One of the advantages of travelling through smaller countries, is it often presents you with the opportunity to do side trips in neighbouring countries; and it’s a great way to maximize your time and ability to take in additional sites.
Once we were in Hong Kong we decided to take a day trip to Macau. It’s only a 55 minutes journey by Turbo Jet Ferry over to Macau, and if you grab a window seat, you can get some really nice views. Macau itself is most famous as a luxurious gambling hub, and I can assure you there is no shortage of casinos. As you can guess, this was a family day trip, so we didn’t stick around to experience the nightlife, but I can imagine it must be quite something to see…..I’ve added it to my future “empty nester” trip list for us!
So if not gambling, what is there to do? Actually, Macau has quite a history. It’s now a special administrative zone of China, but up until the late-nineties it was a Portuguese colony that was established in the late sixteenth century.
Our first stop was the A-Ma taoist temple. The shrine was built in the late fourteen hundreds, and is now considered a UNESCO World Heritage site. The temple is built into the side of hill, so there’s a lot of up-hill walking to see the entire site. It’s also a very busy location, so you need to be patient as you work your way up the narrow steps to the top; and although it’s a large tourist draw, it’s still a religious site, so you need to be respectful of the fact that people are praying and making offerings at the censers around the property. It’s also believed that this was the first place that Portuguese explorers came ashore when they first arrived in Macau.
After exploring the temple we made our way over to the Ruins of St. Paul’s Catholic Church. This is also a world heritage site, but the only part still standing is the church facade, perimeter walls and the original footprint. The original structure was destroyed by fire in the later part of the eighteenth century, but this is still a fantastic site to explore. The steps leading from the courtyard up to the church give you a wonderful view of the surrounding area, and the inner yard has some see-through flooring around the perimeter to see the grounds underneath the main yard. Definitely worth the time, and an interesting glimpse into Macau’s past.
Right next door to the Ruins of St. Paul’s is the Fortaleza do Monte (Fortress of Our Lady of the Mount of St. Paul). This fortress was originally built by the Jesuit priests in the early sixteen hundreds to protect their new colony from invasions; specifically from pirates and later Dutch explorers. Today it is home to the Museum of Macau, and you are able to explore the grounds, and roof top fortifications, which provides some unbelievable views.
We then made a quick stop at the Macau Tower, which provides a birds eye view of the city and the surrounding area, but by this time the kids were starting to loose steam, so we toured some of the shops in the mall and made our way back to the ferry terminal. This turned out to be a long day of exploring, but totally worth the time to see the country and explore some historic sites around the city. The ferry ride back gave us some much needed time to recharge and rest up. Overall, I recommend Macau as a nice day trip, unless you want to do some gambling or check out the nightlife; otherwise the city is small enough you don’t need too much more time to see the high points and take in the city.
Check out more photos of this trip and others in the photo gallery!
Great blog!!