It won’t break the bank either if you follow these tips. And there’s no need to change your Hong Kong dollars, they are interchangeable for Macau patacas.
Stay at International Tourism School Hotel at Mong Ha
Try to go midweek if you can, since all the gamblers head over at the weekend, and prices rise on ferries and hotels accordingly. Give the hotel chains a miss and head for IHT, the Tourism School where hotel staff are trained, and rigorously monitored in the process. Inexpensive accommodation is in a building resembling a Portuguese inn with blue and yellow tiles, and dark woodwork, on a hill known as Mong Ha. Here are the remains of an old fort built to guard Macau in the mid 19th century from China just a few hundred metres away. Pousada de Mong Ha, Tel (853) 561 252.
Unwind in a Chinese Garden
Begin the day with a visit to Lou Lim Ieoc, a rich merchant’s garden built in the early 20th century for his extended family and concubines. The grounds and lake in the centre attract devotees of tai chi, who go through their morning’s exercise before heading off to market or office. Elderly men stay longer and bring their treasured caged birds for an outing. The birdsong mingles with another group of singers, Chinese opera aficionados, whose high-pitched warbling rises through the trees. Estrada de Adolfo Loureiro.
Shop in the Chinese Bazaar in the Center of Macau
In the centre of Macau, a few streets from Av Almeida Ribeiro, (better known colloquially as San Ma Lo), is the Chinese bazaar. Narrow alleyways are lined with shops where tailors run up cheung sams, incense sticks are made to offer in the temples, rattan and bamboo baskets and furniture are sold, along with antiques for which Macau is famous.
Brought into the territory everyday from mainland China, the chests, cupboards, boxes and bric a brac don’t stay long before being crated up for the journey to the west. Shipping is surprisingly inexpensive, making Chinese furniture one of the great bargains in Macau. In the centre of it all is an open-air market with curios old and ‘not so old’ on offer. Rua das Estalagens and neighbouring streets.
Laze at Hac Sa in Coloane and Eat at Fernandos
If all this gets a bit hectic, head out by bus to the island of Coloane where on Hac Sa, or black sand, beach, you can laze under the softly whispering pine trees on and gaze out across the South China Sea. Showers and changing rooms are on hand, and a meal of garlic prawns, African chicken and tomato salad, washed down with a bottle or two of Vinho Verde at Fernandos rustic restaurant at the end of the beach, is a perfect way to unwind. 9 Hac Sa beach, tel (853) 882 264, but be warned – no bookings.
Enjoy Macau's Portuguese Wine
Don’t leave Macau without sampling its famous import – Portuguese wine. Enjoy tasting as you learn about viniculture and the history of wine. Open daily 10am – 6pm, on Rua Gonzaga Gomes, tel (853) 798 4188, admission 15 patacas includes wine tasting.
Valery Garrett - I was born in England but I’ve lived in Hong Kong for over thirty years. At first I worked as a fashion designer for some large ...
