Before we start, there was Indonesian
proverb said “Tak kenal maka tak sayang, Tak sayang maka tak cinta”, means you can't love someone/something
if you don't know.
So, what is
Macau?. Macau is a Special Administrative Region (SAR) of the People’s
Republic of China. It is located
on the western bank of the Pearl River Delta in southern Guangdong Province,
China. Macau is the oldest European colony
in China. Since the mid 16th
Century, Macau became the base of the Portuguese mariners. They established a
trading post and base
missionary with the permission of local farmers. Portuguese referred back Macau to People’s
Republic of China in
1999.
Now days, Macau
is the one of the best tour destination in asia. the city’s architecture, religion,
traditions, food, art and community reflect the integration of Chinese and
Portuguese cultures. Thus, many tourist are interested to explore and enjoy
them all. If you don’t believe love at the first sight, come and explore
Macau!. There are 7 reason why you will fall in love with Macau. Check this
out!
#1. Various Magnificent Attraction
Macau has many attraction
comprising magnificent monument and heritages site. You will discover many wonderful
architectures of cruch, fortress, temple, palace, garden, tower, museum and
other sites that indulge your eyes. You could
experience other cultures at every turn, enlarge your insight about their
tradition and religion, and uncover their amazing stories.
Senado Square
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Senado Square is the oldest European heritage architecture
and the most complete standing in China. There, we will
see the product of
cultural exchange between East
and West through
time more than 400 years. It is
like paradise for photo hunter. Many fasciating, amazing view could we capture
there. The square is surrounded by pastel coloured neo-classical
buildings, creating harmonious Mediterranean atmosphere. In the middle of the area there is a fountain as a landmark.
Senado Aquare become the hangout of the tourists and local residents. Various shops and restaurants are there. The
atsmosphere is always living even at night. Many attraction
around there like Holy House of Mercy, St. Dominic, and others.
St. Augustine Church
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Macau is named
by the Portuguese 'City of the Name of God'. Because it was the base of
missionaris 4 centuries ago. Thus, We can find magnificent Catholic
churches and Chapel every where. Each cruch has a unique design and distinctive style. One of the magnificent church
is St. Augustine Church, established by Augustinian monk from Spain in 1586. It
is the oldest cruch in Macau which has a lot of fascinating histories such as
the heroic story about Maria de Moura who had lost her hand. St. Augustine Church also became the first
cruch that hold misa in english.
Beside St.
Augustine, there are
many more magnificent churches like St. Anthony's Church which
first constructed by
using bamboo,
Lazarus Church which established in 1570 to serve lepers, St.
Lawrence's Church which has neo-classical structure, with
subtle Baroque decorative inspirations, St. Joseph which stores severed
hand of St. Francis
Xavier, St. Dominic's Church which has dark history.
Ruins of St. Paul's
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Ruins of St. Paul's
Church is a church leaving only the front facade and staircase that
survived the great fire in 1835. Whereas the church were once the
largest church in east asia. Since 2005, the Ruins of St. Paul's Church became
a UNESCO world heritage site, that's why the old building
is completely maintained by the local authority.
Mixture architecture of Europe Renaissance style and Asia is now the main focus
of the tourists in Macau. It looks graceful
and majestic from a distance. The front facade of this church displays carvings
relating to the story of the Catholic the church in Asia complete
with some pictures of dragons and sailing
boats. Today, the facade of the Ruins of St. Paul's functions
symbolically as an altar to the Macau city.
A-Ma Temple
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Religious tour in Macau is not only Cruch,
There are many temple which have served as the pivotal places of worship for
hundreds of years. We can learn more about traditional Chinese beliefs there. One of the temple
in Macau is A-Ma Temple. It is the oldest temple in Macau, built
since 1488 in era of the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644). The uniqueness of the architecture and praying
activities in this temple create a sense of a religious.
Beside A-Ma
Temple, there are
many more beautiful temple in Macau like Kun Iam Tong, Lin Fung Miu, Lin Kai Miu, Pou Tai
Un, Tam Kung Miu, Kuan Tai Temple (Sam Kai Vui Kun), Na Tcha Temple.
Guia Fortress
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Guia Fortress is
located in the hilly
areas which has a height up to 300 meters
above sea level. Guia Fortress
has a very interesting historical
stories for foreign tourists. It became
one of the bastions of the Portuguese army in
ancient times to repel the enemy. To reach this place, we could walk or use cable car
transportation. From the fortress , We could see the beautiful panorama of macau city from the height. And we also
could capture many beautiful moments there.
