Jason Bourne, He Was Not Hired

The Outer Harbour
Originally uploaded by Gringcorp.

Macau is known to me as the place to do to things - gamble and hire hit men. After four visits to Hong Kong, I finally grabbed a small amount of time to take the hour-long ferry to Macau, a former Portuguese colony now, like Hong Kong, a Special Administrative Region of China.

It's best to see Macao as a slightly more relaxed and rattier version of Hong Kong, all crumbly, more continental-looking architecture. There's recently been an influx of casino development, including a new Venetian and a new Wynn hotel, but the boom is likely to pass the sleepy-looking other side of town by.

So, you can stroll by endless stores selling dubious-looking candy and jerky, and take in some very jolly churches. I only, truth be told, had about two hours there, and would have liked a lot more. All you need to know about why I'd like to sped more time here is in this observation - outdoor cafes - Macau has them, hong Kong doesn't.

Back in Brookie tomorrow, and might post a few more pictures, or you could jurt take a look at the most recent addditions on flickr.