Asian tour 2/4: Macau, the Asian Las Vegas

The second stop of my tour was Macau, the former Portuguese colony just an hour by ferry from Hong Kong; that's why I didn't think twice about including it in my trip, since I'd read that a day is enough to see it, also given its tiny size. Macau presents itself as a city that is now famous no longer for having been a former Portuguese colony, but for its status as the Asian Las Vegas, given its many casinos and the numbers that are about to arrive... although its Portuguese influence is still easily noticeable everywhere, with the double signs (or even triple in certain cases: Chinese-Portuguese-English!) and several buildings in the Lusitanian style, very colourful and of typical European architecture.

Here it's less hot than HK and the centre is really tiny, but very charming, with lots of stalls everywhere selling — needless to say — anything, above all foods I'd struggle to describe! The main attraction is the sight of the ruins of St Paul's church, of which only the facade remains, truly beautiful, if you think of what the whole church might once have looked like..

but wandering through the little centre it's very nice to see Chinese houses on one side and Portuguese ones beside them, they seem like two cities in one! Well, don't miss a visit to the casinos; there are many in the centre, like the famous Casino Lisboa, or the Wynn, but my favourite was the Venetian, following the one in Las Vegas; you have to take a taxi because it's a bit far from the centre; but the visit repays the wait if you're an enthusiast: gigantic, with its very own St Mark's tower, gondolas and a very luxurious interior. what a spectacle! And before leaving, a quick stop at the Hard Rock hotel was not to be missed by anyone, also because it's behind the Venetian... before going back to the centre, a quick view of the Macau Tower and a night tour, very beautiful because here too, as in HK, everything is lit up, and it's full of people, it almost seems like a big party.

I'll finish by saying that there's nothing here that's unmissable.. but if you're in the area, a day is well spent, just to see something different from China....