Photos: 澳門 (Macau)

Okay, Macau is usually overlooked because it's so close to HK and its past history as a casino den. We finally took a trip last month after I asked M where a photo in the Bangkok Air in-flight magazine was taken. With much shock and dismay, she noted that it was the Ruins of St. Paul's. Turns out it's quite famous.... (guess it's easy to miss if you only go to the casinos).


The quickest way from Hong Kong to Macau is by Turbojet. Note, tickets are more expensive coming back from Macau and at night (example: HK -> Macau weekend = 146 HKD versus Macau -> HK night = 176 HKD). Other means of getting to Macau can be found on the Macau Government Tourism website.


So this trip was a food and history tour. Then again, looking through the window makes you wonder how clean the bowls are....


Walking down the street the presence of modern influences it a little bit more muted - at least there's no gigantic golden arches (then again, there's a million and one tiny ones though).


At the end of this street is St. Dominic's Church and is part of the historic center of Macau.


There are countless churches in Macau. This one I think is the Cathedral.


Food from all over Asia can be found in Macau - including this from Taiwan, which was quite popular.




Given the popularity of the Ruins, there are a number of tourists coming and going.


View from the window of the Ruins back down the steps.


This is one of the famous jerky stores in Macau, which actually has a number of stores up and down the path to the Ruins.


Outside the casinos are a number of trishaws, which is a hybrid between a tricycle and a rickshaw. (Seems similar to the cyclos in Vietnam and tuktuks in Thailand).


What trip to Macau would be complete without a stop at some casinos? Wynn Macau has a water fountain show, much like the one at Bellagio Las Vegas (considering they were built by the same person - Steve Wynn - it's no surprise).






After losing your shirt, at least I saved the ticket back to HK.



The bridge behind the boat is the Ponte de Amizade (澳門友誼大橋) and is the closest bridge from the ferry terminal to the casino expansions on the Cotai Strip.