Day 1: Macau, The Las Vegas of The East

Our trip began on the 17th, with a Cathay Pacific flight from Mumbai to Hong Kong, taking off at 1230 am, half an hour behind schedule.


The gang, minus the photographer, at Mumbai airport

Taking advantage of the 2.5 hours time difference, we landed around 900 am. Our first stop was Macau, and the ferry was 3 hours later, so we parked at a Cafe and freshened up. There was free Wifi, and it was lighting fast - unbelievable response times. Everyone spent the time well downloading a million apps on their mobile devices. I had a Matrix SIM, so I got the chance to make a few calls too. Tried to do some blogging, but it was impossible to figure out the Chinese version that opened up by default, and by the time I figured it out, it was time to leave.

The ferry ride was uneventful, and most of us caught a nap, given how uncomfortable the Cathay flight was, with horrible seats and poor leg space.

Macau was a Portuguese colony for centuries before being returned to China, and we expected a lot of the "Goan" colonial atmosphere.

Note: Both Hong Kong and Macau are Special Administrative Regions of China. They have their own government and laws, but are dependent on China for their defence. China is also installing it's own "administrators" in the government at these places, and most locals seem pretty unhappy about that. You need a visa for China, but both Macau and Hong Kong require no visa for Indians.


However, the first impressions were very different. Macau is now the Las Vegas of the East, and the entire tourism industry is focussed on gambling at the 39 casinos that operate from large, glitzy hotels across Macau. There is color every where, the glass facades of buildings and the bright neon lights lend a very garish casino-look to the whole city. Most of the people are snobbish and unfriendly, no one smiles, and there is smoke all around - in the corridors, in the public areas. Unlike India, freedom from smoke in public is still a pipe dream.

We stayed at The Venetian, a monstrous edifice of hundreds of rooms, endless corridors, and teeming crowds arriving to visit its casinos and shopping mall. The reception resembled a railway platform more than a posh hotel!

Then it was time for lunch, one that cost us Rs 35000, and included unnamed, unrecognizable living beings and where we were the center of attraction for the entire staff - given how excited and open we were to the plates being presented to us.


Guess what's cooking?

35000 :)

Once refreshed, and then walked along the indoor canals and shopping plazas taking in the amazing atmosphere.

The artificial sky and lighting gives the impression of perpetually being under a beautiful late evening sky!

Dinner was at a small Portuguese restaurant, where we had some amazing octopus and clams, and fish, before retiring for the night.

The ever-changing colors of the Galaxy