In Macau everything is a gamble!

Our latest holiday trip took us to the land of the Orient - Hong Kong China and Macau. Fishermen from Fujian and farmers from Guangdong were the first known settlers in Macau, when it was known as Ou Mun, or "Trading Gate", because of its location at the mouth of the Pearl River downstream from Guangzhou (Canton). In the early 1550's the Portugese reached Ou Mun, which the locals also called A Ma Gao "place of A Ma", in honor of the Goddess of Seafarers, whose temple stood at the entrance to the sheltered Inner Harbour. The Portugese adopted into the name Macau.
Macau is a SAR (Special Administrative Region) of the People's Republic of China since 20th December 1999, and, like Hong Kong benefits from the principle " One Country, two systems". Macau has a population of 542,000 and is spread across 29.5 sq. km and comprises of three islands - Macau, Taipai and Coloane. The official currency of Macau is the Pataca (MOP$) and is divided into 100 Avos.
The tiny SAR is growing in size - with more buildings on reclaimed land - and in the number and diversity of its attraction. The greatest of these continues to be Macau's unique society, with communities from the east and west complementing each other, and the many people who come to visit.
We went to Macau via ferry and it takes 60 minutes to reach the island from Kowloon. We had a full day to explore the fabled island which is famous for its architecture, gambling and textiles. As we cleared immigration we were greeted by our tour guide Cisco who as we realized later is a fascinating specimen of the homo sapien version of mankind. Born in Europe and raised in China, Cisco knows how to read, write and speak in 7 different languages apart from English and Chinese.
Anyways our first pit stop was at the statue of Kun Lam - which has been at the centre of controversy ever since its inception. The statue is made of pure bronze and is gold plated - the reason for the controversy are many i.e the statue looks more Greek/European than Oriental, it is inward facing which is bad Feng Shui and the lotus at the bottom of the statue is closed which is augured as bad omen. Most importantly it's an eyesore for the locals as it has cost $11.5M of the tax payers money.
From the statue we then took a ride to appreciate the majestic casino buildings built by Dr. Stanley Ho, MGM and James Packer. I must say some of the must visit casino buildings are - MGM, Grand Lisboa, Sands and Star world. I can't complete this blog without talking a bit about Dr. Stanley Ho, who is the 11th richest man in the world and is a great philanthropist. Dr. Ho is 89 years old and has 4 wives. He again became a father at the ripe age of 86 and has given the world a testament of his virility. He owns most of the casino buildings in Macau most notably Grand Lisboa and has the Stanley markets in Hong Kong named after him.
Macau is famous for it's historical buildings which are a melange of old Chinese and European architecture. We went to the A-Ma temple which existed before the city of Macau came into being. The temple is more than 600 years old and is an exemplary representation of Chinese culture inspired by Confucianism, Taoism, Buddhism and multiple folk beliefs. Outside the temple one can look straight into mainland China. In the temple neighbourhood is the famous MACANESE Coffee house which is world famous for its lemon tarts. A bit further down the street are the Moorish Barracks - built in 1874, this building was constructed to accomodate an Indian regiment from Goa appointed to reinforce Macau's police force. The building is distinctly neo-classical integrating elements of Moghul influence.
A trip to Macau is not complete without paying a visit to the following historical sites - Ruins of St. Paul's, St. Dominic's Church, Guia Fortress and Senado Square. Macau has lot to offer especially to the gambling kind, in terms of net profit Macau has taken over Las Vegas. Our last pit stop was the Grand Emperors hotel - owned by Jackie Chan and has 74 gold nuggets/bars encrusted on the floor at the entrance guarded by two guards - who are replica of the Venetian guards at the Buckingham Palace. No visit to Macau is complete without shopping and we did a lot shopping at one of the factory outlets at Senado Square.
Macau is now the gambling capital of the world and represents a heaven for those lucky few who have a great spin of the roulette. For the others who abstain from gambling Macau has more to offer in terms of architectural wonders, shopping and a relaxed life.....