Chris Christensen left his day job in January 2010 to focus on consulting, podcasting and blogging including his popular Amateur Traveler and This Week in Travel podcasts. Chris had been the Executive Vice President of Engineering and Operations for LiveWorld in Silicon Valley that runs online communities for companies like Marriott, American Express, eBay, Campbells, Kimberly Clark, A&E, and Mini Cooper. You can also follow Chris on Twitter @Chris2x and @AmateurTraveler.
A short ferry ride away from Hong Kong is the other special administrative region of the People’s Republic of China which is Macau. Macau makes a great day trip from Hong Kong. When the trade that Macau had enjoyed under the Portuguese was largely taken over by the English in Hong Kong in the 1800s the city started a slow decline.
But what was bad for the Portuguese is good for tourists. The Historic Center of Macau did not have the money to tear down the old buildings for many years so they preserved the historic center of Macau which is now a UNESCO World Heritage Site. So while many come to Macau for its casinos, I recommend instead these historic landmarks:
Largo do Senado, Macau's main square
Largo do Senado – Macau’s main square with its distinctive wave pattern tile work looks like it could easily be the main square of an old European city. This square is bustling with tourists. Trade created Macau and by the number of tourists holding shopping bags, the city has remained true to those trading roots.
You will find the main tourism office just off the square where you can find information about all the historic sites as well as any events currently taking place. The square is particularly enchanting from dusk into night as the buildings light up with soft pink and golden lights.
Ruins of St. Paul's Cathedral
Ruins of St. Paul’s Cathedral - Its near destruction by a fire during a typhoon (not an easy trick) have not discouraged visitors from visiting this site. Only the facade and the catacombs of this church remain but the elaborate stonework of the facade and the museum below preserve some sense of the beauty that this cathedral had in its heyday. When completed in 1602 the cathedral was the largest Catholic church in Asia.
Macau's Monte Fort
Monte Fort – Looking down on the center of Macau and on St Paul’s is this fort which was built in 1616 with the mission of protecting St Paul’s from pirates. And you thought your neighborhood was rough. This fort’s canon’s now look like they are taking aim at some of the older casinos in Macau like the Grand Lisboa Casino. Macau’s newer generation of casinos like the colossal Venetian (the 19th largest hotel in the world) were build further south and safely out of the range of the guns.
Old Protestant Cemetery in Macau
Old Protestant Cemetery – You start to get an idea how far this part of the world was from home as you read the inscriptions on some of the tombstones in this old cemetery of the sailors, missionaries, and children who died over the years in Macau. They came for a great variety of reasons but often were felled by exotic deceases and were buried here half a world away from their families and homelands.
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