Day 3 Macau Part 1

I had my ticket passport in hand I eagerly waited to board the ferry to Macau. Now for those of you who don't know Macau is also autonomous from mainland China. Meaning I did not require a visa to enter,but it also meant i needed to show my passport of entry of Macau and exit of Hong Kong. The boat was jam packed 3 rows of 3 seats each. I was positioned in the middle with no view of the journey. There wasn't much to see anyway the weather was too rainy.

Although the trip was only an hour I tried to get some rest,but the rock of the sea and the pit in my stomach made me nauseous.From my seat I could see nothing but rain and waves. The boat moved at an incredible speed across the water. After a short time we had arrived.

I searched for my friend having never met her before I didn't know who to look for. For her I was easy to spot being the only westerner on the boat. Her face lit up when she saw me. She is a native of Macau,but she had studied in Taiwan so she could speak both Cantonese and Mandarin. Her English was limited,so i had to use my Chinese the entire time I was with her. It was such a delight.

Immediately i could see a vast difference from the atmosphere of Hong Kong. It is hard to describe even the architecture seemed different Macau, had once been a Portuguese colony so i guess it is safe to say it had a Portuguese feel to it. The first place she took me was a vary famous tourist spot catering to the rich. 

The streets did not feel as crowed as Hong Kong but they were still booming. We talked along the way in simple conversation as much as my Chinese would allow. She spoke simply for me understanding that my Chinese was limited but I felt she understood every word.

We arrived at the ruins of St.Paul dating back the 16th century. This is the history symbol of Macau.

I was amazed to see how from all these years this one wall remained from this great structure. Everywhere everyone was taking pictures just as I was. Everyone wanted a selfie.

Behind the temple was a Buddhist temple from what I could understand of what my friend told me. There were even a few people stopping to pray. 

Near by the church we ventured into a small park at the base of a giant fort. I admired the green foliage as we circled the base. We followed the winding path up the fort to a nice view of Macau. It was such a grim day for a walk now that I look back. I think she brightened the mood of this dreary. day

I found the building of Macau to look much older than those I saw in Hong Kong  aside from the Casinos.

We made our way to the bus stop our next destination was Macau Tower