10 November 2008

Non casino based activites

We've not spent all of our time in Macau gadding about in giant Vegas style casinos. There are some more cultural things to see.

The heart of whats left of old Macau is centered in the area between the old colonial square Largo do Senado and the Ruins of the Church of St Peter. The ruins are the most famous sight in Macau and are of a former Jesuit church which burnt to the ground in 1835.

The streets between the church and the old colonial square are really buzzing and atmospheric as the locals, shop keepers and tourists intermingle in the narrow streets.


The square itself is paved in exactly the same pattern as the streets in Copacabana in Rio, Brazil and reminded us of the great time we had there at the carnival in 2007.

The other main thing that we went to see was the Macau Tower.



Another building with a nick-name related to someones erection. This time the lucky recipient is Dr Stanley Ho the casino mogul. At 338m it is the 10th tallest free standing tower in the world, just piping the Eiffel Tower. We took the lift to the 61st floor but kindly refused a go on the worlds highest free fall bungee jump from the top. Some people were having a bit of a prance around the rim though.

It was here at the tower that we met our first eccentric of the trip. Embedded into the floor of observation deck are an array of toughened glass panels that you can walk over.


This poor Indian woman was having a hysteric fit about stepping on the panels. In order to show her that it was safe I started to jump up and down on the one nearest to me. This was not the wisest of moves as it resulted in me receiving a right telling off from her and being banished to the naughty step! In the end she made Liz escort her across the glass in a style reminiscent of Bamby on ice.
When we got back down the tower we saw her again . . . this time having a hysteric fit about going on an escalator! In the end her husband and I had to physically carry her up two escalators. We looked a right sight grappling with a sari clad woman on a moving staircase.

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