Day 15 - Relaxing like Pirates in Coloane

After a very broken sleep we have decided that fan vs aircon is really no competition, but try and take the fan away and we'll fight you for it like a hungry dog would fight for a bone! However, a budget is a budget, and in Macau where everything is crazy expensive, we'll take budget when we find it!

Because Macau is very Westernised, and Liv is suffering from a cold, we treated ourselves to a breakfast / lunch at a Western Cafe, which was fit for kings! We both had salad sandwiches, soup, and cheesecake as a (costly) set menu - but it was worth it and made Liv feel a little better. Macau is a wonderful place - we are both loving it here - it has Portugese history, which means there are lots of fortresses, churches, bakeries and other Mediterranean-style buildings, in fact Macau was only returned to China in 1999. Much to Adam's delight Macau was a haven for pirates during the days of the opium wars! Today though, Macau is most famous for its casinos - as in mainland China gambling is illegal. Here Liv is standing in the middle of the Largo do Senado - famous for its black and white tiled streets and where lots of the bakeries where we indugled ourselves are located!
Today we caught the bus to the Island of Coloane, passing through the busy village of Taipa. We journeyed over one of the 3 bridges linking the Islands to the mainland, and ended up at Hac Sa Beach. From the beach we could see the famous A-Ma Statue, which represents the goddess who gave Macau its name. We had intended to go for a swim at the beach but decided against it because Chinese beaches don't compare to the pristene and clean NZ beaches. Lukcily there was a swimming pool across the road, set in beautiful scenery, where we managed to laze away the day, feeling like we really were on a relaxing holiday. We've been finding that travelling is extremely exhausting, and that trying to see everything leaves you worn out to the point where you don't enjoy the sights - so we've decided that seeing one or two sights a day is enough to experience each place. The only downside to the pool was that it was about the same temperature as outside - HOT! But relaxing under the shade of a big umbrella, the occassional dip, followed by bursts in the much colder shower made for a day of bliss!Adam also got to try a Macanese beer! We caught the bus home at peak-hour, and for the first time we experienced full buses like we had been expecting in China! We had to battle our way off at our stop - but we made it out alive!!

After a rest at the hostel we went out for tea - we ended up at a Thai place, after considering Pizza Hut but being flabbergasted at the price - it would have cost us $25 for one pizza, which is almost double what our accommodation is costing us!

Our hostel is on the famous Street of Happiness (Rua da Felicidade) which was once Macau's red-light district and was used in the movie Indianna Jones and the Temple of Doom! You may (especially you Mum - Yoka) be able to recognise it by the red-shuttered terraces! It's beautiful and has a lot of character!
Adlibing it, away from the high-rollers ...