Last Updated on January 21, 2026 by Home in the World
A one-hour TurboJet ferry ride from Hong Kong across the Pearl River Delta is another Chinese Special Administrative Region: Macau.
The tiny territory has regularly done the rounds on social media, featuring in numerous apocalyptic images showing the looming tower of the Grand Lisboa hotel, whose design is based on the feathered headdress of a Brazilian carnival costume. The flamboyant, some would say even ostentatious, structure dominates the skyline, and I personally find it quite freaky and intimidating.
Equally bizarre is the Fisherman’s Wharf, a themed entertainment area which includes miniatures of various sites around the world.
Macau packs a fair amount of glitz and glamour into its 30 sq km (12 sq miles), being home to no fewer than 38 casinos. Unsurprisingly, it is often labelled the ‘Vegas of Asia’, with visitors flocking here from all over the world (especially mainland China, where gambling is officially illegal) to have a flutter.
Gambling has been legal in Macau since the 1850s, when it was legalised by the Portuguese government that ruled the territory from 1557 (when China leased it to Portugal as a trading outpost) to as recently as 1999. While Portuguese is no longer widely spoken by locals, whose primary language is Cantonese and, increasingly, Mandarin, traces of Portugal’s former colonial rule remain evident in the city’s architecture, as seen here along the Largo do Senado.
The Portuguese influences are also evident in the baroque St Dominic’s Church, and in the street signs that continue to be written both in Portuguese and Chinese.
One of Macau’s main landmarks is also a product of its Portuguese history – the Ruins of St Paul’s, a 17th-century Catholic church complex. The somewhat haunting façade and staircase are all that remain today.
To remind yourself that you are, in fact, in Asia and not Portugal or Las Vegas, head out to the 15th-century A-Ma Temple, dedicated to the Chinese sea goddess Mazu. Its impressive red gateway, characteristic circular archways, and humble stone shrines make for a tranquil oasis, where periodic whiffs of wafting incense smoke tantalise the nostrils.
In stark contrast to the zen vibe within the temple walls are the modern Cantonese cartoons adorning those lining the streets nearby, such as the one below.
All in all, I found Macau quite a surreal place. It is worth doing the day-trip if you have time while in Hong Kong, or indeed staying longer if casinos are your thing. While I found the mix of cultures fascinating, and I’m glad to have visited, I felt like one day was enough.
Trip facts
When I visited: This trip was done as a day excursion during my visit to Hong Kong in May 2008, for which there is a separate blog post here.
Weather: Over the 9 days I spent there in mid-May, it was pleasant (approx. 28°C/80°F) and predominantly dry. Hong Kong is often quite humid, polluted and overcast. While this was the case when I was there too, it was far from unbearable.
Where I stayed: Metropark Hotel Causeway Bay (no longer exists)
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