Rising early and braving the cold while getting lost in the directions to the terminal station bound for Macau.
Dear friends, this is HK in the early morn...
No other way to describe it than foggy and freezing ...
Getting to Macau, you'll have to number #1 ask CLEARLY for directions, and number #2 NEVER ASSUME that their pier station looks like our pier station because trust me, you'll end up dragging your freezing ass further and further till you realize that their station is located inside a Mall. Like you'll have to enter this building, take an elevator, then DING! there it is the sparkling shops of consumerism. Buy the tickets, pass through the immigration, ride the travellator and then wait till some F.A. looking personnel signals you to board. So sossy! that even their fast crafts don't seem to land on water. My third world brain was in awe!
Welcome to the pebbled streets of Macau.
The great thing about arriving in Macau is that if you're clueless where to go like uhmmm, us, there is that tourist booth that gives out free maps and how to get there brochures. So where are we headed? Ruinas de San Paulo errr The Ruins of St. Paul.
The moment we got out of the station, we were immediately greeted by a group of Filipinos who kept on convincing us to take their services as our tour guide, and to sweeten the deal they even gave us a for-fellow-Filipinos-only rate. I can't speak much tagalog but I somehow made sure that my facial expression spoke "hindi, pero salamat po" or in english No, thank you. My sister almost got convinced with their let's help each other kababayan speech, but considering our budget I had to be firm and besides I'll like the spontaneity of doing it our own. Kaya pasensya na kababayan dahil sa likod pa coat2x at pa scarf2x namin wala talaga kaming pera. Lol.
Centro de Senado
Let it be known that in this side of the world spoken English is near to nil. So if that language is among or the only proud skill you have, then might as well shove it down your throat coz it's pretty useless. Just expect that you will be communicating with grand hand gestures with a lot hand waving which means No English. If it weren't for that Portuguese girl who helped us with the directions to the Centro then we'd probably have wasted most of our limited time on a joy ride inside that bus. It was even funny how the Portuguese girl kept on apologizing for her poor English when in fact it should be us apologizing for giving her a hard time. Encounters like these makes me regret not taking up a third language, Portuguese. Ok fine, Spanish. hehe.
The moment we got off the bus and stepped on their pebbled sidewalks, I was on air floating with energy. I loved everything about Macau right away. The European architecture, the colors, the vibe, the smell, the air, the everything, it's like walking inside the travel magazines. Even the weather was perfect. The coolness just added to that Europa effect! Loved it to the highest level!
Ruinas de San Paulo
Macau is a pretty small place that you can just walk around it's important landmarks. From Centro to this first known western university in Southeast Asia before it got caught on fire in the 1800 is just a few minutes walk. Being the iconic landmark of Macau, St. Paul's Ruins as expected is a very crowded place. But with it's 360 degree view of architectural beauty it's understood why people linger. My Mom would love this place, no doubt!
Front left right up down back...
When I say 360 degrees of view it's really 360 degrees of view. Front you see the crowded pebbled steps and the majesty of the ruins. Left is some secluded tower park. Right is a small Chinese temple or altar, I think. Up is the birds eye view of clustered buildings both new and old. And back is a museo and cripta where all the historical facts and figures are kept.
the best picture goes to..... ate and kuya... I contest!
Macau is soooo picturesque that you can't help but bring out your inner mowwwdel. Trust me when I say that behind these effort-full model-esque poses is not mere vanity, but a pragmatic approach to making the most out the scenic view. By scenic I mean every type of walls, every corners of the street and everything that looks pictorial worthy. But just when we thought we had it all down to the T, here comes ate in her white wedding gown, kuya in his tux along with the photographer and assistants. They may had us at their production number, but we simply had them at our projection.
Remember... it all boils down to capital E for E-ffort.
getting lost in the nameless corners and streets...
When you are not the sharpest crayon in the box in terms of directions, reading a map can be pretty much a lot of work, and who the hell wants to work on vacations? Apparently not us, coz we pretty much dispensed it and went with our guts. From following the crowds till there were crowds no more .
waddup homies?!
The highlight of our trip, stumbling upon this colorful coolness on this side of town's playground. Situated in between dilapidated buildings and beautified by street arts in all corners, amazing! Kids were playin', grannies were chillin' and I'm singin'...
Ghetto supastar that is what you are
Comin from afar reachin for the stars
Run away with me to another place
We can rely on each other uh huh
From one corner to another uh huh
Sorry it's Jenny from block wannabe in me.
Seriously though, this just made me wish for us to have an artistic venue for the angst-y youth who has so much creativity to express. Better this than than tolerating vandalism on private gates and properties. Besides, we have a lot of dilapidated buildings and areas downtown and like badly we do need recreational parks.
you'll never go hungry in Macau
Why? because even if you don't have money you'll still be able to fill your tummy with all the free tastings around. The street going to the ruins is lined up with Macau's best delicacies, from pastillas to beef jerkies, and despite the language barrier they are very friendly. So friendly that they really stop you in your tracks just to let you taste their food, and how can you not stop in your tracks when its food and for free?! They also don't force you to buy, so the more it's okay. Now you know where to go ;)
Here's a tip. If you go to Macau, just also in the same street corner, there's a pork chop looking sandwich store, trust me it's a must taste. I've never tasted anything like it. The meat is so tender and juicy (not oily) also kinda sweet it's heavenly. Their street foods is pretty much like those in HK, but the vendors are nicer. Then there's also this store the pretty much lets you see how they make their cookies from scratch, it taste like rosquillos but the texture and taste is smoother. It's pretty easy to locate since it's always surrounded by tourist and locals. But I think it's really the old man multi-tasking from molding and baking cookies to selling them that's drawing the attention. You can't help it, he's really fascinating that he's like a tourist attraction. There's even a paper posted in front of his glass window with the camera flash off sign, and a reminder that there's a break every 30 mins. I know... wala yan sa lolo nyo!
gambling and casinos are not for us.
We didn't roll like high rollers in Macau therefore my apologize if there's nothing for me to share, except maybe their casinos looks bongga from the outside. That's all thank you, bow.
Macau how do I conclude thee?...
I'll conclude by saying that I was completely enamored by the historical charm of Macau. Their pebbled streets and distinctly colonial architecture are such a statement that it made me wish at one point that we were colonized by the Portuguese instead of the Spanish. But hey that's history and there's not much we could do about it. Besides, the Spanish left us their DNAs that, you have to admit, mixed well with our morena beauties.
Enough of wishful thinking. All in all, Macau is a really pretty place and the visible contribution of the Portuguese colony just made it even more charming. I haven't been to Europe but I believe when they say that it is the Europe of Asia. The point in the map where the east meets west. Figuratively speaking.
Ergo, if you go to HK might as well drop by Macau, it's a totally different vibe, and who knows you might enjoy it more like I did.
;)
