Another stamp in my passport

I have another, somewhat unplanned, stamp in my passport after today - but I'm awfully glad I do.
I had a wonderful day today in Macau, and as such I have left and returned to Hong Kong.

And I think I've travelled to China to taste the best Portuguese custard tart that I've ever tasted in my life!

Like Hong Kong, Macau is now a Special Administrative Region (SAR) of China.  It was established by the Portuguese but handed back to China in 1999 - two years after Hong Kong.  And again like Hong Kong, it is a 50 year transition period.  As I've heard said by local people in both countries: "one country, two systems".

Macau has a 450 year history with the Portuguese, and although the city is decidedly Chinese there is a unique Mediterranean feel to it as well.  There are cobbled backstreets, 32 churches (and 32 casinos I might add), and restful parks and gardens all over the place.  And all this is intermixed with numerous Chinese temples and shrines and architecture.  In fact it is so unique that Unesco has named 30 buildings and squares collectively as the Historic Centre of Macau World Heritage Site.

Macau is divided into three sections (each separate islands) all linked by bridges.  There is the Macau Peninsula which is attached to mainland China; the middle island of Taipa; and Coloane Island which is just south of Taipa.  Coloane is actually attached by a bridge as well as a massive land reclamation project called Cotai which houses many of the new casinos you may have heard are in Macau.  Macau is however, much, much more than just casinos!!

As you approach Macau some very interesting architecture is evident - the two round-ish buildings (the one on the left and the one in the middle) are the brand new Science Museum, and to the right of it is a museum that marks the handover of Macau.

And this is the last statue that was built by the Portuguese before the handover.  It is a Kun Iam statue - a 20 m high bronze figure emerging from the 7 m high lotus.  It is probably the only statue in the world of the goddess of mercy that is not facing the sea as according to Taoism it should be facing the people in order to bring good luck.

The stone wall here is the original shoreline of Macau - and it's a man-made lake in front of it as well as plenty of land behind where I was standing as well.  At the very top you can see a church - Our Lady of Penha - that is only used to celebrate mass once a year.

Although busy, the streets of Macau have a much more laid-back feel to them than the streets in Hong Kong do.  And you can see how many (in fact most) of the streets and alleys are cobblestone - that's something Portugal did before the handover, importing all of the tiles and stones from Portugal.

And yes, Macau has an observation tower, standing 338 m.  Not only is the view magnificent, but it's also home to A.J. Hackett's bungy-jump - the world's highest free fall, from a 233 m high platform.

If you look closely at this photo - to the left of the guy standing and sort of at his kneed level - you'll see a head... a head that belongs to the fellow who had just jumped - and jumped backwards!

The ruins of the church of St. Paul are a very important landmark in Macau.  The facade and stairway are all that remain of this early 17th century Jesuit church, call Tai Sam Ba in Cantonese.  The church was completed in 1602 but then the entire church body, which was made out of wood, was destroyed by fire in 1835.  There are absolutely no plans to rebuild.

And I lucked out in visiting today - the city was holding a special competition for all the waitstaff of the various casinos and one of the challenges was to run through the streets of Macau holding an open bottle of beer on a tray.  They started on the stairs in from of the ruins of St. Paul - I got there just as they were getting organized.

The A-Ma Temple is the oldest temple in Macau and is dedicated to the goddess A-Ma and Macau's namesake - called Ma Kok Miu in Cantonese.  It is entirely built into stone with numerous shrines and alters along the way as you climb.

 
This is also a very festive time to be here in China (either in Hong Kong or Macau) as the country is getting ready to celebrate the Mid-Autumn Festival or the Lantern Festival, and Macau is busy getting ready for the festivities to be held over the next few days.

And like everywhere else I've been, often the country's culture is best reflected in the local people just going about their lives.

You get to Macau by "ferry" from Hong Kong - which are really high-speed catamarans and the journey takes a little over an hour.  There are plans being talked about to build a bridge linking Hong Kong to Macau - it would be about 60 kms long and would then provide a very easy gateway by land into China.  After all, Macau is only 33 square kilometres and you can easily see China when you're looking at the view from up the tower.
I must say - the sun just starting to set made for a lovely backdrop as I was leaving.