An invite from Tiger Airways and the Macau Government Tourist Office whisked a group of travel agents to the city of lights. I almost declined, thinking of a boring five day stay in Macau. After all, what does Macau have except casinos? Well thanks to hosts Alorino Noruega and Jet Cabuslay of MGTO and Linda Castillo of Tiger Air (Tric’s Travel), we uncovered a few more things to do in Macau.

Learn some history

If you have a half day city tour in your itinerary, I bet you will be visiting Ama Temple and the Ruins of St. Paul’s – standard package for first timers. One would think St Paul is a church, but it really is an old façade, the only standing piece left after it was torched. A photo tip is to take a picture from the bottom of the stairs leading down to a blurry of shops and souvenirs. Besides the cathedral is the Macau Museum showcasing past and present Macau. Make sure to say hi to the guards there. All of them are Filipinos.

Shop like a winner

Further down the road from St. Paul’s is a small alley known as Antique street. Walk a little further, past the food stalls selling egg tarts and almond cookies and you will reach Senado Square. Cobblestone pavement and neoclassical buildings gives off a very European vibe while the presence of Bossini, Giordano, Esprit, Fancl and the like can set any Pinoy into panic buying. Hit the shops at Fisherman’s wharf and Venetia hotel also.

Buy your pasalubongs at Taipa Food Street or Rua De Felicidad ( translated as happy street). The shops lets you sample bits of almond cookies, peanut candy, smoked meat, ginger candy and other goodies I can’t distinguish but tastes good anyway. And don’t buy everything at the first store you set foot on. Eggtarts and Portuguese sardines are great pasalubong too.

Still got money? take a daytrip to Hongkong or Zhuhai, China for some more shopping!

Admire the architecture

What I love to do on every trip is to admire the architecture. The Portugal influences meshed with Chinese culture brings out a unique Macanese style. Visit the Taipa Houses Museum, preserved homes that depict typical Macanese life.

Romance your lover

The first night was spent strolling around romantic Fisherman’s wharf, a replica of seaports in New Orleans, Italy, Amsterdam, Miami, Spain and Portugal. The 150 shops are already closed by then but the bars and restaurants are open. Think twinkling lights, evening sea breeze, Italian music and cobblestone streets. Stroll down Rocks hotel to admire their lobby. Sectioned off is Aladdin’s fort, an Arabian style theme park for kids. Six rides are open and with construction underway, it seems that Macau are preparing to entertain children.

Hotel Hopping

Macau is after all Asia’s Las Vegas. It would be a shame to miss out the extravagance as hotels try to outdo each other for Asia’s richest gamblers. And amidst all the luxury is the cheapest tour you can have. First, there is no charge for just looking around. ( unless you decide to lose in the casinos.) And second, hotel buses wait in terminals ( ferry, airport, terminal) all desperate to get as many people to visit their casino. In fact, I know someone who just kept going from hotel to port to another hotel to save on taxi fare. Hop to Wynn Hotel and Casino and watch their dancing fountains. And never ever skip a visit to the Venetia. This year’s star of Macau is twice as big as the Venetia in Las Vegas. And inside is fantastic! You don’t need to go all the way to Italy to experience Venice with their replica of St. Mark’s Square with jesters and gondolas and 300 stores to shop around. So they say the best things in life are free.

Take the Plunge

For the adventure lovers, the 338 meter Macau tower is the way to go. Operated by world renowned AJ Hackett adventure professional, the mast climb ( climbing up the tower from outside) , sky jump ( jumping feet first) , bungee jumping ( freefall head first) and skywalk ( walking on the outer perimeter ) covers different kinds of risk takers. “Do not worry, it is so safe that even if you want to commit suicide, you will not die” Alorino assured us when he tells us we must do the skyjump, a less scarier version of bungee jumping. ( imagine feet first and a slow fall ) In fact, both the Skyjump and Bungee is enlisted under Guinness World records as the highest descent. The biggest regret I ever had in this trip is chickening out on the skyjump and doing the skywalk instead.

Race race race !

I am sure the boys will salivate over the Macau Grand Prix museum. If you miss the F3 races in November, this is the next best thing. Adjacent to it is the wine museum where you can have a taste of Portugal’s finest wines.

For another kind of racing, check out the dog and horse races. Bet on any of the lean mean greyhounds and lose your 10 patakas faster than you can say “sit” .The crowds are not heavy since the serious gamblers watch on TV.

Wine and Dine

Macanese cuisine is a mix of Chinese and Portuguese influences to produce what is insatiably delightful recipes. Asian spices cooked with traditional seafood and meat ravaged over a bottle of Portuguese wine is one food trip I can never forget. But that is another story. ( for travel tips, email the author at wandergirl28@gmail.com. )

** for package tours, you may contact tiger airways ( under Tric Travel ) tricscorp_ortigas@yahoo.com ( manila based ) or your local travel agency.