12/7/2006 ~ Macau

On the Rio: Bart Hopkins ~ A Felicidade

I went to Macau over the weekend. Portugal was the first European nation to try its luck trading with China and controlled the tiny peninsula at the end of the Pearl River Delta in 1557. Up until December 20th, 1999, when the Portuguese handed it back to China, Macau was Asia's oldest European enclave.

Tiny Macau is jut 9 square miles, including the islands of Taipa and Coloane. Most tourists are from mainland China or Hong Kong.

The ending of a gambling monopoly has heralded an enormous change to the industry and Macau is being transformed into the "Las Vegas of the East" - the U.S. based Las Vegas Sands owns a large strip of land that will consist of 20 casino resorts, and is scheduled to open next year. Otherwise, it's a sleepy, mellow little get-away.

I headed straight for the island of Taipa, home to Ha Sa (Black Sand) Beach on the South China Sea. Since I was in Macau only for a night, I decided to skip all the gambling and wild, late-night partying (no, I haven't fallen ill), and instead spent a relaxing day walking along the beach and lounging on the terrace of my hotel room.

My terrace...

Views at the beach...

A ladybug...

A windsurfer as seen from my terrace...

A self-photo...

The local beer...

And sunset...