Kirk Posadas - Tips for a Backpacker: Enjoying the Scene On a Budget Macau

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This book will provide you the best ways toenjoy the Macau. Macau is an island state that were once colonizedby Portugal in which it still has well preserved tradition andhistorical culture that could still be found all around the island.Macau also boasts its claim to be the Asias Last Vegas, wherequite a lot of casinos and entertainment centers are well situatedall around the island.

If you are in tune for a traditional andhistorical adventure, read along and soon youll want to go! Thecity can be toured around in one day but due to inevitablecircumstances such as vehicular traffic, the best and most feasiblein terms of proximity spots will be mentioned in this book. Sowithout much further ado, lets start the ball rolling!

Senado Square

HowTo Get There

Macau is an island state and there are many waysto get to this area. It has an international airport that you canfly direct. There are also cheaper ways to travel to here as mostconnecting flights offer cheaper fares. You can fly to Hong Kongand the take a ferry going to Macau which will costs around $14aside from your air fare. Another way is by using a Bus which comesfrom mainland China, which should cost just about the same asriding a ferry from Hong Kong. Be warned of street signs andspecially locals as they are not really conversant in English. Ifyou are more into this adventure, you wont be having problem onthis one.

Macau is a fusion of modern and traditionalstuff. To get around this small island, riding a taxi is a no-no asusual flag down rates already around $3 and goes up at around $0.5every 100 meters. Considering its busy streets, going to a placearound 1-2 Km away will take you almost an hour which will be timeconsuming and expensive. A better way is to use its public buses,though it is also time consuming as well, it is way cheaper thanusing a taxi as its initial fare that can take you for several busstops is around $0.5 only! But, if you dont have a luxury ofmoney, you can just walk as Macaus interesting spots are justnearby each other.

The first spot that you should visit is theSt. Pauls Ruins. If you are coming from the Mainland ChinasBorder, you can a ride a bus from there; it is also around 40minutes walk from here; from the Ferry Terminal it is around 60minutes walk. This can be your starting point of walking around theother areas of interest within the island. The ruins are one of thespots that was preserved that spans through the Portuguese erawherein large influences of Christianity is being spread out. Thereis an entrance fee going down to its structure below but outside isalready picturesque and it paying for something extra is not reallyneeded!

St. Paul's Ruins

Next stop for sightseeing is the Monte Fort,which is located 5 minutes away from the ruins. The fort, as it isnamed, is a defense structure that was built to look over forpotential enemies. It was situated at the heart of the city, and itis overlooking throughout the city, this is a must see for you. For more feel of Macaus history, enterits museum, for a price, of course.

One cannon at the top of the Monte Fort

For a more romantic and at the same timeadventurous feel of your trip, head on to Guia Hill. To get there,you would have to use a Cable Car which costs around $0.5. TheCable Car terminal is around 20 minutes walking from the MonteFort. By taking the Cable Car, you would be seeing a panoramic viewof the city and by reaching the top, you would be able to see theGuia Fortress and Lighthouse, which was used as another defensetower during the Portuguese era.

From the Guia Fortress, another 20 minutewalk will take you to the Grand Prix Circuit as well as theReservoir. This area hosts racing activities as a modern activityin the city. You can relax and unwind on this area to prepare headon to the next area.

The view of the reservoir

The Macau Science Centre

Macau Tower ground view

Macau has rich variance of food due to Portuguese colonizationand the Chinese locals traditional cuisine. You may find themanywhere the city. But the best and most economical way to tasteauthentic Macau Cuisine is through walking to its outskirts. One ofthe good congee eatery can be found on Beco Das Galinhas, it isaround 5 minutes walking from Senado Square. Congee price rangesfrom $6-$7, a nice price for a warm soup on a chilly night.

The innards and pork meat congee

If you are in for a Portuguese inspired food, walk along Calcadada Igreja de Sao Lazaro and look for small eateries. As a start-up,try the Ox tail with black pepper soup, a spicy but very tasty dishwell suited for breezy weather in Macau. Price ranges from $6-$7 aswell.

But if you would like to have cheaper variants of food that arealso equally tasty, Rua Da Alfandega offers eateries specializingwith nearby countries cuisines. Look for Filipino eateries thatoffer $4-$5 food.