Macao by www.born2travel.it

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18. 11. 2008 Macao (MACAO)

We are on the ferry that is taking us back to Hong Kong… Looking at the sea we were swiftly crossing, I thought about this latest period of my life, this last month, from a relationship that ended badly to the loss of my dear friend Krists… What a shitty period… Although on the face of it I tried to hide it, in truth I was really unwell, unfortunately I'm used to always keeping everything inside, I close up like a chest…

This latest trip, however, gave me the right boost, it broke me away a little from the oppressive everyday routine, I'm recharging my batteries, I needed it, I needed to breathe new air, meet new people, have new adventures… I've often heard it said: "I took this trip because I wanted to find myself again"; and I didn't understand what they meant, it seemed to me like one of those stock phrases that in the end mean nothing. Now I get it! This morning, after breakfast on the 19th floor of our hotel on Shanghai Street, we headed to the pier to board for the little island of Macao…

We arrive at 9.15 and insisted on catching the 9.30 ferry… In the end they redirect us to the 10.30 one and meanwhile we take the chance to pop by the post office not far from the port, complete with signs written in both English and Chinese, the latter really useful, almost like a pass, we just had to show them and they immediately pointed us the right way without us having to try too hard… In the end we reach the pier a quarter of an hour before departure… Who'd have thought that catching a ferry here had the same rules as boarding a plane…

A whole load of bureaucratic formalities begins, queues left and right, forms to fill in, we nearly get left on shore… We're the last to board… Just in time!

On board I start chatting with two people, who we'll discover are mother and daughter, even though they looked like sisters (though one was 12 and the other 40!): Isabelle and Charlotte from Singapore. Between one chat and another we end up spending the whole day in their company… The hour-long crossing passes quickly and I'm immediately struck by the bilingualism that still exists here. Chinese and Portuguese! Although, as Nick pointed out, the Chinese, like ivy, are covering everything that remains of the Portuguese past… and you happen to see old colonial balconies entirely submerged by Chinese signs…

Along the crossing I imagined the navigators of the kingdom of Portugal who 500 years ago landed here… Who knows what they really found… how fascinating Chinese culture is…

Once the various customs formalities were dealt with we head straight to Fisherman Wharf, a disappointing and small funfair, very fake… Surrounded by the majestic buildings that house the many casinos, Macao is essentially famous for gambling! By taxi we head to Largo do Senado, the main square, and on along the various little streets of the centre… There were, as in Hong Kong, sellers of crabs, birds' nests (excellent for the skin), deer antlers, lacquered ducks etc.

Very characteristic was the façade of St. Paul's church, considered the finest Christian monument in Asia, even though only a façade remains…

By bus we make our way to the A-Ma temple, an ancient 17th-century place of prayer… On whose summit, a bit like at Polonnaruwa, there were many colourful cards with prayers or wishes written on them…