Macau: More than just smoke-filled casinos

The Jakarta Post ,  Jakarta   |  Sun, 06/10/2007 7:19 AM  |  Life

Viva Macau airlines and the Macau Government Tourist Office invited Indonesian journalists to the territory. The Jakarta Post's Pandaya participated in the trip:

After some hours, our flight eventually touched down at the sleepy airport on Taipa Island at 5 a.m., the perfect time to begin a leisurely exploration. The morning breeze blowing from the sea felt just as warm and humid as it was in Jakarta.

Still drowsy after some two-hours of intermittent dozing, the tour guide's stories about Macau's landmarks along the way to the hotel passed my ears unheard.

Now and then we had a good laugh when the fast-talking Indonesian-language guide, Fiona, cracked jokes in a thick East Javanese accent.

Her parents used to live in East Java and although she was born in mainland China, members of her family use the dialect in daily communication to cherish the romanticism of their roots.

We checked into Hotel Rio, a year-old, cozy, four-star casino hotel, after a 15-minute ride from the airport through an oh-so-long interisland bridge of traffic jam-free roads, a real luxury for Jakartans.

The hotel, boasting neo-medieval architecture, is but one of many high-end facilities that have sprung up over the past three years or so to accommodate the ever-increasing number of visitors after Macau was opened up to the free market in 2001.

The first day's city sightseeing took us around the ""Las Vegas of Asia"". Macau, which was designated a World Heritage location by UNESCO in 2005, is the West's gateway to China. It was a bustling nexus of international trade in the 17th Century, a center for Far Eastern Jesuit missions and the summer retreat of 19th-Century Hong Kong tycoons.

Until a decade ago, Macau had little more to offer other than a taste of old European architecture in Asia plus several smoke-filled casinos.

Since 2002, however, the number of casinos has been steadily rising; there are some 25 at present.

Signs in public places are written in both Chinese and Portuguese, although fewer than 5 percent of Macau's half-million population speak their ex-colonial masters' language. Even though only a few thousand Portuguese live in Macau, their language remain an official language, along with Chinese.

Churches, plus much of ethnic interest

The city and two islands that makes up the Macau Special Administrative Region (MSAR) reverted to China after it had been a Portuguese niche since 1557. At that time, the Chinese gave Macau to Portugal, supposedly as a reward for clearing the bustling waters of dreaded pirates.

The territory became Asia's most prosperous port and trading center until the British settled in neighboring Hong Kong in 1841.

The Opium Wars, fought between the UK and the Qing Empire in China from 1839 and 1842 with the aim of forcing China to import British opium, ended Macau's prosperity.

Throughout the old city, the bus took us past antique historical buildings, forts, churches and places of Portuguese legacy standing tall alongside older Buddhist temples, statues and shops.

One of the oldest churches is the 1622 Chapel of Our Lady of Penha, which stands on top of Penha Hill, overlooking a bay where a famous boat carnival takes place every year.

Nowadays, the scenic hill is an exclusive residence of Macau's richest, including casino baron Stanley Ho. Rebuilt in 1837, the chapel was founded by the crew and passengers of a ship that narrowly escaped capture by the Dutch.

The most iconic of the churches is probably St. Paul's (Sao Paulo) just across the Museum of Macau, which perches on a hill that the Portuguese used as a fortress.

The church was built in 1602 adjoining the Jesuit College of St. Paul's, the first Western college in the Far East where legendary missionaries such as Matteo Ricci and Adam Schall studied Chinese before serving in the Ming Court, Beijing, as astronomers and mathematicians.

A fire destroyed the college and the body of the church in 1835, leaving only the facade, which is magnificently decorated with carvings and statues of Jesuit saints and Old Testament figures and symbols.

Illustrating in medieval, classical and oriental style the early years of the church in Asia, the facade was built by Japanese Christian exiles and local craftsmen from 1620 to 1627 under the direction of Italian Jesuit Carlo Spinola.

Buffet lunch at the revolving restaurant in the 338-meter-tall Macau Tower is a fun way to see Macau and Zhuhai on the mainland.

A fine dusk at the breezy Fisherman's Wharf was also quite an experience. The complex is Macau's first themed entertainment center where you can see a ""volcano"" erupting every night.

You can also shop at the Aladdin Fort Arabian style market; play games at the underground amusement center; dine at Afrikana BBQ; gamble Babylon Casino; stay in Rocks Hotel and enjoy a play at the Roman amphitheater.

Unlike stressful, bustling Hong Kong, Macau is indeed much more leisurely and quiet, with visitors outnumbering inhabitants.

Last year, some 20 million people, mostly from mainland China and Hong Kong, holidayed here.

This year, the tourism authorities expect 23-24 million. Breathing spaces like parks, greenery, beaches and hilltop retreats are everywhere.

Macau has been doing everything to convince the world it has a lot more to offer holidaymakers than just casinos and the ubiquitous slot machines.

As part of its effort to attract Indonesian travellers, Viva Macau has launched three-times-a-week Jakarta-Macau direct flights. Trialing these low-fare, long-haul flights, the airline plans to increase flight frequency as early as the end of the year.

Ferries leave for Hong Kong every 15 minutes with a round trip fare of HK$280 (about US$35). A helicopter shuttle is also available for those who can afford to pay substantially more. Flights from Macau serve major cities in Asia.

The Hong Kong dollar is legal tender along with the local currency, the pataca, which is worthless outside Macau.

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