Macao

November 2–3, 2007

Turns out that Portugal also used to have its own little piece of China.

Having said that, the locals did not become Europeanised, not even after four hundred and fifty years of colonialism. You do hear Portuguese from time to time, whilst English is only spoken in the casinos.

Macao is essentially lots of casinos and a few residential areas for all of the service staff.

On weekends the hotels are packed with out-of-town gamers. The Chinese are inveterate gamblers. This year Macao overtook Las Vegas by official turnover.

Card tables have been positioned to stretch beyond the horizon.

It’s always been my dream to build a dope semi-circular escalator. Well, there’s one here, just doing its thing.

The vegetation here is unruly and exotic.

It would be a sin not to etch the watchword of Russian culture into this juicy leaf.

Dick

In addition to casinos, they also hold car races right on the city’s streets, akin to Monte Carlo. To prepare, bleachers are put up here and there and some of the pavements are fenced off with guard rails and traffic barriers.

Scaffolding made of bamboo is a common sight in Asia. Nonetheless, it’s the first time I’ve seen it on a skyscraper.

While we’re on the subject of heights. You’ll find the highest bungee jump in the world right here — on top of the local TV tower.

Interesting portable traffic barriers — they’re plastic.

A sign prohibiting carts and cows from circulating still hangs in the city. In all likelihood there isn’t a single cow in Macao — it simply wouldn’t have anywhere to graze.

The locals live packed together quite densely.

Windows are covered with grilles, just like on Taiwan. Occasionally you see models resembling parrot cages.

A curious local feature: the way that doorbells are organised. One would assume that they’re all arranged according to a set of coordinates made up of letters and numbers.

Even when the grid no longer looks like one, each doorbell is labelled. Here you can clearly see the doorbell G4 — in some sense it’s simpler this way than having to write “Lee-Fung — three rings”.

The exact same principle applies to the mailboxes. Why the alphabet goes A, B, C, R, S is a mystery.

Bus fares are displayed on flippable signs. You deposit your coins into the slot at the top. It appears that the ticket machine doesn’t actually count the money, relying instead on the honesty of the passengers.

Doing a brisk trade at the temple — for a fee customers can set a bird free from its cage.

The contractor’s email address is engraved on the back of the pedestal of the statue of Mary.

Just like on Taiwan, it’s only cleaners who wear wide-brimmed hats.

By contrast, the rubbish disposal is better organised — it goes into a stationary container.

Special sandpits have been put in just for dogs. Curiously, the WC sign here is doubly at odds with the word’s original meaning: there is neither water nor a closet to speak of.