Macau, the gambling Mecca

Today we visited Macau, a neighbouring island to Hong Kong that was under Portuguese rule until 1999 when it was handed back to China.

We wanted to visit it to explore its history, a fascinating mix of Chinese and Christian culture. Sadly today it is known as the largest gambling destination in the world, even more so than Las Vegas. Many Chinese come from mainland China attracted by the numerous glitzy (and tacky?) gambling resorts, some funded by a local wealthy chinese businessman (A certain Mr Stanley Ho) and some by American companies like MGM.

This is the view of some of these gambling resorts. You can see the lotus flower shaped Grand Lisboa, one of Stanley Ho's resorts. Apparently the lobby of the hotel boasts a bust of the great man underneath a bronze horse's head taken from the Summer Palace in China, for which he is said to have paid about US$ 9 million for this objet d'art.

You can also see the round building that is shaped like a Chinese bird's cage, designed to hold the gamblers in the casinos until they have left all their money behind! Feng Shui experts were consulted to make sure good luck went with the enterprise.

Other than the kitsch casino resorts, the island does have some really beautiful old buildings from the Portuguese settlement and is worth a visit.