We also will discover Guia Lighthouse and Guia
Chapel. Guia Lighthouse was established in 1865 which is the oldest
modern lighthouse. Guia Chapel
(Chapel of Our Lady Guia) is originally established by Clarist nuns, who
resided at the site before establishing the Convent of St. Clare. Exterior
design is standard, but you will discover magnificient inside. Acculturation of the
East and the West can be seen clearly
in the interior area
of Chapel of Our Lady Guia,
displaying motifs of religious and mythological
inspiration.
Macau also has
Macau Tower as a Land Mark, which is one of the highest tower in the world. Macau
Fisherman’s Wharf built with the the concept of various themes like
Amsterdam, Italy, Cape Town, Spain, New
Orleans, and several other themes. Kun Iam Ecumenical Centre dicated to Goddess of Kun Iam (Goddess of Mercy).
Lotus Squre, Grand Prix Museum, Vasco da Gama Garden, Islamic Mosque and Cemetery, and
several manificient attraction will indulge your eyes.
#2. Amazing Adventure and Entertainment
A lot of
entartainments in Macau will make you amazed and perhaps press Your adrenalin. Hm,
What the heck entertainment??
Wynn Macau Entertainment
Wynn
Macau present many shows to entertain the visitor such as Performance Lake, Tree
of Prosperity, and Dragon of Fortune. They are amazing shows that will make you
falling in love. Performance Lake is dazzling display of dancing fountain,
light, and fire to the strain of popular or clasical Music. The show is located
in front of Macau Wynn, starts daily from 11:00 am to midnight, and runs
alternately at 15 minute intervals. This attraction is free enjoyed by
anyone who passes , whether or not a hotel guest.
Tree
of Prosperity and Dragon of Fortune are entertainment that combines multimedia technology, light, computer effects, music
and video. Dragon of
Fortune is a show display a high golden dragon. The dragon slowly rises from
below followed by the effect of light and music, then the dragon slowly back
down to the bottom. Half an hour later, Tree
of Prosperity performance display the golden tree rise from the underground as high as 33 feet with
the a layer of 24-carat gold. The Effect of computer and light change the colour of
the tree as it follow the change of season.
All of them are free.
And Many more can be enjoyed
like The House of Dancing Water, Dragon's Treasure, Yueju Opera (Cantonese
Opera) and other spectacular shows.
Adventure in Macau Tower
Your Courage will be tested by plunging at 233 m height. It is the highest
Bungy jump in the world. You will experience the fall at a speed of up to
200km/h and enjoy the few amazing
rebounds before landing into a specially designed airbag. Wanna try? You
Should.
Unlike bungy jump, Sky jump let you
fly through air at a speed of 75km/h, without rebounding. The Jumper would experience the flight over
the thrilling City Scape of Macau from 233 m above ground. If you have no
bravery enough to try both of them, You may enjoy the tower climb and the sky
walk. Sky Walk let you walk around the main outer rim of the tower
without handrail. Don’t worry! It safe really.
#3. Interisting Shopping
Shopping
is unmissable activity in a tour. Although there is nothing you want to buy for
your self, at least you have to bring a souvenir for your family or your
friend. Macau has many shopping malls
that will satisfy the visitor.
Venetian Mall
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Venetian
is one of extraordinary mall in Macau. It has various shop, restaurant,
lounges, café, department store and others. Variety of international quality items is here. But the most interisting is interior design resembles venice – Italy, features
bright cloud on the ceiling, Venice-style building, Bridge, Canal, and more complete
with Gondola and Gondolier singing a song. It's a good place to capture a wonderful moment.
New Yaohan Departemen Store
New Yaohan Department Store is always crowded by the Tourist and local resident. Because complete items are here. And this place is perfect for you who like the well-known brands like Dunhill, Gucci, Paul Smith, Hugo
Boss, Lacoste, Bvulgari etc.
Sao Domingos Market and Red Maret
Red market and Sao Damingos Market are popular market in Macau. Red market has unique design with shades of red. it also has a clock tower and a control tower at every corner. Clothes are the main items that are sold at the Red Market. And Sao
Domingo market offers
a variety
of items with the affordable prices. The most widely provided in this market
are jeans, children's
wear and sportswear with the
a variety of models and variations.
Museum Shops and Senado Square
Some
museum offers a variety souvenirs. You can find them in Macau Museum. The Grand
Prix museum also offers memorabiia connected to world’s foremost Formula 3
competition in the Macau Grand Prix. Souvenir also can be found in Senado
Square, many T Shirt for kids and adult bearing the image of Macau are perfect
for Souvenir.
