The Other Side of Macau

Travel assumptions can often be misguided and my recent trip to Macau is one such example. But a happy surprise is a traveler’s true gift. Although I thought I knew the characteristics of this island, I was glad to discover a deeper and more complex, hybrid culture. While many of the over 28 million annual visitors come for the casino escapism (i.e. 33 casinos and over 62 hotels), it is gratifying to learn how much is being done to preserve and educate visitors about the island’s Portuguese history.

Macau is easy to reach from Hong Kong, where after your arrival at Hong Kong International Airport, a swift and buoyant ride on the Turbojet/SeaExpress will take you straight to the island. The SeaExpress has a departure gate in the airport, accessible even before you stand on line for Hong Kong immigration. The total commute was a mere 45 minutes, and quite pleasant. I settled comfortably into one of the plush ferry chairs and took photographs through the tinted windows. Forget the immigration and customs dance – you don’t even think about this until you get to Macau itself.

When I arrived, I was smack dab in the Peninsula, the oldest and most populated part of Macau. The Peninsula is also the island’s most diverse area, at least from a sightseeing perspective. This is where you can find the world’s largest nighttime bungee jumping spot: the top of Macau Tower, which boasts a thrilling drop of 1,109 feet. The temperature in the middle of October was warm, almost 80 degrees. The atmosphere was pleasantly busy but not crowded. Two wheelers and rickshaws whizzed by; shiny compact cars respectfully observed the speed limit.

The Peninsula is home to several luxury boutique hotels including the Mandarin Oriental Macau which offers 168 doubles and impressive suites with tranquil views of Nam Van Lake and Macau Bay. The oldest casino on the island, the Grand Lisboa, is nearby. Lisboa is home to the biggest poker tournaments in Asia, and known for its private mahjong tables (mahjong, pronounced mah-zhong, is a Chinese game for four players, and played with 136 Chinese character tiles). The Peninsula is where the luxury hungry traveler can shop at Louis Vuitton by day and by night be enthralled by bungee jumping at the Macau Tower. The MGM Grand, the Mandarin Oriental’s neighbor, is where you can see an original Salvador Dali and several translucent chandelier gems by Dale Chihuly.

Many visitors choose to stay in the Peninsula because of its cozy vibe and edginess. The area attracts a well-heeled but younger, hipster crowd. The Tower is open well into the evening for bungee jumping, and those vying for that adrenaline rush can engage in weightlessness well until 7:00pm. If you’re feeling particularly adventurous, you can climb to the very top where they will serve you—no kidding– freshly brewed coffee.

The Tower Plaza, a sprawling space at the base, is lined with stores. It offers an ideal vantage point of Taipa Island, which is where you’ll find the Cotai Strip and the Vegas-style hotels. During my Peninsula stay, I was excited to take in some extraordinary fireworks displays from the annual Fireworks Competition. Certainly, the Macanese have their own unique and highly flavored cultural traditions, but the sparkling legacy, innovation and influence of China is palpable everywhere.

The Peninsula is thankfully not all manmade grandeur. A short cab ride to downtown Macau will take you to the Camoes Gardens, a dense, leafy wonder and one of the oldest parks in Macau. During the 18th century, these grounds belonged to a wealthy East India Company executive. Now, you can stroll shady pathways and meditate, read or simply observe the locals. Some practice Tai Chi at the crack of dawn. Others sing folk songs with musical instruments. “Locals view the gardens as extensions of their homes,” says Joao Sales, an executive with the Macau Government Tourist Office. The poet Luis de Camoes, whose bust can be found there, composed his epic Os Lusiades (Soul of Portugal) in the Grotto.

The Camoes Gardens is one place where you’ll forget you’re on casino island. Far from the madding crowd of high stakes poker and high rollers, this is where you’ll lose yourself in climbing hills studded with trees, and release your inner kid at brightly painted outdoor gyms.

Macau is doing everything it can to preserve the precious, authentic pieces of their cultural heritage and to show visitors how much more there is to the island apart from the glitz.

Many people have asked me what there is to do in Macau other than gambling; I like to point them towards landmarks like the Ruins of St. Paul Church, a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The Ruins are located in a lively, commercial section of downtown Macau, and are the island’s cultural magnet. What used to be the fully realized Cathedral of St. Paul (“Mater Dei”) is now a simple standing stone façade. Dedicated to Saint Paul the Apostle, the cathedral was destroyed by a fire in 1835.

With their Portuguese style architecture, The Ruins are the nerve center for Macau’s cultural appeal and they create a Baroque vibe in the area. Here tourists snap away and brides blush and pose for endless photographs. When you descend the many stone steps, you can lose yourself in the maze of narrow cobblestone streets and pastel colored churches. It’s a very special area to savor because for a single moment, you really feel like you’re in Europe, at least if you ignore the vendor signs with Chinese characters.

At the time of my visit Macau was celebrating the Mooncake Festival. A dessert that originated in China, the Mooncake is a delicacy that is traditionally served during lunar worship. It once contained hidden messages for the Portuguese military. What’s particularly endearing about Macau is how the people don’t hesitate to celebrate any occasion if given the chance; one area where gaiety is palpable is Senado Square, at the end of the cobblestoned walk from the Ruins and unmistakable because of its brilliantly painted pagoda. This is the hub of activity in downtown Macau, especially during festivities. During the Mooncake Festival, expect to find brightly colored paper lanterns festooning every building.

If you leave behind the Peninsula and drive towards Taipa Island (three bridges provide easy access), you’ll enter the area where glitz and glamour, casinos and skyscraper hotels reside. To say that the grandeur makes your head spin is an understatement. The Cotai Strip, modeled after the Vegas Strip, houses some of the biggest hotels and casinos in the world, including the world’s largest: the $27 billion Venetian Macau. From exciting entertainment like Cirque du Soleil to fine dining and luxury shopping, The Venetian will play Gulliver to your casino expectations. This is exactly what visitors expect when they come to Macau and the proof is in the numbers. Most of the over 28 million annual visitors come for the poker and roulette so expect to find most casinos packed to the brim.

There are other hotels to see and several other restaurants too, from the massive City of Dreams Triplex (featuring three distinct hotels with world class dining options) to the Galaxy Macau which houses the newly minted Banyan Tree Spa (a spa lover’s paradise).

At the end of the day, though, having visited the glamorous marble-lobbied hotels with rooms where no detail was left to chance, it was the cultural aspects of Macau that stuck with me most. To visit Macau thinking there’s nothing else to do except be a character in the Asian version of Hangover would definitely be a mistake. There is another side to the island: the history, culture and architecture are alive—especially in the older parts. Perhaps it’s time to leave misconceptions behind and be surprised yourself by the true gift of Macau.

The international dialing code for Macau is 853.