Macau, Don’t call it Vegas.

June 10, 2009 · Leave a Comment 

Many people expect Vegas when they come to Macau. There are certainly a plethora of casinos and plenty of ready and able gamblers. But the gambling scene seems the least of it really when such a vast offering of cultural experiences await. The ruins of St. Paul, a plethora of temples from grande to tiny, the lavish Handover Museum, Senado Square, and the Mandarin House. We have only four days here and we take in as much as we can, breathing in the smells of street food, taking in the sights of people from all around the... [Read more]

Cirque in Macau

June 9, 2009 · Leave a Comment 

Cirque du Soleil’s first permanent show in Asia has finally found it’s way to Macau. The show is called Zaia and it’s housed in a theatre in The Venetian Macau on the Cotai Strip built especially for the show. It is only 90 minutes long in an effort to be family friendly and I was enthralled every second. Performers bicycled through the sky. Acrobats dangled impossibly high above our heads. Astronauts drifted through space. And a polar bear walked across the sky. It was a love story about our world and everything... [Read more]

Travel Asia, Macau Must-Sees

June 7, 2009 · Leave a Comment 

I don’t believe in those whirlwind “Europe in a week” tours. But if I am going to travel across the International Date Line, I like to know what I should be sure not to miss. So, don’t tell anyone I gave it to you, but here’s a very unofficial (and surely incomplete) check-list of the Macau (cultural) must-sees:

Penha Church

A-Ma Temple

Moorish Barrachs

... [Read more]

Altira Hotel, My Kind of Digs

June 6, 2009 · 1 Comment 

Years ago, Martini and Rossi hosted me on a trip to Italy that included one evening at the Venice film festival. The roof top bar at the Altira Hotel in Macau reminded me of that terrace with groovy chairs in which couples can lounge head to toe and toe to head like a living Yin and Yang and a view of the city that rivaled any I have seen. Friday nights, the hotel offers a free wine tasting and a bounty of dried fruits and cheeses to enjoy along side, offering a great opportunity to mix with the locals. The night I was... [Read more]

Stranger in a Stranger land, Macau Eye-Opener

June 4, 2009 · Leave a Comment 

I am the only Caucasian in the elevator, in the restaurant, on the street. I like it. It puts me in my place. It reminds me that English is a national language not an international one. Many people in Macau speak English. But plenty of others speak only Portuguese and/or Chinese. I am forced to attempt to interpret signs and evaluate context. I am forced to feel for the Asian tourist in the US holding up the line at McDonald’s trying to order lunch while the people behind her mutter beneath their breath, “Hurry it... [Read more]