The Venetian/The Parisian

A 12 hour flight, 1 hour ferry and a 20 minute coach and then you are here. I was lucky enough to experience this amazing place, thanks to a great friend who was visiting for a business trip and we decided we’ll sightsee everything together! (if you have a friend like this, hold on to them forever and never let them go!)

We were lucky enough to stay at The Venetian hotel, and it is everything it is cracked-up to be, from amazing murals to the lovely swimming pool centrepieces, it was absolutely stunning.
Some would say it’s a haven for gamblers, but Macao is definitely Asia’s Las Vegas and The Venetian is the MVP.

Macau Tower

It’s astounding to see what was once a pretty quiet island has now transformed in to a view of skyscrapers and casinos…

Senado Square

A-Ma Temple

A-Ma temple in São Lourenço is definitely a place to visit after travelling all this way. It’s known to be the oldest temple in Macao and the reasoning for the naming of the island. Many locals travel here for prayers of health and happiness for their families, which is such a beautiful thing to see.
We made sure to take time to embrace this culture, leaving prayers and taking in the peaceful setting while drawing in some of the pleasant smells of the incenses…

Portuguese culture

St. Pauls ruins

A very interesting point about Macao is its Portuguese heritage, which in all honesty I was totally unaware of. Seeing the European influence and culture in the far-east left me slightly confused at first, seeing the blend of two very different cultures side-by-side.
But, this is one of the things I adored most about this place, a beautiful fusion of cultures from architecture through to the food.

FYI – you have to try the Portuguese tarts if you can, they’re freshly baked at the street right in front of the St. Paul’s ruins and they’re amazing!
Thank me later.

Downtown Macau

So, one of my favourite parts of visiting a new place is to take time walking out of the normal tourist areas. This is where you can embrace the real culture of Macao. We found ourselves aimlessly walking the streets of Macao and ran in to a Hip-Hop dance battle.
I didn’t even realise there was such a big Hip-Hop following here and I would have to say this was one of my top highlights of this trip.

This highlighted a real close-knit culture here in Macao with the community supporting young talent and creativity, loved it.

I’d definitely recommend taking a trip here or at least to add it to the list 😉

And last, but not least I think one of the best parts of travelling is making priceless memories with great friends, which I’m sure most will agree…

Hope you enjoyed the post and please like/share if you did…

TMF