Portuguese heritage and modern charms in MacauBy Kenneth Kiesnoski

Mainland China, an exotic, hardly visited destination back in Cold War days, is now a booming mainstay of the global tourism circuit, visited by thousands of Americans annually. How to add a little exclusivity to China bound clients’ itineraries and earn them some bragging rights for having visited a less frequented corner of the vast country? Booking them a few days in Macau should do the trick. travelers, is a former Portuguese territory that, like its bigger, once British neighbor, reverted to Chinese rule in 1999.

Unlike Hong Kong, however, tiny Macau just 11.4 square miles in size boasts nearly 500 years of history, with the architectural legacy to prove it; a multicultural local cuisine blending Asian, European and African influences, as well as a host of quality Portuguese, Chinese aOlernKienOP
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So, what to recommend to clients bound for Macau? I just returned from four days in the city, on a sampler itinerary arranged by the MGTO to highlight different aspects of the destination’s legion leisure attractions. My air carrier, Cathay Pacific, checked my baggage through to Macau’s ferry terminal, from which I set out for my hotel, the Mandarin Oriental Macau, five minutes away by cab on the city’s waterfront.

After resting up a bit, I headed over to the nearby, 1,109 foot Macau Tower, which features the world’s second highest bungie jump (which could be seen from my hotel room). After a quick ride up the tower for expansive views of the territory’s islands of Taipa and Coloane now joined by the aOlernKienOP
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Founded in 1989, the annual competition celebrates Macau’s historically important aOlernKienOP
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Portugal in Asia

The next day, I set out for a survey of Macau’s fused Portuguese and Chinese heritages. I started with a visit to the Luis de Camoes Garden, named for a 16th century poet (considered Portugal’s national bard) who reputedly wrote his most famous work while sitting there. A stone grotto and bust of Camoes marks the spot.

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I took the rest of the evening off, apart from a business dinner with Mandarin Oriental Macau management.

Casinos rule in Cotai

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I started at the hilltop ruins of St. Paul’s, perhaps Macau’s most iconic sight. All that’s left of a centuries old, mostly wooden Jesuit church is its intricate stone facade combining Christian aOlernKienOP
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The remainder of the day was devoted to hotel visits, to get a feel for local accommodations, followed by dinner and a show. I got thorough looks at the Hard Rock Hotel, Crown Towers and, after check in, my own Grand Hyatt Macau (all of which opened in 2009) as well as two of the three new hotel aOlernKienOP
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