Flying in directly from sleepy and peaceful Chiang Mai it was a shock to the system to witness the crowds and apparent chaos of Macau. Our first real taste of ‘China’ we hadn’t quite expected the sights, smells, noise and pressed-in feeling that we had inserted ourselves into, somehow we’d expected glamorous casinos and plush high roller rooms overflowing with cigar girls and cocktails. Probably didn’t help that we had booked ourselves into a dingy ‘hostel’ in the old town – a place that took only one look before we relinquished our booking fee and walked back out in search of somewhere we wouldn’t be raped and sold into slavery.
Apart from the initial shock, and the issue of taking a local bus in the completely wrong direction for half an hour (on an island that can be walked in less time!), once we’d settled into the chaotic mood it was reasonably charming.
Walking through the old town we found the remains of the cathedral (front facade is all that remains..) and took a stroll up to see the view from the hilltop fort. Peering over the grimy cityscape we could see mainland China across the “mist” shrouded waterways – no doubt a naturally occurring fog and not at all related to the potential air pollution we’ve all read and suspected.
A nighttime stroll through the casino strip shows the city in a whole new light – one of badly coordinated neons colours and impressive fountain displays (the fountains were interesting, the muscial tunes they ‘dance’ to less so). The Grand Lisboa for instance is supposedly designed to resemble a lotus but instead looks like some has the look of what I imagine a 1980’s Las Vegas would look like if designed by Donald Trump.
