The Island of Sin: Macau
For those of you that have never heard of Macau, it’s known as the Las Vegas of China. Located in the southern part of China, it is an hour-long trip by boat from Hong Kong. You ride on these really cool turbo jet boats that almost hover above the water. The main reason people go to Macau is to gamble. The city is home to all of the same casinos and then some. However, there are a few major differences in the rules for the casinos. You can only smoke in designated smoking lounges, which I really like. And, there is almost no free alcohol for gamblers, which I really hate. After that, it’s basically the same thing as going to Vegas. The only crazy thing you might find is an illegal cricket fighting match. It’s kind of like a Cock Fight but between crickets and to the death.
Let’s Start from the Beginning…
Anytime I take a day trip somewhere, I know I am in for a long day. I wake up around 6 AM to shower, eat breakfast and pack my backpack. I usually take my bag to breakfast with me. It is so much easier to sneak snacks away from the buffet. After my wife and I finished breakfast, we headed down to the lobby to wait for the bus and the rest of the group at 7 AM. You should keep the time in mind as you read. It will help you know why this day went so very wrong. Before we embarked on our journey, our tour guide Bruce informed us about our Macau tour guide. That should have been our first sign of what was to come.
It was an hour bus ride to the harbor. Rush hour traffic in Hong Kong is almost as bad as Los Angeles. We were catching the 8:45 AM boat to Macau from Hong Kong. So, why did we leave so early? Every time you go from Hong Kong to mainland China, you have to go through customs. Once on the boat, I had to sit next to a guy who seemed to not own a shower and loved to smoke. If you add in the motion of the ocean, the boat ride was not very pleasant. That’s sign number two. By the time we arrived in Macau, it was a little before 10 AM. We have now gone three hours without food, that’s not good when traveling with a pregnant lady. Snacks are something important to remember in this situation.
Are We There Yet?
Stepping off the boat into Macau, my friends and I were greeted by small lady with a big voice and an umbrella. She spoke the now infamous words, “Hello, my name is Agnes, and this is my phone number.” The words that the Agnes would repeat at least a hundred more times. She handed everyone buttons with her name and phone number just in case we forgot too. Luckily, we were all able to use the restroom before leaving the harbor. The ladies had a more difficult time accomplishing this. My wife and three other women setup a zone defense around one stall. She actually hip-checked an old lady out of the way. Now I know what you are thinking, but it doesn’t sound that bad. My wife was four months pregnant and Chinese bathroom etiquette is vastly different from the Western World.
After leaving the harbor, we boarded another bus. Agnes told us that we would be visiting Macau Museum. It is built from an old fort named Fortaleza do Monte. It’s about an hour from the harbor. The tour group had an hour to look around and visit. I found it interesting as it is located in the historic district of the city. It was definitely my cup of tea. To the west of the museum are the Ruins of St. Paul. It was once a college and a church at one time. You can see it pictured above. All in all, it is now about noon. The tour group has not eaten anything since 7 AM (five hours). It’s okay though because lunch will be soon or so we were told.
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