Rainy Trip to Macau's Heritage Centre

Our 2nd day in the Hong Kong started early (perhaps a little too early, the MTR wasn't open yet ==") with a trip to Macau. To get around Macau can be like getting around a maze if you don't know the place well or do some research before hand, as the street signs aren’t very obvious and the Chinese – Portuguese translations can get a little confusing.

A taxi ride from Macau Ferry Terminal to Senado Square would cost you about 20-30 MOP. Alternatively, you can also take bus 3 or bus 3A from Macau Ferry Terminal to Senado Plaza which would cost you less than 10 MOP (the buses have a small LED screen that will show what the next stop is.)

Our first stop was the Senado Square (Largo do Senado 议事亭前地) is probably where most tourists like us starts off with the walking tour around the Heritage Centre of Macau. The Senado Square got its name from a former Senate Building that was located nearby.

The Ruins of St.Paul (São Paulo Ruins 大三巴) is perhaps the most iconic landmark of Macau. It refers to the façade of what was originally the Church of Mater Dei built in 1602-1640 which was destroyed by fire in 1835.

There is no shortage of cathedrals and churches in Macau, here is one of them, the Igreja de São Domingos or St. Dominic’s Church (玫瑰聖母堂). Its origins can be traced back to 1587 when 3 Spanish Dominican originally from Acapulco, Mexico priests founded a chapel here. It has a quite a violent history with murders and conflicts around this church. After some turbulents times, the church was finally renovated in 1997 and opened to public with a museum on the upper storeys which I didn’t get to visit as my mum wants to visit the Venetian instead.

Weather wasn’t on our side, not only the overcast skies made the place looked dull. It started raining shortly after we reached the Ruins of St. Paul. Water was flowing downhill, strong winds and rain that dragged on for the whole day. It ruined our plan to see more of this UNESCO World Heritage Site like the Moorish Barracks.

With such weather conditions, it was difficult to explore the other heritage areas of Macau. Similar to Hong Kong, many buildings at Macau does not have sheltered public passageways. Now, I am really thankful for the minds behind the five-foot way and architects of buildings with sheltered passageways in Singapore.

While I wasn’t able to see other parts of the old Macau, the old colonial charm of the city can still be seen in their mosaic pavements, little plazas and gardens and the colonial buildings that we got to see as we made our way for shelter.

One key thing you must know before travelling to Macau, they don’t really understand English, the taxi drivers don’t seem to know what is “The Venetian” or “Senado Square” but they do know what is 威尼斯人(The Venetian) and 议事亭前地.(Senado Square). So make sure you know the oral Mandarin translations and written Chinese translations of places you are heading to.

Last but not the least. The Macau Tourist Office at the Macau Ferry Terminal is a nice place to get information and maps for getting around Macau.