Traveling South East? Here’s why you should consider travel to Macau as your next holiday destination. Think of Macau and you will get a picture of the glitzy casinos and gambling dens that stay up all night, dingy with smoke and people desperate to make their fortune; remember James Bond’s Skyfall?
Well, Macau has a lot more than just the glamorous casinos, which never fail to draw a major portion of tourism landing on this country every day. To give you a sneak peek of the other side of this peninsula, we present you a list of reasons that are sufficient enough to keep you going on a vacation to Macau. Thus, here are 12 reasons for which you should head to Macau as early as possible.
It definitely includes the gaming casinos though!
Sky Jumping from Macau Tower
It offers the highest commercial sky jump in the world! And ‘It’ here refers to more than 1000 ft high Macau tower. Being famous as a Convention & Entertainment center, Macau tower buzzes with numerous theatres, shopping malls and restaurants. With the introduction of the Skywalk X some years back and now this sky jumping, adventure opportunities are booming here.
The jumping platform, which is 233m/764 ft. from the ground keeps the visitors in complete free fall motion for nearly 17 seconds, before they make a smooth touchdown.
It is simply like base jumping; a complete vertical drop and a reason enough to travel to Macau.
[Enjoy the adventurous activities at Hong Kong & Macau.]
Shopping, Eating and Celebrations at Senado Square
One of the reasons why you should head to Macau is the ‘Senado Square’. The square is one of the major urban centers of Macau. Since centuries it has been a perfect venue for celebrations and public events. The square has also been inscribed UNESCO world heritage list. One thing that you certainly cannot miss while exploring this side of Macau is shopping. The whole square is dotted with pastel colored classical buildings; similar to those of the Mediterranean artistry. And what keeps these neo-styled buildings and their corners buzzing throughout the clock? Well, the square has shopping centers, traditional Chinese restaurants and cultural events making up for all its answers.
On special occasions like Christmas and Chinese Spring Festival, the square invites a lot of celebrations; lion and dragon dance, fireworks.
Just to the east of this historic square is the Macau Cathedral and near to the end of the paved road is the St. Domingo’s Church.
Spiritual Attractions in Macau (primarily Taipa Island)
Despite the Portuguese continued to rule over Macau for some centuries, the inhabitants fiercely stuck to their Chinese roots, beliefs and customs. Now after going through the poker face of Macau, it is slightly hard to imagine a spiritual side of it. But that is prevailing in the Taipa village of Macau.
Amidst the concrete constructions of Macau, Taipa with its pre-historic temples manages to hone the spirituality of the region with utmost dedication.
The oldest amongst them is the Guanyin temple, the construction stones of which were laid back in the 13th century. It has statues and images of Lord Buddha decorated on its walls.
The most important attraction is the stone table where the Sino-US accord was signed long time back.
Then there is A-Ma temple, which is a UNESCO world heritage site, and is dedicated to the deity of the fishermen. The temple flaunts a structure that has beautiful tiled roofs, moon gates and tiny gardens. While exploring these many attractions in Macau, pay some heed to the temple of Pou Tai Un, Tam Kung Miu and Sam Kai Vui Kun.
[Browse through our China tour packages.]
Black Sand Bay: Reasons to Travel to Macau
Hac Sa, which literally translates to the famous black sand, is Macau’s largest natural beach. The fact that separates this beach from the rest in the country is the availability of black sand on its shores. It is not actually black sand, but deposits of minerals that get washed away from the sea. This happened long time back due to gradual erosion of the beach from the sea waves. Nevertheless, the black sand bay flaunts such a unique appearance, it is amongst the top amazing places of this country. Going by it, Black sand Bay or Hac Sa is a sure reason or excuse to head to Macau.
Macau Panda Pavilion
Away from the glittering streets of Macau city, lies the real natural treasure of this small peninsula; the Giant Pandas. Right on the hill side in Seac Pai Van Park in Coloane is the home of around 300 Pandas; highly popular amongst them are Kai Kai and Xin Xin.
The Panda Pavilion is actually a state of the art facility designed by best ecological minds to mimic nature. Its roof has been given an impression of a sea shell. While the architectural layout of the interiors have been kept completely in sync with the undulating terrains of the hill. Walk around the lanes, watching these cute creatures playing and jostling with each other in this artificially created natural habitat of them.
Just outside the park, there is a gift shop which sells souvenirs and merchandise related to the Giant Panda. The shop has a large collection to choose from; soft toys, bags stationery and clothes, all of these themed of the Pandas.
