Ruins of the Church of St Paul

If you mention Ruins of the Church of St Paul (Sao Paulo in Portuguese) in Macau, most likely nobody will ever understand what you mean. Church of St. Paul, a Jesuit church which was built in early 17th century, is more commonly known as Dai Sam Ba locally in Cantonese. The Ruins of the Church of St. Paul is known as Sam Ba Sing Tzik in Cantonese locally. The Ruins of the Church of St Paul is now Macau’s most popular and most famous tourist destination, with its facade as the symbols of Macau.

We initially followed the walking tour map for Macau Peninsula, but soon we lost our way as I can’t figured out where were we. So we decided to head straight Dai Sam Ba instead. We asked for direction a few times, and gave me some impression that some Macao Chinese was not so friendly. They simply ignored you, although a lot has been helpful. And with their guide, we finally arrived at the ruins, which, as expected, already has lots of visitors.

Sculpture in front of the facade of Church of St Paul
Sculpture (in front of the ruins) at the foot of the Monte Hill (one of the seven hills of Macau) where Ruins of the Church of St Paul located.
Continue reading

Macau Cathedral

Macau Cathedral is located at Largo da Se, east of Largo do Senado. The cathedral that currently stands was consecrated in 1850 to replace an earlier cathedral badly damaged in typhoon. It was then completely rebuilt in 1937.

Macau Cathedral
Exterior of Macau Cathedral with some notable stained-glass windows. The cathedral is the focal point for most Christian festivals and holy days in Macau.
Continue reading

Shopping in Macau Back Alleys and Streets

Macau has even been famous for been a shopping paradise compared with its fame in gambling and casino entertainment. However, if you insists on going on shopping spree in Macau, Central Macau offers plenty of opportunities. Main shopping district in Central Macau all centred around Largo do Senado along Avenida do Infante Dom Henrique and Avenida de Almeida Ribeiro. Other shopping areas include Rua da Palha, Rua do Campo and Rua Pedro Nolasco da Silva. Actually, Macau is pretty small, so most of the places are near to each others.

Shopping in Macau
Shop houses around Rua de Sao Domingos, north of Largo do Senado. Here you can find all sorts of shops selling variety of goods, and of course, delicious food and drink stalls.
Continue reading

Santa Casa da Misericordia

Santa Casa da Misericordia
Baroque facade of the Santa Casa da Misericordia (Holy House of Mercy), located right beside Largo do Senado, which was established 1568 (in the 3rd year of the reign of Emperor Long Qing, Ming dynasty) by D. Belchior Carneiro, the first Catholic Bishop of Macau and is the oldest European charity instituition on China. It’s renovated in 1905. Holy House of Mercy of Macau was also engaged in relief and charity work for the Portuguese community in Macau.

Largo do Senado (Senate Square)

Largo do Senado
My brother Leng Ping and his girlfriend at Largo do Senado

Largo do Senado located at the central of Avenida de Almeida Ribiero (more commonly known locally as San Ma Lo which means new street in Cantonese) in Central Macau Peninsular, is also providing the city’s focal point and is the start of most tourist’s exploration of Macau. And it’s also the starting point of our walking tour of Macau city.
Continue reading

Leal Senado

I initially planned to follow the Macau Peninsula Walking Tour suggested by Lonely Planet and several other Chinese guidebooks, which will bring us to, among others, Largo do Senado, Museum of the Holy House of Mercy, Church of St Dominic, Macau Cathedral, the Consulate General of Portugal, Monte Fort, Macau Museum, ruins of the College of the Mother of God, Church of St Paul, Pawnshop Museum, Cultural Club, Leal Senado, Church of St. Augustine, Dom Pedro V Theatre, Largo do Lilau and A-Ma Temple.

But we quickly lost our way. The walking map was pretty detail, but at some point we still unable to figure out where were we now. Beside, along the walking route, most of the sights are churches and some colonial buildings that my family is of not much interest in. So I decided to straight some famous and important landmarks straight away.
Continue reading

Change in Travel Plan

Initially, Siew Tee wanted to go to Hong Kong Disneyland on today (Friday) itself to take advantage of cheaper Disneyland admission ticket price and fewer crowd in the theme park. So we should have go to Hong Kong by ferry early in the morning. By everybody was so tired that we only woke up at 9 am.

So we decided to go to Disneyland on last day of our trip instead, that’s on Monday. So now we have some time to visit interesting places in Macau before going to Hong Kong in the afternoon.

Macau Central Hotel

“The tired old Central Hotel has seen better days, but it is just what its name suggests – a short hop northwest of Largo do Senado” – Lonely Planet

That’s what Lonely Planet described Central Hotel in Macau. Central Hotel is very centrally located at Avenida de Almeida Ribeiro (San Ma Lo in Cantonese which means new street), the main street in Macau Peninsula. And it’s less than 50 metres away from Largo do Senado, the main and very charming square in Macau Peninsula.
Continue reading