My Time in Hong Kong: Trip to Macau

On Thursday, Aaron and I took a trip to Macau. We took the ferry, from Central Hong Kong, which took about an hour. Similar to Hong Kong, Macau is a Special Administrative Region, under Chinese rule. Macau was once part of the Chinese empire and then colonized by the Portuguese in the 16th century, making it the first European settlement in the Far East. The handover back to the Chinese took place in 1999. As you can imagine, Macau has a rich history. The central area of Macau is filled with many historic buildings built in the Portuguese architecture and Macau also has its own kind of food (Macanese food), a mix of Portuguese and Cantonese food.

Macau is very small- it is less than one-sixth the size of Washington, DC. Macau is split into three different sections: Macau, Taipa and Cotai. Macau is the main peninsula with the ferry terminal, the historical district and many well-known resorts/casinos (MGM, Mandarin Oriental, etc.). The islands of Taipa and Coloane lie to the south and are connected by reclaimed land known as the Cotai Strip.

After opening up its locally-controlled casino industry in 2001, foreign direct investment flourished in Macau. It has been called "Vegas of the East" and in 2006, it actually overtook Las Vegas with more gambling revenue. Many Western Casinos have a presence in Macau, including the Venetian, Hard Rock, the Wynn and the Sands. The Venetian in Macau is classified as the largest casino in the world.

We stayed at the fabulous Galaxy Resort & Casino. It was massive, with its own wave pool. It is also classified as the only "authentic" Asian casino in Macau, whatever that means. Our room was fantastic...one of the nicest I've ever stayed in. My apt. in Hong Kong could fit in the bathroom. The first day/night, we hung out by the pool and I did a bit of schoolwork. After freshened up, we went to a really good indian restaurant in our hotel and then Aaron did a bit of gambling. I don't really enjoy gambling, probably because I don't know what I'm doing. So I basically hung out at the Hard Rock Cafe watching a live all-girl live cover band called Airborn (from Canada). Their range was amazing and their musical/singing skills were impressive. A few pics of our first day are below.