Macau
May 4, 1997 to May 6, 1997
Macau is a 70 minute jetboat ride that takes you a world away from Hong Kong. Today, and for the next two years, Macau will be the world's oldest colony, established by Portugal in 1557. Then, hundreds of years ago, the harbor silted up, the British developed Hong Kong, and Macau has been overshadowed by Hong Kong ever since. So much so that when Portugal offered it back to China in 1972, they initially said that they didn't want it. China later reconsidered and it is now scheduled to go back to Chinese control on July 1, 1999 in a similar manner as Hong Kong.
Jetfoil to Macau
Brief Impressions
Macau is much, much, much slower than Hong Kong, and has the feel of an old colony. Portuguese influences are everywhere, and, in certain places, you can almost imagine that you're in Portugal. We ate at a Portuguese restaurant full of Portuguese ex-pats and it was as Geoff had remembered Portugal from 20 years ago. Even so, 90% of the residents are Chinese, and it is mostly a Chinese city. The back streets of Inner Harbor were used as the setting for the early scenes of Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom. The overall feel is a much more interesting mix of east and west than Hong Kong.
Portuguese Macau
However, like Hong Kong, there does seem to be a preference for old over new. Old colonial buildings were decaying while modern new buildings were going up. Today, Macau’s biggest business is gambling, and the new casinos are glitzy and modern just like new casinos anywhere. And as in many other places, organized crime is now fighting for control of the gambling. While we were there, three triad members involved in the gambling wars were murdered in a drive-by shooting. In the US we now seem to take this kind of thing for granted, but in both Macau and Hong Kong, it’s not normal and was the biggest news. With the gambling wars Macau, people in Hong Kong are beginning to view Macau as dangerous.
Chinese Macau
For us, Macau was a great respite from Hong Kong, and a eaceful and comfortable one. Almost everything that we didn’t like about Hong Kong was different in Macau. We checked into a hotel room that was biggest on our trip. The hotel was well past its prime but clean. After our cubby hole in Hong Kong's gritty "Mirador Mansions," this seemed like a real mansion. The room was about 20 feet by 40 feet with two double beds, a big couch, two cushy chairs, and a bathtub. After Hong Kong, it didn’t matter that the furniture was vinyl and there were cigarette burns in the carpet. We spent two nights in this room savoring the space.
Living large in our large room in Macau
Internet Access in Macau
When we got to Macau, we asked at the Tourist Information Office if they knew of anyplace we could get Internet access. They were confused but told us to try the library. We got lost and couldn't find the it, but at the end of a dead end street, we found a sign that said "UniTEL Internet Access."
It turned out that we stumbled across one of Macau's two Internet providers. They'd just moved into the office and were planning to start offering public internet access but didn't have it set up yet. Dr. Fortunato Costa, one of the co-owners, told us that it was like "we fell out of the sky" (if only all customers were so easy to find). He told us that public access hadn’t been set up yet, but he'd get it set up and we could come back in the afternoon. He did, and we did, and we got the website updated. Thanks, Fortunato!
Fortunate Costa of Unitel, one of Macau's two internet providers
Quotable Quotes
"Where the hell are we anyway?"
--Mary (although by now, we'd been to so many countries, any one of us could have said this)
"I've seen views around the world. I'd prefer the leg room right now".
--Diane on the ferry ride to Macau on choosing a seat up front and in the middle instead of a window seat
"I'd love to put one of those pleather (fake leather) chairs in my back pack."
--Diane in Geoff & Lauren's huge room in Macau, which felt especially comfy after the Hong Kong cubbyhole.
Hong Kong Map
Hong Kong Links
For more information on Macau:
Macau WWW Virtual Library Information on the 1999 handover to China, and link to additional information on Macau
(If it looks like the page is blank, scroll down.)