A Tourist In Hong Kong - Thursday

One of the best days I had in Hong Kong wasn't technically in Hong Kong. On Thursday, I ventured over to the other of the two territories of China, Macau. Or Macao, both spellings seem to be accepted.

I wanted to get a whole day there, as there is a lot to see when you consider the old town (an ex-Portuguese colony in late 1880s) as well as the casino area, so I set off incredibly early to the China Ferry Terminal on Kowloon side. I was expecting a few boats and a small queue, but it was just like an airport on water, the security and number of passport controls were overwhelming.

I boarded the 8:30 boat, the earlier ones had sold out, and sailed over. It took about an hour to get there. It was foggy, which was a good excuse to sleepy.

Macau is a fascinating place, a real hybrid of old and new, and a mix of nationalities. The place was filled with tourists (mostly Japanese) but there were some residents, their preferred method of transport was scooters.


The main square was my idea of Portugal, not that I've been there. The ceramic tiling on the ground at Largo de Senado looked impressive, as did the style of houses.



The main tourist site was St Paul's Ruins, originally built in 1602, the front facade was the only side still standing. It was quite spectacular from up high on the fortress next to it.

I walked around a bit more, away from the tourist sites, to get a better feel of the area. Very strange that the main language was Chinese, but road signs were all Spanish sounding names. Also, shops/buses would accept the Macanese Pataca or the Hong Kong Dollar as there was only a small variance between the exchange rate.

I walked to the bottom of the main island - Macau is spread over three islands - and took a circular bus (about 10p) for an hour journey to the middle island. This is where the Cotai Strip is. Not technically a strip yet as most of the casinos are still being built. The road is more like a building site. However, a few are up and running, including the largest casino in the world, the Venetian Macau. Outside was extreme, with gondolas and a Colosseum-shaped hotel.

Inside, was grandiose. I haven't been to Las Vegas, but I could imagine from this. The tables spread on and on (no photos allowed, sorry). Apparently, as this casino having the largest floor-space in the world, Macau now makes more money in gambling than Las Vegas. This can be easily believed for two reasons - it is the most popular tourist destination in Asia for the Japanese (the number one in the World for them being Paris...), and it is illegal to gamble in Hong Kong (except horse-racing) so many residents come over here for fun.

Sadly, inside the actual casino wasn't as energetic as I imagine Las Vegas to be, or what I witnessed in Monte Carlo; tourists in casual clothes betting tuppence (I took a smart shirt to put on on top of my t-shirt).

I couldn't understand what was going on at most of the tables so I went to a slot machine. First I asked for some change at the counter, and decided I would have a limit of £30. I'm hardly a gambler so I didn't feel the temptation to spend any more. I found my 'lucky' machine (about 20p a spin, big spender, hey!) and sat down, not understanding how it worked. I put some money in and pressed the button. A few cherries span past but nothing lined up. I tried twice more to no avail. On my fourth go, the machine started ringing and the money in the cashpot started rising. People gathered around and a staff came over to congratulate me. I had no idea how much I won, but the money kept on building. In the end, it was just over £100. Not bad at all for four plays!

Now, £100 is not going to change my life in any major way, so should I stop there? Would I regret not playing on to see how much I could win, or would I regret losing any of it? I chose to stop there. Told you I wasn't much of a gambler. And that's how my planned afternoon in the casino lasted a whole 10 minutes.

I walked around the family-friendly shopping area which was built like Venice with canals and gondoliers, but I soon grew tired of it.

I took a free shuttle bus back to the ferry port and left mid-afternoon. It was a brilliant day but I burnt out too early. I would say Macau is worth going to, and you don't need more than a day, especially if you take your time and don't rush around like me.

Back in Hong Kong, I felt lucky with my winnings and decided to go back to Sha Tin and buy the laptop. After all, laptops are cheap here and they have the same connection as UK plugs, which made more sense than buying one in Japan.