last time i went to Macau was decades ago. at that time, i remember Taipa/Coloane was still 2 separate islands, and we got to ride on pedicabs as regular transportation.
Last time I went to Macau was in 2008 but my stay was very short, 1 1/2 days only. I like the place very much. The pace was so slow, unlike HK. Will definitely visit there again. Hopefully by then things won't change much.
Hope you can still recognize your hometown. Yes the crab congee was delicious for a first timer like me. And yes we couldn't see any badminton courts!
I went back last year and you are right. Some places are unrecognizable and was challenged to find my way around. But all's good, the economy did benefit a lot the locals. Badminton courts are not easy to find. The courts where I used to train are mostly gone, unfortunately. There are newer ones but most are inside the schools and not easy for people not related to badminton to find.
I hope you'll have a nice stay. I may need to check which dates has less visitors so you can stroll around leisurely. I was back at around May last year, on a weekday in the busy commercial area, it took me about 10 mins to move 50 meters through the crowd.
That seems really a looooong time ago. I think one was challenged to find a pedicad in Macau during the late 70's or early 80's.
it was definitely in the 80's. not exactly sure when it was. but probably late 80's. i still remember the pedicab driver had problem starting as we were too heavy for him. tough job.
At one time, there were initiatives to preserve the pedicabs. It was not quite successful due to the city fast development. It was then decided to keep the pedicabs in a specific area, mostly for tourists to enjoy the leisure ride.
the same happened to the rickshaw in Hong Kong. now there are only a handful of them left. they used to be around the star ferry pier area in Central. now the pier has been taken down for land reclamation! what a shame.
with some digging around, it turns out there there were only 2 registered rickshaw puller in HK in 2001. one of them is not active, so there is really only one of them left. not sure if anything has happened since.
Yong and I had a wonderful time walking about leisurely, taking in the sights, stopping here and there for a small bite and shooting as many pics. We also tried the Portuguese menu which is not much different from normal European dishes. The church vicinity is a favourite for wedding photos and we saw quite a number of newly-weds there. The narrow cobbled streets and high inclines were quite an experience. The old sections of Macau contrasted starkly with the new and modern developments, especially the casinos where we visited but did not have time to place bets. But generally we saw a lot of smiles and many social gatherings. The Chinese from the mainland, Hong Kong and nearby Guangzhou were quite at ease with the familiar surroundings and "yellow" faces and new discoveries. But our ferry trip from HK across the Pearl River was choppy and not as comfortable. For places farther away, we took the bus or the cab, which is relatively cheap. We enjoyed our sightseeing so much that we had no time to watch LCW in action at the Macau Open.
Yup, my ferry trip from HK was terrible and I am one who suffers from motion sickness. So, Macau sightseeing more interesting than LCW playing. Hehe.
Maybe give the Jetfoil a try on your next visit to Macau. Jetfoils sail above the water and are less affected on rough waters.
LCW is a foregone conclusion mah. Where got interesting? We don't have enough time to visit other places also and eat more EGG TARTS at Taipa.
