An Easy Day Trip to Macau

Macau: Picture of towers.

Some of Macau's iconic towers.

As I made my way south through China, I got an idea: why not stop in Macau for a day? As it turned, out, it was quite easy. I took trains through Guilin and Guangzhou, and eventually ended up in the lovely city of Zhuhai. (One bonus of Zhuhai: it was the only place I had been in China where cars actually stopped for pedestrians.) From there, I just had to go through some immigration formalities and walk across the border.

Macau is a former Portuguese colony, a fact that became immediately apparent from the road signs written in Portuguese. I dusted off my knowledge of the Portuguese language, acquired from three months of travel in Brazil (for example, “bombeiros” means “firefighters”), and was able to get around quite easily.

The casinos and racetrack were iconic, of course, and there were many other sights and sounds to conjure up both Chinese and Portuguese culture. I spent the whole day walking around the city, thoroughly enjoying both the subtle and obvious differences from mainland China. When it came time to leave, this proved quite easy as well. I simply hopped on one of the hourly ferries to Hong Kong.

Though I was only in Macau for a day, I had a great time there. Here are a few of my photos:

Macau: Picture of milk.
The first thing I saw upon entering the city was an entire district of shops selling baby formula, condensed milk and protein shakes.

Macau: Picture of street.
Many of the city's streets are narrow, and the apartments have cages over the windows. The layout simultaneously looks both quaint and futuristic.

Macau: Picture of temple entrance.
The Lin Fung temple is near the Chinese border.

Macau: Picture of incense.
Incense burning at the Lin Fung temple.

Macau: Picture of fish.
Fish for sale at a market.

Macau: Picture of vegetables.
Plenty of fresh veggies here.

Macau: Picture of market.
At the seafood market.

Macau: Picture of butchers.
Butchers.

Macau: Picture of scooters.
Scooters are very common here.

Macau: Picture of apartments.
Here is a typical apartment building.

Macau: Picture of casinos.
Macau is famous for its casinos.

Macau: Picture of housing.
Here's some more dense housing.

Macau: Picture of palm.
Macau has a tropical climate. Palm trees are common here.

Macau: Picture of palms.
More palm trees.

Macau: Picture of fort.
Fortaleza do Monte is the historical military center of the former colony.

Macau: Picture of street.
On the streets of Macau.

Macau: Picture of theater.
Here is a classical theatre.

Macau: Picture of lake.
Sai Van Lake is one of the biggest in Macau.

Macau: Picture of bridge.
Here is the bridge to the southern district.

Macau: Picture of MGM.
The MGM is one of the biggest and most famous casinos in Macau.

More Macau photos

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