Wishing Crystals at Galaxy Macau
Amongst the popular attractions of Macau, a trusted name is the Galaxy resort, located on the Cotai strip of the peninsula. The resort is famous for keeping unbelievable and fascinating attractions. Looks a little bizarre but unique, the second lobby of the Galaxy Macau holds its audience in a tight gasp of amazement with the interactive Wishing Crystals.
These crystals emerge from the ground beneath and shower the visitors with blessings. The reason behind calling them interactive is as on waiving your hand before them, the crystals seem to start pulsating with music and light.
The Amazing KUN Iam Statue
Like some deity showering blessings, the beautiful Kun Iam statue stands on an artificial island in the ocean. The statue has been a true and a long lasting symbol of Macau. Dedicated to the Goddess of Mercy, the bronze statue is 20 meters high and is surmounted on the top of a dome designed like a lotus flower.
To enjoy the beauty of this statue to its maximum, visit the location during the time of sunset when it glows in a gentle fashion by the rays of the setting sun.
Gaming fraternities of Macau; Venetian Macau, Grand Lisboa Casino, Galaxy Macau Casino
The Las Vegas of the Far East; Macau continues to run its legacy by lining up more and more casinos at its fore front. So much importance on its gambling joints led to the creation of the biggest casino in the world; the Venetian Macao. Then there is the Grand Lisboa, the Galaxy Macau Casino, Wynn Macau Casino, MGM Grand, and the list seems to go unending.
These gambling joints are open all day and night, making gambling one of the prime indulgences in Macau. Not just popular card games like Roulette, Poker and Blackjack, these casinos are also perfect joints to enjoy local games like the Chinese fan-tan.
Portuguese Explorations in Macau
Macau being formerly ruled by the Portuguese sports a delightful mix of this colonial culture which cannot go unnoticed whenever one talks about this land. It all started four centuries back but the colors of their culture have not faded till the present time. In your quest of Portuguese explorations, take your first step towards the plethora of dining options that remain true to its foreign tastes; A Lorcha, Antonio Macau, O Porto Interior Restaurante.
Senado Square being one of the favorites of them, flaunts various buildings and structures inspired by the Portuguese style of architecture. The Holy House of Mercy, St. Dominic’s church and the Ruins of the church of St. Paul’s, are more than enough to suffice your colonial interests. These structures are remarkably splendid yet excellent examples of a traditional Portuguese mosaic.
Macanese Cuisine
Talking about cultures, there is one thing that is highly unique to Macau, but still a blessing of the two foreign invasions that took place here back in the pages of history. It’s the Macanese cuisine which is a mouthwatering blend of Southern Chinese and Portuguese cuisines. The cuisine requires special cooking techniques, which can be seldom seen in the different styles of Chinese cooking.
Some say that these unique fusion cuisines are results of the blending of spices which the wives of Portuguese sailors attempted in order to bring a sort of variety in their European dishes. The popular and must try dishes under this category of cuisines are Galinha a Africana, Galinga a Portuguesa, Pato de Cabidela, Minchi and Macanese Chili Shrimps.
You will not get these delicacies in Las Vegas!
Museums
Macau has a fair share of museums as well. The very first goes with a highly conventional name i.e, the Museum of Macau. The museum resides on top of a hill, right beside the church of St.Paul’s. The museum is a total warehouse of the history of Macau. Well that’s for the history buffs. But how many of you can imagine a museum that only talks about Grand Prix races. Named amongst the top in the list of astounding museums of Macau is the Grand Prix Museum, which was opened as a celebrative mark of the 40tH anniversary of the Macau Grand Prix and in today’s times it puts on exhibition, cars and motorcycles, driven by famous drivers like Michael Schumacher, David Coulthard and Eduarfo de Carvalho.
Bridges of Macau
Contrary to the tiny image of Macau which has pictures of an island as its introductory cover, bridges do not sound that much interesting. However, proving all imaginations wrong are different man-made bridges which look dazzling in the night. Connecting the peninsula of Macau with that of the Taipa Island are three long bridges, which not only serve as connecting links, but point of tourist attractions as well. These are the Sai Van Bridge, Macau-Taipa Bridge and Bridge of Friendship. The Macau-Taipa is just outside MGM hotel; you can sit on benches and enjoy the breezy night with a spectacular show of lights on the bridge right in front of you.
Certainly amongst the top places to visit in Macau.
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Ankit Kumar
Love to travel! But confused how to. Well, Ankit Kumar has answers to all of your queries. A travel writer by profession, Ankit offers all the necessary information on travel to your favorite holiday destination through his write-ups. So just read on!!
This posts reveals some of the most interesting reasons to visit Macau. Never thought of visiting China, but now I will have to change my mind 🙂