#4. Tasty Culinary
Macau is also known by its culinary which is affected by
the Portuguese cuisine style. Variety of Macanese cuisine should be tasted
by the visitor.
Portugesse Egg tart
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Egg Tart Is cake
of egg composed by crust in the outter and egg custard inside. a distinctive taste of egg tart is a blend of sweetness and Karame after
baking. It is so delicious when eaten warm. This cake is included in the world's 50 most
delicious foods by
CNN version. Lord Stow's Café is the most
well-known stall selling egg Tart in Macau.
Serradura and Eggroll
Serradura is a
layered puding made
of creamy
vanilla. Layer of the pudding is
mashed sweet biscuits.
It has a unique taste addictive. Whereas eggroll has a crunchy texture and are usually filled with a wide variety of stuffing such as chicken or vegetables. We can find both of them in Macau Restaurant.
Indian Halal Food
Especially
for Moslems tourist don’t have to worry
about the fleshy-food in Macau. Nowdays, there are many halal food resturant
stands in Macau serving indian flavour. They are Aruna Indian Curry and Cafe, Taste of India, Spicy
Garden, Indian Garden
Restaurant, and others. In
addition to the taste of India,
there is Chinese restaurants, Niu Ji Halal Restaurant and restaurant Singapore, the Three
Monkey.
Taste of indian is the first halal food restaurant in Macau. This restaurant serves menu such as Chicken Tikka, Chicken pieces marinated in yogurt and select spices barbequed with green pepper and onions. And Chicken Pappad, a cruncy wafer chip made from black/ green lentil flour, rice, ragi, jowar, sago and cereals.
Taste of indian is the first halal food restaurant in Macau. This restaurant serves menu such as Chicken Tikka, Chicken pieces marinated in yogurt and select spices barbequed with green pepper and onions. And Chicken Pappad, a cruncy wafer chip made from black/ green lentil flour, rice, ragi, jowar, sago and cereals.
#5. Easy to Explore
Macau
is not a large city. Many tourist attractions are located
in the same
region and adjacent to each other.
Thus, it will not take along time to explore this City. It is so perfect place for
the businessman or studend who have no much time. Even We could reach many site
without transportation.
Here,
the example of the suggested route by Macau Government Tourist Office that can
be reached on foot. It’s a Tour of East Meets West route
Senado Square - St. Augustine’s
Square - St. Lawrence's Church - St. Joseph's Seminary and Church - Mandarin's
House - the Lilau - A-Ma Temple - Macau Maritime Museum.
#6. Affordable Cost
Visiting and
enjoying many site and atrraction in Macau doesn’t mean we have to prepare large budget. Macau provided many cheap and
free facilities for the guest. Verious magnificent site and amazing entertain
–written in part 1 and 2- could be reached for free, such us Senado Square,
Ruins of St. Paul, Performing lake, Dragon treasure and many more.
Free Shuttle bus
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Almost all the
major hotels in macau, such us Venetian Resort, Wynn Hotel, Lisboa, Star World provide Free Shuttle Bus for visitor wheter or
not the hotel guest. Many freeshuttle
bus toured around
the Macau, Peninsula and Taipa. Freeshuttle bus always pick the
tourist up in the Air Port and Terminal.
Cheap Accomodation
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There are many cheap hotel/guesthouse in Macau such as Nam Pan Hotel and Sanva Hotel. It is very suitable for those who want to save the budget. Facilities is standard but comfortable enough to be occupied. But if you have enough budget, You may try the Major Hotel like Wynn Resort, Venetian Hotel, or Lisboa hotel. The Guest will be indulged by variety of facilities and entertainment.
Free visa
Visa application regulation is considered hassle and spend a
lot of time and energy. And Macau one of the region who liberates visa for Indonesia
travelers who stay less than 30 days.
#7. Near from another Tour Destination
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Macau is located
in the strategic place, it is near from another tour destination like Hongkong,
Shenzhen, and Singapore. The tourist may explore some region/country in one trip.
Inter-regional tour (Macau-Hongkong-Shenzen)
can be done by a ferry
or railway.
Those are 7
reason why you will falling in love with Macau. Joy Bell C said “Love is like a
good cake; you never know when it's coming, but you'd better eat it when it
does!”. So does Macau. You have to touch it, feel it, explore and enjoy it!!.
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Lao Tzu said, "Journey of thousand miles begin from single step". This article is my single step, Thanks for Macau Government Tourist Office and Portal viva.co.id for allowing me to begin my single step.
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