Archive for March, 2008

Going to Macau is not so difficult as you might think. You dont even have to take a boat to go there even though it is an island.

Macau lies just south of Zhuhai and is connected with the mainland by a bridge and on that bridge two checkpoints are placed. One in Zhuhai called Gongbei and the other one in Macau called Portas Do Cerco. Between those two there is Noman’s land where you can buy tax free alcohol which is very expensive in Zhuhai.

The Zhuhai checkpoint is extremely organized and is very clean and high tech. There is almost never a long queue so there is no worry of standing a long time (unless its the Chinese new year season when its crowded).

When one comes to Macau checkpoint everything is written in …. Portugese and Traditional Chinese. And one starts to wonder why is it so?

Well Macau was once Portugese and belonged to them for 300 years I think. The people in Macau however do not understand the language and everyone speaks Cantonese.  I asked the taxi driver if he could get me to “Portas Do Cerco” on my way home and he didnt understand anything. The first thing that came to my mind is that this colony was certainly a failure….

Underneath Portas Do Cerco there is a Bus terminal and I advise you to take the bus because its a lot cheaper than taxi. A ride from Portas do Cerco to Largo Do Senado which is the main square will cost you 2.50 patacas (23 Eurocents). Macau is very different from rest of China and it has a European character. The buildings have a baroque Spanish/Portugese style especially in the “Old Town”. The streets are very small just like in France and Spain. People usually get through town using their Mopeds reminds you of Italy.

The Pedestrian areas lack for example fancy neon lights which is so typical for Asian Cities but instead have a more European setting with small signs and pitoresque small streets which are almost never straight and turn a lot.

The main attraction of Macau is of course what the place is most famous for. Its the Casinos. Here you can find the MGM Grand from Las Vegas as well as the Venetian. The biggest casino in Macau is Grand Lisboa which is shaped like a Giant Lotus flower.

Due to the fact that Gambling is prohibited in mainland China, lots of rich Chinese come here to search for their luck.

If you are in a search of perfumes, cosmetics and alcohol then Macau is the right place. Here you can find all the famous brands like Armani, Gucci etc for a lower price than back home. Everything is cheaper than in Europe, America and mainland China.

The place to go shopping for luxury items is New Yaohan a Japanese Department store which is not different from Printemps. New Yaohan is situated in south Macau just behind the Sea Terminal.

And before you go to Macau make always sure that you bring Patacas the local currency. Patacas can be exchanged at best rate at the Black market (thats where I changed my yuan to Patacas). Banks will give you a worser rate so I advise you to go to a black market instead but there is a risk that they will ripp you off though.