The former Portuguese enclave has been modernised and spruced up under Chinese
rule. At the same time, it has lost much of its louche charm, says Jonathan Hart Time was when any trip to Macau was a gamble —and not just on the spin of the roulette wheel. It was a gamble with accommodation, food and much more besides, carrying a frisson of the unknown and a sense of adventure. Steeped in piratical legend and left to revel in the illicit, wayward and irreverent by its former Portuguese rulers, this tiny enclave was interestingly dishevelled, seemingly disorganised and sometimes regarded as an unsightly wart on the rear end of China. Aficionados thought differently. As an annexe or escape for the financial movers and shakers of neighbouring and far stricter Hong Kong, as well as a secret playground for the privileged mandarins of Beijing, Macau was as near as you could get to a westernised perception of the feudal Asia of a century or more ago; a mélange of mysterious go-downs, Dickensian-style sweat shops, and rural duck farms-cum-brothels mixed with cobbled streets, faded colonial mansions and unkempt gambling dens. That, however, was before Macau officially reverted to Chinese rule in the late Nineties, forced to fulfil its rather reluctant part in the unified grand economic plan for the Pearl River Delta along with Guangzhou and Hong Kong. A plan that also included stripping apart cosy gaming cartels and lighting a fuse under the enclave’s arguably reclusive, lethargic and happy-to-be-left-to-its-own-devices demeanour. As such, the Macau of 2006 is mentally and physically an entirely different place from a decade ago, instilled with a fresh sense of national order and purpose. Transformed and expanded, in time-honoured regional fashion, with shoulder-to-shoulder highrise housing estates, swathes of concrete, curious monuments and acres of reclaimed land. Growing in stature as a regional and international air and sea port, in conjunction with its neighbouring industrial zone of Zuhai, Macau has also raised its game as a meetings and events centre —the primary bonus for visitors being that the standards and reliability of accommodation and dining have improved, as have communications facilities. At the same time, Macau has at least in part attempted to retain its inner city tourist attractions of old colonial churches and museums, together with the rustic village charms and golf on neighbouring Coloane Island. And its new rulers have, of course, retained and expanded the enclave’s age-old raison d’etre of gaming. Las Vegas interests have bought into the territory, with direct international flights mooted this year, signalling a potentially bright new age for a faded old campaigner. Yet, arguably, what has been lost as Macau continues to reclaim land and its position as the gambling capital of the region through a centrally organised, theme park-style approach, is a distinctive character born of escapism and individuality. The character of a place in which, for all its warts and dysfunctions, it could be a pleasure to lose your shirt. Currency: Macau pataca (MOP1 =US$ 0.13)
Tipping: Most hotels and restaurants include a 10% service charge but it is customary to leave a small additional tip
Time: GMT +8
Electricity: 220 volts
Public holidays 2006: April 14, 15; May 1,5, 31; October 1,2, 6, 30; November 1; December 8, 20, 22, 24, 25
Climate: Subtropical with hot, humid summers, when there is also a rainy period, much of which occurs during the afternoons; risk of cyclones between May and September
Airport: 3 miles (5km) from city. Airport bus (AP1) stops at the major hotels, with a journey time of 15-25 minutes and a fare of MOP6/US$0.80; air-conditioned taxis take 10-15 minutes and charge around MOP40/US$5; Macau Ferry Terminal, with frequent departures to Hong Kong, is a 10-minute drive from the airport; also a regular HK helicopter link from the ferry terminal $48
Hotels: Hotel Lisboa, Hotel Ritz Macau, Royal Macau, Hyatt Regency, Mandarin Oriental, New Century, Landmark, Westin, Casa Real, Golden Crown China, Grand View, Holiday Inn Macau, Beverley Plaza, Golden Dragon, Grandeur, Presidente
Business hours: 08.30-12.00, 14.00-17.30 Monday to Saturday
International dialling code: 853
In emergency: 999 (all services) business do’s and don’ts
Do take a good supply of business cards, presenting (and receiving) them with both hands
Do make appointments in advance
Do be punctual and dress smartly
Do take the precaution of having your destination written in Chinese when using taxis
Do remember this is no longer a Portuguese colony, and is now a Special Administrative Region of China
Don’t expect to be invited to someone’s home – most entertaining is in hotels
Don’t be surprised to find the place full of gamblers from Hong Kong at weekends
| 
|
