After our travels in Japan we flew to Hong Kong and took a turbo boat from the airport to Macau island which was originally a portuguese colony. We checked into our expensive motel room that we had booked the day before practically and we're met with a tiny, smelly room. To make things worse the bed was so hard it felt like sleeping on concrete. I was beginning to miss our mat on the floor we slept on in japan shared with my husband and brother in law.
The next day we ventured off into the city and discovered just around the corner from our grungy motel a historical dream. Pastel coloured buildings in Senado square (top image) giving that mediterranian feel had me questioning whether I was in China at all. Walking in and around little alleyways were reminders of the chinese culture like food stalls, shopping and the beautifully dirty high rise apartment buildings with various clothing items hanging out to dry.
Just when I thought I couldn't be happier I came across Ruins of St. Paul (images below). Originally a chuch built in 1602-1640 and later destroyed by a fire in 1835. The remaining piece has become an "alter to the city" and is officially a UNESCO World Hertitage site.
And it would not be complete if I didn't include an image of the casinos. Macau is known to be the Las Vegas of Asia. It has 5 plus star hotel's like Wynn and Venetian. The contrast of this little island is immense from old styled portuguese buildings and flare to luxurious shopping and hotels. Macau truly was a hidden gem that I hope to revisit in the future hopefully in more luxurious accomodations.
