Macau or Macao (pronounced Macow)

A country located just south of Hong Kong.  It is protected under the military umbrella of China, but it was a Portuguese colony until 1999...

Luke, Gabe and I headed there with some new friends/colleagues Hector and Adam.  Hattie had to work, more about that later and Mason opted to stay home with his sister :)  or maybe play some video games!  Our journey began by coach bus, which took about 3 hours when you factor in all the bus stops.  Then we added on another hour to cross the border.  So our journey began at 7 but we didn't arrive until after 11 in Macao.  Then we hopped a free shuttle bus to a Casino, named Galaxy, that took another 30 minutes.   Macao is made up of three islands (actually a peninsula and isthmus), Macao, Taipa and Coloane.  We headed first to Taipa in search of a map of the city.  It is much like Las Vegas with many of the same casino names, including the Venetian and the Wynn.  

Gabe didn't actually win (kids aren't allowed on the casino floor), this was just the money we withdrew from the atm.  500 Macau dollars is the equivalent of about $80 US dollars and although Macau is more pricey than mainland China it was sufficient for our  adventure that lay ahead. These are a few photos of the casino.

Inside the Galaxy Hotel and Casino

One of our main goals for the day was to track down a restaurant made famous by Anthony Bourdain on the show No Reservations (which if you don't watch is a great way to travel without leaving your couch) for it's Pork Bun Sandwich.  We found it right away which, in China, is amazing.  It was only a short walk across the street and down the road from the casino.

This is one of the owners of the restaurant.  I jumped behind the counter to take a quick picture with her.  The sandwiches were 25 Macau dollars which is roughly 4 dollars.  There were 3 choices of pork bun sandwich, but one is only served after 3 pm.   The bone was still in the pork chop, which made it so flavorful.  The first one we ate had a sweeter bun and then yes they were so delicious we all had seconds.

 This was a temple we came across that used to be frequented by the fisherman.  We met the caretaker, Billy who told us that now it is visited by the pit boss from the casino.  

These are incense burning coils.  So far all of the temples we have been in there is a steady stream of incense burning to honor the deceased.  If you look closely at the picture on the left you can see the smoke rising from the coil.  

I am continuously amazed at the different foliage that we are experiencing.  This was a ficus tree and sorry don't know the common name for these flowers.  They were beautiful, though not fragrant.  

Next we hopped a bus that was so crowded that we were standing up by the driver and our friend Adam's face was pressed against the window, which is quite common to see in China.  Just when we thought no one else could get on two more people squeezed in.  We were in search of Lord Stow's Bakery located on Coloane a smaller island that helps to make up Macau.  It is famous for it's egg tarts.  According to the guys, Hector, Adam and Luke, it was worth the bus ride :)

Kitchen

I was just taking some photos of our walk through town but caught a pretty good shot of what it usually looks like when Chinese people see us.  They really don't mind staring.  We have begun to understand that they really haven't been exposed to many foreigners.  

These are some baskets that I have seen around often used by locals for multiple purposes.

 This was an area between two homes, this is more commonly seen out in the streets of China.  They often have makeshift structures.  

Here is a picture of another small temple we came across.  It had all the traditional elements of the temples I have seen so far, incense, a kneeling pad for praying, a throne of sorts to Buddha and an offering of food and drinks.

                                                                    This is St Francis Xavier Church, a very famous church in town and quite beautiful.

                           

      

This is another church we passed on our climb the hills of the city to find St. Paul's Cathedral facade.  It was a wonderful color, due in part to the Portuguese influence and the headstones were amazingly beautiful.

This is the Ruins of St. Paul's.  So just the front of the building survived and was renovated in the 1990's.  Here is a bit of history on it.

History

The facade of St. Paul's Cathedral byWilhelm Heine, 1854

Built from 1582 to 1602 by the Jesuits, the cathedral was one of the largest Catholic churches in Asia at the time, and the royalty of Europe vied with each other to bestow upon the cathedral the best gifts. With the decline in importance of Macau, which was overtaken as the main port for the Pearl River Delta by Hong Kong, the cathedral's fortunes similarly ebbed, and it was destroyed by a fire during a typhoon in 1835. The Fortaleza do Monte overlooks the ruin.

There was a festival occurring while we were visiting the Cathedral so we stayed for awhile to enjoy the festivities.  There were dancing and drumming groups performing.  All of these people filled the steps to watch the performance.   The photos below were of two awesome puppet type costumes.  You can see the man's face in read in the middle of the body.  Gabe had no idea that guy was so close :)

 This is the back of the facade.

For those of you really interested here is a cut and paste historical bit on Macau.  It was beautiful and the feel of the city was so welcoming, we are hoping to return :)

Macau is famous not only for it’s casinos but it’s rich history. A long time ago, fishermen from Fujian and farmers from Guangdong were the first known settlers in Macau, when it was known as Ou Mun, or “trading gate”, because of its location at the mouth of the Pearl River downstream from Guangzhou (Canton).

During ancient times port city was part of the Silk Road with ships loading here with silk for Rome.

Even after China ceased to be a world trade centre, Guangzhou prospered from seaborne business with the countries of Southeast Asia, so the local entrepreneurs welcomed the arrival of Portuguese merchant-explorers.

They followed in the wake of Jorge Alvares, who landed in southern China in 1513, and set about finding suitable trading posts.

In the early 1550s the Portuguese reached Ou Mun, which the locals also called A Ma Gao, “place of A Ma”, in honour of the Goddess of Seafarers, whose temple stood at the entrance to the sheltered Inner Harbour.

The Portuguese adopted the name, which gradually changes into the name Macau, and with the permission of Guangdong’s mandarins, established a city that within a short time had become a major entrepot for trade between China, Japan, India and Europe.

This is why Macau also became the perfect crossroad for the meeting of East and West cultures. The Roman Catholic church sent some of its greatest missionaries to continue the work of St Francis Xavier, (who died nearby after making many converts in Japan).

Macau Hotels - things to do and attractions - St Francis Xavier Church

The famous St Francis Xavier church and many other historic ruins from the Catholic church still remain intact in Macau and it is most definitely worth a visit.