Next up is the third of the four Chinas I am traveling through: Macau. 🇲🇴
Yes, it is a separate country, even though mainland China runs it under the "one country, two systems" principle, just like Hong Kong.
Hong Kong used to be run by the British, and Macau was Portuguese. 🇵🇹
You notice it as soon as you arrive. Every sign in the city is duplicated in Portuguese, colonial Portuguese buildings stand next to the skyscrapers, the pavement is made of small stone tiles (just like in Lisbon) and the house walls are covered with blue painted azulejo tiles, a signature of Portugal. It feels like teleporting to Europe without leaving China. Only there are a few more Asians than in Porto 😁
If you have been to Portugal, I recommend Macau for a dose of nostalgia.
How to get to Macau
The easiest way is from Hong Kong, which is how I did it. You can buy a ferry ticket on 12go or at the ticket offices in person (the queues can be long).
Ferries run between Hong Kong and Macau (I took one), or you can go by bus over the bridge, which I do not recommend: it is long and tiresome. If you are afraid of water, book a transfer instead.
Passport control on the Hong Kong side happens right before you board the ferry. There is passport control in Macau too, because it is a separate country. They do not stamp your passport. Instead you get a paper sticker with a stamp that shows the maximum length of your stay in the city-state.
From the ferry terminal you can reach the center by taxi or by the free shuttle buses that the casinos run (more on that separately).
All the services in Macau work without a VPN or any workarounds, but Uber is hard to get, since there are not many cars yet. The best method is an outstretched arm 👋 or a transfer booked in advance.
Locals understand English. Not everyone speaks Portuguese, and even those who do are hard to talk to in it because of a specific accent: the tone is different and the words sound different.
Macau also has an airport, with flights from some Chinese cities and neighboring Asian countries. I will use it for my next flight, to Taiwan.
