| A mere 18 sq km of land consisting of
a peninsula and two islands, Macau, after more than two centuries of Portuguese
occupation, was returned to China in 1999. The city and its people, though basically
Chinese, have a distinctly Portuguese side. Many traditions are Portuguese, there are
Portuguese buildings and many people speak Portuguese. In fact, the Macanese, of mixed
Portuguese-Chinese ancestry, form a significant part of the populace. |
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And of course, there is the food - a
delightfully intriguing mix of flavours, with everything from Goan to African influences
being thrown into the cooking pot. The Portuguese picked up food habits wherever they
went, just as they influenced the cultures of these places; Macau’s cuisine benefits
from all this giving and taking and comes to today’s traveller as a gastronomic
surprise of exceeding pleasantness.
The unfortunate thing about Macau is that after the
initial bit of importance as a trade centre, it started to decline, and that trend has
continued; economic development isn’t what it could have been. But when did
underdevelopment ever deter the traveller? Macau is a mix of cultures as disparate as the
Chinese and the Portuguese making it one of the most interesting parts of China.
You can get to Macau either by air or by ferry from
Hong Kong, and once there, head for the western part of town, which has the main
concentration of hotels and hostels. These are thankfully not very expensive, except over
the weekends. Macau is best known for its casinos but there is a lot else to see and do
here. Besides the casinos, which have been doing swift business ever since gambling was
legalised in the 1850s, Macau also offers the simple joy of sightseeing. Among the most
popular tourist sights are the beautiful blue-and-white tiled Leal Senado, the
Senate, considered by most to be the best Portuguese building in Macau, the 17th century
church of São Paulo, now only a façade, but once thought to be the
greatest church in East Asia, and the fort of Fortaleza do Monte. Spend a
quiet evening in the park of Jardim Luís de Camoes, find your way to the
Kun Iam Temple, the Maritime Museum and the Avenida
da Praia- all of them very evocative of the history which is an intrinsic part of
Macau.
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