Macau--ow oww!

Greetings Loved Ones and strangers ;),

Yesterday was National Day in China. That means that all of China was celebrating China's "61st Birthday." AKA 61 years of Communism. It's funny, though, because in Hong Kong you don't see many traces of Communism beyond kitschy Mao trading cards and jokes about Mao and Obama. As a Special Administrative Region (SAR), Hong Kong is still under it's own government, not that of the People's Republic of China. It seems that people here basically celebrate the national holiday as a day off from work. In Hong Kong you don't hear many references to government, just to prosperity. Rob and I thought it may be a great day to grab our Passports, stretch our sea legs and head over to Macau, which happens to be the only other Special Administrative Region in China. If you aren't familiar with Macau, it is an island on the Pearl River Delta, and it was settled by the Portuguese in 1503--338 years before the British settled Hong Kong. Macau blew my mind. It is is a hidden gem to this part of the world, and I urge all of you who have not been to go.

There are two contradictory sides of Macau. One is the old, historical side, which demonstrates a beautiful combination of Eastern and Western cultures that has been developing since the 1500s. Macau was once a trading post on the water route of The Silk Road, and it was open to many different cultures and peoples. A fort was built on the solitary peak of the small island in order to defend the settlement from other European colonists who were jealous of the settlement's successes (the Dutch attacked repeatedly). You can go visit this tropical fort today. In many ways, it reminded of St. Augustine, Florida, but with strong Asian flare. Just below the fort stand the remains of St. Paul's Church, which was burned in a fire 200 years ago. Only the grand staircase and the facade of the Church remain. It is striking. As you wander down the staircase into the old town, you see the streets, which are paved with smooth, wavy-tiled mosaics and lined by Portuguese-style buildings. Vendors fill the buildings and urge you to sample goods--pork and beef jerky as well as Macanese egg tarts! The island is famous for its egg tarts...Mmm. Words cannot describe how good these little desserts are. Anyway, that is one side of Macau. The other side feels like the antithesis of this historical place. If you walk about 200 yards down the road, you will reach the pumping, neon side of the island. Bright lights, big city casinos line the avenues. Fountains explode. You are in Vegas, baby, at the MGM Grand. You are in Paris, cherie, when you walk through the Arc de Triomphe Hotel and Casino. You are everywhere you want to be at once. As a matter of hearsay, the Macanese prostitution industry is a booming industry. You see fancy women lingering on the corners of the brand new Louis Vuitton/Gucci/whatever stores. It is fascinating that this new wealth is part of the other place down the road, where the old, Church and fortress rest.

There are many reasons for this dichotomy, and one of them happens to be Hong Kong. When the British came and settled Hong Kong (just 40 miles from Macau) in 1841, much of the trading industry migrated from Macau to Hong Kong. Macau, once a major trading post, became just a blip on the region's radar. Not to mention, by the 1800s, Portugal was not as powerful as Britain, especially when it came to colonial powers in far away lands. Hong Kong, with its deep waters for large sea vessels, stole the show from Macau. Macau's main industry became the match-making industry, which lasted into the 1920s...no, literally, Macau made matches and match books. Perhaps this is how it got the idea to advance its prostitution industry, by matchmaking in another way, but that's another story, and probably not the right one. In more recent years, as Macau has ceded from the Portuguese back to the Chinese, Macau has undergone more change. While it still values its historical past, it sees dollar signs in its future by way of the casinos.

Needless to say, Rob and I had a great time exploring the many sides of Macau on National Day. The visit was made complete by a farewell firework competition between Italy and China. Not surprisingly, China won.

It was spectacular. Pictures below.

The Hydro-planing, high-speed boat we took to Macau. Takes 1 hour to go 40 miles. I thought the boat was awesome on the smooth ride over there. Our ride back was the opposite. Really rough. I'll spare you the details, but thankfully Rob and have strong-ish stomachs. Many others did not.

But...we arrived and were fast exploring the city by foot! Here: Old Macau on National Day in daylight. Beautiful architecture and wavy mosaic streets. Notice McDonalds in the background. Asians LOVE McDiesels.

The pork and beef jerkey. Vendors give out samples of any flavor you would like to try.  I liked the sweet and spicy.

Walking up the tiled, vendor-lined streets. St. Paul's Church remains in the distance.

The staircase adds a powerful effect.

The area leading up to the fort is a park. Many Chinese bring their dogs.  Golden Retrievers seem to be the dog of choice in Macau. I met some super cute ones and their proud owners. There is even a dog W.C! There are also public elliptical machines for their masters. The dogs can take a load off while the master works it. Kinda funny.

The entrance to the fort is now a European style concession stand with Coca-Cola products. The inside looks like a Bavarian Hansel and Gretle house.

The top of the fort is now the Musea De Macau. Rob and I did a quick run-through of the museum. Many of the facts I mentioned above came from here. Neat place. I <3 museums.

Read this how you will. East-West style cannon once aimed at attacking Dutch ships now aims at casinos.

Rob and I ventured back down to the facade of St. Paul's Church and climbed to the top of the facade! This was one of the views looking down--a Chinese temple. Neat how the two religious structures coexist.

Proud owner with his beautiful retriever.

Historic Macau on National Day at night.

Historic Macau on National Day at night.

Casino Land! Hotel Lisboa and it's ENORMOUS casino. Robert Stephens standing in front for scale :).

Wynn Hotel and Casino

The real Arc de Triomphe. Ask anyone inside!

Macanese cuisine is unique because it is a fine melding of various ethnic cuisines. Here Rob and I are at Dom Galo with African Chicken, a dish of potatoes, chorizo, shrimp and olives, as well as mussels with bacon and garlic. Definitely was not a light meal, but it was pretty good. Rob and I first had Macanese food in New York at a great, great restaurant called Macau Trading Company. Macau Trading Company is cool, and you should go if you are in New York. It's owned by the Employees Only people, and they serve great cocktails and food!

Grand Finale!
Chinese finale of the fireworks competition. It was out of this world. In Macau they do it big, especially when it comes to competition and fireworks!