oh wow, Macau

What can I say about Macau? The best thing about it, quite frankly, was leaving it. We'd heard all about how this former Portuguese colony had done a great job cleaning up its old city, getting more investment in casinos, etc.

So it was a bit of a shock to go there today and be a bit unnerved by the number of mainland tourists, the chaoticness of trying to figure out how to get to the old, preserved district (which is cleaned up) when there are no good signs at the ferry pier, and the fact that some of the historical sites just weren't open for business. We spent a lot of time walking through narrow roadways in the center of the old town, sometimes flattening ourselves against walls as small buses and motorcycles went by.

I still remember it from when it was a much sleepier, slow-paced city to visit -- with just a few casinos, and gangs, and a nice promenade by the water. Faded glory indeed but rather pleasant way to spend a day trip. This time, I really don't think I need to go back. There's a lot of reclaimed land where they've put up a lot of Las Vegas casinos, and so the original promenade is no longer facing the ocean, but now a small causeway bay and a twolane highway. The taxi driver we had was not overly enthused with all the changes.

The hydroferry was particularly pleasant with mainland Chinese men hawking up spit really loudly. And talking at the top of their lungs. Bleh and ick. It definitely reminded my mom of why she's not so keen on going back to be a tourist in China anytime soon.

What I did like. They have done a nice job with restoring some of the old buildings, and I particularly liked the Moorish barracks, the Senado plaza and a few of the churches. Also, we had some good Portuguese/Macanese food today -- Sopa de Caldo Verde (green soup) and Spicy African-influenced chicken, a fried bacalhau (cod) with egg and potatoes (the potatoes weren't quite right), fried sardines (excellent), and a soupy rice with small octopus and tomatoes.

I'll post some photos later, have to charge the camera first.