Ni hao from Macao, our dear readers! For those who don't know, Macau, also known as Macao, is a Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China, and until 1999 was an overseas territory of Portugal before it was handed over back to China.
Macau is one of the world's most densely populated spots, and it generates more revenue from gambling than anywhere else in the world, including more than seven times the revenue generated by 'The Strip' in Las Vegas. Macau is just an hour away from its neighbor Hong Kong by ferry, and one October in 2008, we went for a short holiday during the National Week holidays.
We lodged at the super swanky The Venetian Macao, and if I have to describe that hotel in one word, it would be opulence personified. This luxury hotel and casino resort is owned by the Las Vegas Sands Company, and the hotel was modeled to her sister hotel The Venetian Las Vegas. I was told that this hotel is exactly the same size, having the same design as the one in Las Vegas.
The photos I have are not of very good quality though, as I was only using a digital camera. Little did I know that several years later I'd be blogging about my travels, so apologies in advance. I just would like to share the place with you.
Macau was one of the earliest European colonies in Asia and the last to be relinquished. Besides the city itself, Macau includes the islands of Taipa and Coloane, which are connected to the city by bridges. The Venetian Macau is located in an area called the Cotai Strip, and here other casino hotels are also located. It is safe to say then that perhaps Macau is the gambling capital of Asia.
This is The Venetian Macao taken from the back. Perhaps I took this picture on a day we were exploring the city. This luxury hotel, apparently is the seventh-largest building in the world by floor area. It also boasts the largest casino in the world, and the largest single structure hotel building in Asia. How's that for records?
This is the lobby. The whole interior of the hotel is dim, and I was told that it is because it is a casino hotel. The lights and everything else are somewhat purposely dimmed so that the gamblers would not have any idea of the time, and they can just go on gambling. Not sure about that thinking but it does makes sense, doesn't it?
See what I mean when I describe it as opulence personified? I have been to other luxury resorts and hotels in my other trips but this one was something else entirely. Not sure if that sculpture is made of real gold, but perhaps not.
The theme of the hotel is Venice, and so all the features are Roman looking, from the pillars to the ceiling. It just looks so grand.
Look at this ceiling! It looks like the ceilings of chapels in Rome that are painted with graphic images. The resort officially opened in August 2007, and we visited a year after it opened to the public. We just took a ferry from Hong Kong but for other travelers, Macau also has it's own international airport.
This is one part of the ceiling from which part of the hotel I cannot remember though. Very Romanesque, I should say.
This is the part that overlooks the casino. Down there are the casino tables, and me and my friend just went to walk over one time just so we could see close up the gamblers. There were definitely a lot at the gambling tables. I felt somehow sad that these people have no concept of time and some of them could be gambling their lives away, others might just be there for some fun though.
Wouldn't it be nice if all of those who gamble would win and become rich? Sadly though, that is not the case, and if it becomes an addiction, it could control one's life, ultimately destroying families and individual lives alike. This picture is the great hall, although I did not take the hall part, as I wanted to take a picture of the gambling tables and the people.
The casino consists of over 6,000 slot machines and 800 gambling tables. Imagine that!
This picture was taken on a raised part over the San Luca Canal, where gondoliers ply their trade and make you feel like you are in Italy.
This is one of the gondolas docked, while waiting for someone to rent it. I can no longer remember how much it cost for a ride but we did ride it to experience it.
Our gondolier was a female, and she did sing for us while rowing the gondola. They wear a uniform, and while traversing the canal, you could see the various shops on both sides of the hotel.
The ceiling on this part of the hotel is painted like the sky, but still it was dim. It was kind of depressing really, to be walking around the property with all these grand structures but the atmosphere was somewhat dark. That was just my feeling, maybe other people do not feel the same way.
This is the view you see when you are in the area of San Luca Canal. This hotel was also featured in the Korean variety show Battle Trip where two destinations are presented to the viewers and the viewers vote which is the likelier place they will visit for pleasure.
There is the canal below me and the background taken a bit farther to show the overall view.
I wish I had a better camera though, so that I could have taken better pictures. Anyways, here is the canal.
This is another ceiling from another part of the hotel. It almost felt like I was in a palace of sorts with all these features.
This is one retail shop inside the hotel. Needless to say, it is safe to say that I would not want to part with my hard earned money buying one of these things, ha ha ha!
For a hotel as big as it is, it only has one pool, unless there was another one that we were not aware of. The pool is quite big, and even the outside features look grand.
Come to think of it, I do not have any pictures of the restaurant, but we did have buffet breakfast every morning we were there.
There were not a lot of people swimming while we were there. It was just us and a few other guests. I guess the other guests came to enjoy the casino and not the swimming pool, or pehaps they just swam another time.
The hotel had a lot of Filipino staff, and they kindly took our a picture of us by the pool on our last day.
Welcome to our room! We had a suite with 2 queen beds, a sitting area and a very large bathroom although of course I did not take a picture of the bathroom.
The hotel was too big that coming from the pool, we got lost several times before we could find our room on our first day, ha ha!
The rooms are really big, we had the sitting area, plus these two big beds and a huge bathroom as well. Now, why did I not ever take a picture of the bathroom? Oh well.
The hallway to our room. One little man is walking down the lane. :-) And of course, we did not stay at the hotel the whole time. We also visited some of Macau's famous landmarks. Let me take you there now.
This is the Ruin's of St. Paul's church, one of Macau's most famous landmarks. The church was built from 1602-1640, and was one of the of the largest Catholic churches in Asia at the time.
The church was destroyed by a fire in 1835, but it was never rebuilt. The Macau government restored the ruins into a museum, and the facade has been buttressed with concrete and steel in a way that preserves its aesthetic integrity.
The ruins were officially listed as part of the Historic Centre of Macau, which is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. We were quite lucky there were not a lot of people when we went, as this area could get really crowded, especially in the evenings, as the nearby areas are lined with shops that sell food like beef and pork jerky and the likes.
In this picture we see the Portuguese influence on the design of the buildings. This is one alleyway near the ruins. By the way, the ruins are located in San Antonio. I should also add that Macau has its won currency, the Pataca, but Hong Kong dollars and US dollars are also widely accepted.
In this picture we see the Chinese influence of the buildings, and we see an old neighborhood also near the ruins. Cantonese is the local language, and Portuguese is also spoken by a small minority. English is spoken and understood in hotels and casinos.
We also visited a Buddhist statue on top of a hill, but I did not take a picture of that, I took a picture of the view below, and we can see the hotel down there. There was a frenzy of construction going in at the time we were there- and guess what they were building? More casino resort hotels, of course.
We also visited the mock Roman ruins at the Fisherman's Wharf, and here we see several buildings that resemble Roman buildings. It is a theme park with shops and other things to see and take pictures of.
This attraction was opened to the public in 2006 so it was fairly new when we visited. The area was quite extensive as well.
In this building were restaurants and retail shops.
Can't remember what this building it but the tower behind, colored white is the Casino Lisboa of Macau, which is the oldest casino in Macau.
Food wise, Macau is famous for its egg tarts, and they are indeed very delicious! I could eat a few pieces in one go. The pork, beef and chicken jerkies are also quite popular and there are a lot of people who buy these things.
All in all, it was a nice but short visit, and a very fun experience, especially the hotel we stayed in.
Stay tuned for more travels! Please go to our travel page for more articles like this.
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