Macau
After the trip to Beijing, I headed south to spend a few days in Macau & Hong Kong. Macau is a ~45 minute ferry ride from Hong Kong, and currently the gambling capital of the world (surpassing even Vegas).
Flying into Hong Kong International, I was surprised how easy it was to get to Macau. Just like a stop-over on an international flight, you can transfer to your ferry without going through Hong Kong customs or security. You just hand over your baggage claim tickets from your airline & they even pick them up for you. Pretty sweet.
Macau was a confusing series of streets that twist & turn. Luckily casino’s are all over the place, and as I map showing each casino’s location, they ended up being really good landmarks. The other problem was realizing how small Macau really is. I’d walk for a bit, looking for a street. Unable to find it, I’d get to an intersection & try to find that on that map. I couldn’t find it until I realized I’d crossed half map & walked right off the page I was looking at. Macau is small.
I visited a few of the sites, including Largo do Senado, the Ruins of St. Paul’s and Fortaleza do Monte.
Like in Beijing, the Friendlies where everywhere. You couldn’t throw a rock without hitting one in the head. Although if you do do that Panda here is gonna bust a cap in yo’ ass.
Of course, like Las Vegas, the city completely changes at night & come alive with neon. I gambled a bit while I was there, come out roughly even. Right now, it’s a bit early for Macau to become a travel destination by itself. Give it about 10 years though, and I expect it will truly be the Las Vegas of the East.
Next stop, Hong Kong.
