TRAVEL/MACAU * Macau – MOD Store

MOD Design Store is located right by Ruins of St. Paul’s. It is unique store and it represents Macau Cultural and Creative Space. The store sells creative and unique products from t-shirt, tote, magnet, soap, notepad, etc that you cannot find it anywhere else. Each magnet that they sell has the history behind it. I was so overwhelmed when I was inside the store and I felt like little kid going to candy store. We did not have lots of time, so I was able to browse for less than five minutes.

www.mod-store.com

TRAVEL/MACAU * Ruins of St. Paul’s

It is also called Ruins of the Church of St. Paul. The ruins are the most famous historical site in Macau.

Originally built in 17th century by the Jesuits, the cathedral was one of the largest Catholic churches in Asia at the time, and the royalty of Europe vied with each other to bestow upon the cathedral the best gifts. The Portuguese cathedral was dedicated to Saint Paul the Apostle. It was destroyed by fire during a typhoon in 1835 and what remains until today is the facade and stairways of the Church & St Paul’s college. This facade, the remains of the church, became a famous tourist spot and identity for Macau.

Resisting calls for the dangerously leaning structure to be demolished, from 1990 to 1995 the ruins were excavated under the auspices of the Instituto Cultural de Macau to study its historic past. The crypt and the foundations were uncovered, revealing the architectural plan of the building. Numerous religious artifacts were also found together with the relics of the Japanese Christian martyrs and the monastic clergy, including the founder of the Jesuit College in Macau, Father Alessandro Valignano.

In 2005, the ruins are officially enlisted as part of the UNESCO World Heritage Site – Historic Center of Macau.

The ruins were restored by the Macanese government into a museum  (Museum of Sacred Art & Crypt), and the facade is now buttressed with concrete and steel in a way which preserves the aesthetic integrity of the facade. A steel stairway allows tourists to climb up to the top of the facade from the rear. When climbing up the ruins, there is good view of the city.  It is customary to throw coins into the top window of the ruins from the stairs, for luck.

Around the Ruins of St. Paul’s, there are lots of shops; some of the stores selling snack and food streets. Macau is famous for the Portuguese Egg Tarts. Some of the snack sellers giving away sample of the snacks, such as beef jerky and cookies. Koi Kei bakery is one of the famous bakeries around in Macau and the bakery gives away generous free samples to try out.

TRAVEL/MACAU * A-Ma Temple

The A-Ma Temple is located at the south-western tip of Macau Peninsula. It is one of the oldest and most famous Taoist  temples in Macau. Built in 1488, the temple is dedicated to A-Ma,  the goddess of seafarers and fishermen. The name of Macau is derived from the name of the goddess A-Ma.

When the Portuguese sailors landed at the coast just outside the temple and asked the name of the place. The Portuguese then named the peninsula as Macau.

According to legend, A-Ma, a poor girl looking for passage to Canton, was turned away by the wealthy junk owners. Instead, a poor fisherman took her on board. Shortly afterwards, storm blew up and wrecked all but the boat carrying the girl. When the boat arrived in Macau, A-Ma walked to the top of nearby Barra Hill and, in a glowing aura of light, ascended to heaven. The fisherman built a temple on the spot where they had landed.

The temple was well described in ancient Chinese texts, as well as represented in paintings, related to Macao. In modern Cantonese, the name of Macau means the ‘Gateway of the Bay’. In 2005, the temple became one of the designated sites of the Historic Center of Macau enlisted on UNESCO World Heritage List.

The Maritime Museum is located just outside the A-Ma Temple.

TRAVEL/MACAU * Chapel of Our Lady of Penha

Chapel of Our Lady of Penha (Capela de Nostra Senora da Penha) once was a place of pilgrimage for sailors. It is located at Penha Hill, from where we could see excellent view of central area of Macau and across the Pearl River into China.

TRAVEL/MACAU * Macau Tower

Macau Tower is also called as Macau Tower Convention & Entertainment Center. Macau Tower is the 10th highest freestanding tower in the world and the 8th tallest in Asia. There is observation deck and there is a thrilling walking tour around the outer rim. At 233 meters, the Macau Tower’s offered skyjump (bungee jump) from the tower’s outer rim; it is the second highest commercial skyjump in the world, after Vegas’ Stratosphere skyjump at 260 meters.

TRAVEL/MACAU * Senado Square

The Senado Square or Senate Square is a paved area in the center of the former Portuguese colony of Macau. It is enclosed by the buildings of the Leal Senado, the General Post Office, and St. Dominic’s Church. The square is paved with a wave-patterned mosaic colored stones created by the Portuguese. The main road of Macau’s historic center, Avenida de Almeida Ribeiro, passes through the square. The square is part of the UNESCO World Heritage Site “Historic Center of Macau”.

There are lots of different style of the buildings, lots of shops, and lots of food stalls (including bakeries and pastries).

TRAVEL/MACAU * Hotel Lisboa

Hotel Lisboa is one of the Macau’s most famous landmarks. It was built in 1960s. In 2006, Hotel Grand Lisboa was built as extension of Hotel Lisboa. The Wynn Hotel is located next to Hotel Lisboa.

TRAVEL/MACAU * Statue of Kun Iam

The Kun Iam emerges as Virgin Mary-like. The statue is 20 meters tall – high bronze figure. This is probably the only statue of the Goddess of Mercy in the world not facing the sea. The shape of the dome is based like a lotus flower.

The Statue is located nearby the Macau Ferry Terminal.

 

TRAVEL/MACAU * Fisherman’s Wharf

The Fisherman’s Wharf located less than five minutes driving from the ferry terminal. It was nice to stop by really quick to take pictures. The Wharf had replica of volcano, Chinese Palace, and Roman Coliseum. This place looked deserted and almost abandoned. There were only three shops opened and none of the restaurants opened. The Wharf had nice view of the Macau Harbor.

TRAVEL/MACAU * Getting Around in Macau

Before departing to Macau, I was tempted to book tour to Macau from Hong Kong. The only drawback was the tour would take the whole day, from 7AM – 8PM. I remembered that when visiting Macau with my aunt, she was offered private tour upon arrival to Macau. There were few options and we took the private tour with minivan. My aunt could speak Cantonese, so there was not any problem for us. This time, I did not think that not many people could speak English in Macau. I was planning to hire hourly taxi to take us around.

Upon arrival at Macau Ferry Terminal, there was one Chinese man approaching us and speaking English to us. He offered us if we would like to use private tour in Macau. He said that the driver would speak English and not many companies offering English speaking tour. He also told us that in Macau taxi driver does not speak English as well. He showed us the map and pointed us where the tour would go and stop. The tour would be completed for three hours around Macau Peninsula. I told him that I would like to see the Venetian. He said that the Venetian located at Taipa Island and at the end of the tour we could be dropped off at the Venetian.  Then, we could take complimentary bus from Venetian back to Macau Ferry Terminal. The man offered us that the cost of the tour would be HK$1,000, and we bargained to be HK$800. It was hilarious, because he said since we were morning customer, so he agreed to accept HK$800 from us. He gave us receipt. I did not realize until I was back at the hotel that at the receipt the phone numbers being scratched.

After we paid, he walked us outside to meet the driver and/or tour guide. Her name is Nancy. She was very nice but she spoke very limited English. When we were about to go to different destination, she would pull the map, and pointed at the map where we were going next. We communicated by words with her and she was really funny. She asked where we were from and when she knew we were from the States, she said “O.. Charlie Sheen.”  Below is the snapshot of Nancy and the minivan which she took us around with.