Macau spreading its wings....for the traveler

well i fulfilled my long cherished dream, a goal, and i was desperate to reward myself by escaping from Hong Kong and getting lost in a new city. Everytime i step into a new city , my inner voice starts talking to me-Loud and clear . The voice tells me about getting profound meanings from the buildings, the people, the cuisine, the commerce and the culture. The finest moments of the city unravel as soon as i get on the road and observe the person walking by my side. Mind becomes an instant sponge and it starts absorbing all details.1, 2, 3 and more......i wonder how much of curiosity stays locked in me at any point of time and how it all lets loose as soon as i start travelling.

A constant child of education, i went to Macau on this journey which was last minute......Andi and I took the ship and cruised past the seas to get to the Portuguese colony which....you would be surprised was not having any Portuguese remains, let alone impressions or any impact whatsoever.

Macau was an ideal example of capitalism. The 'give' and 'take' of money was so apparent. The city lives on coins and i felt everyone was having the hope to get their 'loot' get quick money and live the life of Arabian Nights......Seriously and no exaggeration.....As i stepped into one of the grand hotels....i realized how a lobby was filled with five thousand people , all of them gambling....some on the slot machine, some on the poker table and the rest waiting to see some zeros on the display board....the view was stupendous...we all are capitalists in our heart and i realized how and why people gamble....they want to escape from their predictable sources of wealth and make their quick bucks, get swept off the floor and discover their fortunes in the lobbies of the hotel....we could not graduate beyond the slot machine. After quickly losing some 50 dollars we went on the bystander mode....we will rather watch than play...we will rather stay poor than make money...who needs
so much of excitement and blood rush....seriously....we were looking for a stressfree weekend .

And as we moved from one hotel to the other the gambling seemed pretty much the thing of the moment. Each hotel was ostentatious and a display of wealth.The rich loud types at Hotel Lisboa which really talked of the nouveau rich culture of some of the mainlanders, and the more subtle type interiors of Hotel MGM.

So we went to Wynn , Venetian and Sands...Each of the hotels have some roots in Las Vegas and they have recreated the Vegas style (i have never been there, but was told) grandeur at Macau.....

After the rounds of the hotels, we went to the Fisherman Wharf.....the most natural of all the other places. The place had environment, sounds and sights of many countries recreated in a natural surrounding....and above all, the joys of visiting an old historical place.

Hats off to those who had a vision of transforming a not so attractive city into a Vegas style sensation. It takes vision to do something so big in scale....and also 'gumption' ; huge amount of gumption to build attraction and infuse life in such nondecsript cities....Hats off to the Chinese government for thinking BIG. They had created a sustainable and scalable business model.

After walking on the roads of the brightly lit streets of Macau, we were bedazzled and starstruck! And we retired to our ferry....with no gain in money....hell! as we never believed in 'How to be a millionaire' over a night.....boring us! SAD