MACAU!!!!

On Saturday I visited the Special Administrative Region of Macau, an hour jetboat ride from Hong Kong.

The Lonely Planet promised that although it was known for its casinos, it offered other sites and areas of interest to explore. Macau was a Portugese colony for many years and so is filled with European-style architecture. And it was something of a novelty to walk around an area that would not be out of place in any European town, aside from the fact that every sign was written in Cantonese.

But far more spectacular were the casinos. I have never seen anything so completely over the top.

It really was like an Asian Vegas, complete with:

Garish displays of wealth (these were 1kg gold bars set in the floor)

Dance shows (the good ones were inside the actual casinos where I was not allowed to take photos, but this one in a hotel lobby was an interpretive dance set to “Iris” by the Goo Goo Dolls)

Fountains set to music (at times with flames!!!)

And miniature versions of world landmarks

After wandering around the many, many casinos, I finally decided to try my luck on the 2cent slots (don’t forget, 1 CAD is equivalent to almost 8 HKD). I quickly lost the 30 HKD I inserted, thinking how easy it would be to get sucked in. Every time I placed my wager, a tiny part of me almost believed I would hit the jackpot and win. Luckily, my self control prevailed, and I walked away short less than 10 CAD.