Macau, Eastern avatar of Las Vegas(1)
|
|
Lady Luck’s blessings on the roll of dice.
With that in mind, I joined the hordes of tourists flocking to this Chinese enclave with its picturesque coastline, hotels and all-night casinos. After all, it’s hardly an hour across the sea from Hong Kong, and ferries make 150 trips a day.
It’s colonial legacy has left Macau with a strange fusion of East and West. The city has two faces. One is the fortresses, churches and food of its former colonial masters, Portugal, and a uniquely Mediterranean aura on the China coast. And then there’s the eastern avatar of LasVegas .
Little wonder then that Macau is full of diverse and interesting buildings, a mish-mash of colonial Portuguese and modern Chinese, as well as US-influenced casinos run by Wynn Resorts, MGM and the Las Vegas Sands.
I learnt that this tiny scrap of land — a mere 30 sq km — was returned to Chinese rule in 1999 and has a population of close to 6 lakh, 94% of them ethnic Chinese.
Main land China constitutes the largest number of visitors followed by Hong Kong and the rest of southeast Asia but affluent Indians are clearly also attracted to its skyscrapers, wide roads, cobbled streets and east-west ethos.
Since reverting from Portugal to China in 1999, Macao’s strength has grown due to gambling, tourism and construction, with some 30 million visitors arriving in 2008, to attend conferences, bring their families, try their luck at the casinos and explore Macau’s nightlife in stylish hotel lounges, chilled out sports bars, discos, karaoke outlets and out wine bars.
The variety extends to accommodations too from five-star hotels to Portuguese-style inns and budget guesthouses. A good tip I learnt is that it’s easier to get rooms without prior booking on weekdays but reservations are required during the Chinese New Year, the Grand Prix or Christmas.
One of the most beautiful parts of the city is Largo do Senado, the central square with its cobbled streets and elegant Portuguese style buildings.
I was quite struck by the Macau Tower — it even has a bungee jumping facility! Howzat for giving everything a tourist angle? Of course there’s nothing to beat the racetrack where the Macau Grand Prix is held every November on that count — a surefire attraction for all those F1 fans. No wonder india also wants one....
