Ilha de Macau Things to Do

The House of Dancing Water is a 90 minute patchwork of high-dives, acrobatics, gymnastics and motorcycle stunts. Great entertainment, but con't bother with the storyline.

Those seated in the first 3 rows risk getting water-splashed. Towels are provided but disposable rainwear may provide better coverage.

If you are bringing your kids along, finding children's food fare in the City of Dreams can be a challenge as there are not that many choices.

Macau is known as a harbour of Chinese refugees fleeing dullness of home, work and even political oppression. Indeed Macau is a city of cobbled backstreets, baroque churches, ancient stone fortresses and exotic street names, legacy by the distinctive Portueguese. The colourful looks gives Macau that fascinating characterization, because of the mix of cultures, of Mediterrean and Asian fusion in architecture, food, lifetyles and temperaments.

A bit of envious of my brothers environment I am very happy, too, he made it in this part of the world. Wandering in his world, walking downtown of Macau, I do realize all of us has his/her own "Home Sweet Home" ... even in Chinese written ...

Whether A-Ma of Quan-Yin or Kun-Iam, the name of this honoured phenomenon got a long history. Even the local people can't think of an origin, and follow their hearts in stead of their mind. Discussing this "female divine" aspect is not of much use. Even the Buddhist aspect shows up with very Hinduistic origins, though it's not ... the locals will tell.

The impressive, 20 m high A-MA statue you can find on the top of the Coloane Hill (3rd island of Macau). It is of black marble, though the body is carved out of pure white marble. See the amazingly detailed front and the face part. The A-MA story is carved into a copper plate there. The walk to this statue is breathtaking ... I will never forget my pilgrimage to A-MA in December 2007.

The famous A-MA lightened up here by the sunset ... read about on website below.

We visited the A-MA place again. And again ...
Macau is changing its locations by new roads, new bridges, new buildings. So it could be easily you cannot find your want-to-visit place anymore. For now we got to the place where is the A-MA Temple, and the whole place is "under construction". Though the area is worth a visit, for sure. So give it a try, and enjoy the trip to Penha Hill and the A-MA Temple.

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Pretty much everything that you can think of can be done in Macau. This includes walking on the edge at the top of Macau tower (outdoor), bungy jumping, temple worship, shopping in senado square or new yaohan, sight seeing, walk up the Guia Hill, exercise on local parks, go to museums, play casino games, picture taking, ride a gondola, and overall experience Europe and Asia in 1 city.

Maybe not that well-known to tourists but all Chinese do know that the name of A-MA has derived from the legends around the Goddess A-MA, and the special A-MA Temple on Macau-Bay. It is the oldest temple structure, known from the 13th century with the name of KUN IAM Temple.

Although rebuilt in 1627 the A-MA Temple dates back to about 1500, probably referring to symbolic characters of Chinese language during the Ming Dynasty (1368 - 1644). Or maybe because KUN IAM often got Romanized as KUAN/GUAN YIN (KWAN YIN), associated with the Avalokiteshvara character of the Buddhist Sutras.

You can find the A-MA Temple down at the Penha Hill, however ask for info about the A-MA Temple, because the complex is a Buddhist one. The Goddess of Mercy, KUN IAM, can be found in only one shrine (see pic), where once the ocean reached the rocks of the cave ... I love to visit this spot, every time again !

When visiting the RED MARKET I was surprised to find truly Indonesian products, like coffee (kopi tubruk), sweet delicacies and flowers (sedep malam). The RED MARKET area is located between the Avenida do Almirante Lacerda and Avenida de Horta e Costa. It is told the area got its name because of the red bricks houses ...

Very nice to see at the RED MARKET are the handicrafts where the products are still hand-made. Like the incense of this man on picture. I bought the famous Quan Yin incense and you could smell the strong fragrance all around when the artisan burnt one for me.

When visiting the RED MARKET, take bus 1 - 1A - 3 - 4 - 5 - 8 - 16 - 17 - 23 - 25 - 26 - 26A - 32 - 33 - 34

The Coloane Island was famous by pirates until the beginning of the last century. The people on Coloane Island still celebrate the anniversary of the victory against the assault by buccaneers on the South China Sea (1910 July 13). Nowadays Coloane Island attracts a large number of visitors to its sandy coastline.

The Cheoc Van Beach is the white-yellow one with a swimming pool (see pic), attractive to many tourists. The Hac Sa Beach is much larger and more popular by the Macanese people. The sand indeed is a grey to blackish colour, looking somewhat dirty, but it is perfectly clean!

The Coloane Island got well-known, too, for the famous A-MA Statue (see above). It is colossal, purre white and just beautiful. When in the mood, a visit to the Coloane Village is a joy to do. It is a fascinating relic of Macau that once was ...