipa Island and Macau Peninsula), you can get from one point to another quickly enough. The island is connected to the mainland by several bridges. Buses from the airport to the historical part of the city - MT1, MT2. The journey takes about 20 minutes. The drivers have no change, so change your change at the airport in advance. The cost of the trip to the city is 4.20 MOP (16.8 rubles). Since I didn’t have very little money, I paid 5 MOP per trip all the time, and more if you want 🙂
It doesn't make much sense to exchange money for local patakas if you already have Hong Kong dollars with you. They walk here in the same way as Patakas, and I paid with them mixed. The exchange rate against the ruble is the same, we multiply the price by 4 and get the value in rubles to estimate expensive / cheap.
Local money - Macaonian Pataki
Not everyone here knows English, but there were no problems, as someone who understood immediately was called. The inscriptions are always duplicated in Portuguese, so if you also know Portuguese, then everything will be even easier. Whether or not they speak it, I don't know, I heard it, but it's not a fact that they are local.
Food costs about the same as in Hong Kong. I ate at a decent food court located 5 minutes from Senado Square. True, I did not evaluate Macau's food and just bought myself a Thai Pad Thai there..
Delicious and inexpensive food court near the tourist area
First time in a week I ate deliciously, really Thai food - Pad Thai
