Monday, October 10, 2011

Macau: City Tour on Day 4


Macau Peninsula - The Fisherman's Wharf- Macau International Airport


10th of October 2011..the last day of our HK-Macau tour, found us stumbling around our room very early Monday morning to pack our things up ready for check out at noon time and right after our walking trail to downtown Macau peninsula. Most people say that visiting the sites around Macau on foot is quite ambitious..and yes we were! All tour was done thru walking..

Starting from the southwestern tip of the peninsula traversing at 6:30am, we met 2 Filipinos on the way to ask for directions to the A-Ma Temple. They were working as bartenders in Macau for 2 years now and honestly told us that they didn't know the place because they hadn't been there..haha!

So we traced the way by ourselves thru our maps to reach A-Ma Temple, a small Chinese temple overlooking the Barra Square and the seashore. Took us about an hour to reach the site..it's A+ for determination : )



I am sitting from the topmost level of the temple..overlooking the sea

Nothing is exemplary about this temple except for its quintessence of the Chinese culture and the relaxing ambiance surrounding it where people can sit down on the park and walk and run around.


A group of tourist trooping on the gates of the temple. Below is the spacious patio along the A'Ma Temple, overlooking the seashore. Not much people around because it was too early..

The patio fronting the temple

Around the corner of A-Ma Temple, situated back to Barra St is the Moorish Barracks, on the engravings on wall, I saw that it is called "Quartel dos Mouros" in Portuguese. It was built in the late 1800s to house Indian soldiers but was lately became the headquarters of the Marine and Customs Police in the 19th century that houses the Macao Maritime Administration which is strategically located near the seashore. Here are the photos:




Walking further up the narrow street is the Lilau Square (Largo da Lilau) while tucked behind the facade across the street, we found the pastel pink structure called the Mandarin's House. 



We saw this one bakery just opened while we were walking and we're fascinated by these freshly-baked Portuguese egg tarts..

It was only 8:30am in the morning and the Mandarin's House is still closed. With a limited time we had and a considerable number of sites listed in our itinerary, we didn't waste much time waiting for the house to open at 10am, rather, rather continued with our trail thru the elegant Portuguese churches. 

Outside the Mandarin's House

St. Lawrence Church

The long Barra Street led us to the St. Lawrence Church, St. Joseph Seminary and Church, St. Augustine Church, Sir Robert Ho Tung Library and Dom Pedro V. Theater. Our photos were taken on the facades of the buildings.

I found this nicely built posts very interactive to DIY tourists like us (street signs were made in 3 languages: Cantonese, Portuguese and English) : )

The tall gates to the St. Joseph Seminary 

Approaching to the St. Augustine Church

Adjacent building to Dom Pedro V. Theater and Sir Robert Ho Tung Library



Giving my feet a few rest at the St. Augustine Square

What is so uncanny about this nation is it being a haven for gambling, entertainment and prostitution which pragmatically speaking, are considered vices. Looking on the other side, however, the peninsula is surrounded by a number of churches and other places of worship; its rich heritage is an exemplary combination of the western and oriental arts and culture.

We made a short rest at the St. Augustine Square to prepare for the next part of our walking trail..the prominent Historic Centre of Macau to the Almeida Ribeiro Avenue. I noticed that there were no bystanders in the area, still wondering where have all the people gone? Later realizing that it's just 9:30am..the locals might still be asleep since majority were awake all through the night, if you know what I mean: )

This is how a local bank in Macau looks like


Almost there! 

And here we come!


I was awed by the well-preserved western-style buildings bearing different designs inspired after the periods from Baroque to Renaissance to neo-classical styles of arts and architectures upon reaching the Senado Square. I can't still believe I am actually in this very place! It's like being in Portugal at the same time: )

Senado Square (Largo do Senado)

The Senado Square is named as one of the UNESCO World Heritage Site the "Historic Centre of Macau". Found within the square, once a centre of the Portuguese colony in China, are the General Post Office, the Holy House of Mercy, Macau Tourism Center and the St. Dominic's Church. 

Santa Misericordia (Holy House of Mercy)

From: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Holy_House_of_Mercy
Holy House of Mercy of Macau, is a historic white building in Macau's Senado Square. Established as a branch of the Santa Casa Misericordia, it was built in 1569 on the orders of the Bishop of Macau It was a medical clinic and several other social welfare structures in early Macau. It later served as an orphanage and refuge for widows of sailors lost at sea.

Macau's General Post Office

FYI...we found tons of Mcdonald's Fastfood chains all over Macau peninsula..how interesting!

Facade of the St. Dominic's Church

Heading on to the food and souvenir shops at the Square..

We bought some famous local delicacies at Pastelaria Koi Kei..we had so much fun tasting all the stuff put on display for free tasting at the shop..completely served our light snacks for that afternoon: )


Then we walk straight on the street as we had a glanced of the ruins from afar.. 


The grand facade of the Ruins of St. Paul

According to history, the St. Paul's Church, constructed in 1580, went through a lot of disastrous events, from fires in 1595 and 1601, however reconstructed a year after and went through another disastrous typhoon in 1835 at the same time, caught on fire for the 3rd time. The church was said to be the biggest Catholic Church in East Asia in the 16th century, leaving the front facade and the grand stone stairs as its remaining glory.

Back facade

Adjacent to the ruins is the Mount Fortress (Monte Fort), I learned from the post below that this once belong to the St. Paul's Church originally designed to defend it from the pirates but later become a military fort. The fort was destroyed by the fire in the 18th century as well.



Going up inside the fortress


Found atop the fort is the Macau Museum

Our morning tour was completed with lots of historical knowledge..aww! Time to pack our things up, check out at the Hotel Sintra, left our things at the concierge and went straight for the last destination in our itinerary list..the Macau Fisherman's Wharf.

From our hotel, we rode the free shuttle bus bound to Macau Ferry Terminal, then we walked to the wharf, again!

The wharf stands between the ferry terminal and the grand Sands Macau, considered the first theme park con shopping center in the peninsula, one can see the inspiration of the place from the Europeans and Americans.


From the map, one can see that it is categorically divided into the Dynasty Wharf (mostly Chinese-inspired towers), East Meets West (mixing oriental and western traditions which includes the man-made volcano, Greek-inspired buildings, an Arabian area and a Roman-like Amphitheater) and Legend Wharf (mostly recreational facilities with a touch of the modern technologies). See photos below:









Finally, we were starving! We found a restaurant inside the Legends Wharf that served Portuguese food. Splurge ourselves to a sumptuous meal before going back to downtown for the last hours spent in Macau.



Afterwards, we went outside the Legends Wharf fronting the seashore and took our last souvenir photos overlooking the prominent Macau Bridge.


We can't get over with the beauty of Senado Square so we went back..and decided to treat ourselves a cup of Starbucks frappuccinos for a trip well-done!



Time to go back to the usual life in the Philippines..at the entrance of Macau International Airport. We spent the Macau Patacas left in our pockets to pay the taxi ride to airport, because we got so damn tired of the walking we did all day!
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Location: Macau

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