Working as a Professor does not in any way enable me to take Leaves of Absences whenever I want to. Once the term started, the show must go on for 14 weeks. Given that, I always look forward to seeing new places to refresh my creativity and to forget anything work-related even just for a while. Recently, I realized I haven’t been to Macau despite visiting Hong Kong, so I decided to visit. But lo and behold, there was a typhoon on the day of my visit! The skies are gloomy but I still managed to go around the streets and take some photos.
SOMETHING MANDATORY. As unhealthy as it may sound, I am loving the thrill of eating at McDonald’s in every country I visit. I am always fascinated about the different menu items in different countries. I forgot to include a complimentary breakfast when I booked my hotel and I discovered that my hotel’s restaurant is a super upscale Portuguese restaurant with an expensive menu, I just chose to go out for breakfast and saved the breakfast experience in my hotel for my last day in Macau. McDonald’s in Macau has a very interesting menu. Their breakfast menu is so superb! They have big meals and there is a hot milk tea option if you’re avoiding coffee or chocolate. I was happy with the hot milk tea and I think I got one every single day. The introvert in me sat in the corner by the street, and I tried taking a photo of my meal with the street as the backdrop. This man passed by very timely and I caught him looking at my food. I am so used to eating a lot whenever I travel alone and I’m so used to people looking at what I eat. Yeah, his eyes are checking out every single food on my table.
ENJOYING THE RAIN. To my right inside McDonald’s is the pedestrian lane, which is I am very happy about because I am in a very perfect, comfortable position to capture photos of people crossing the street. Personally, I love rainy days. I wasn’t even disappointed that I went to Macau on a typhoon. I guess that’s the reason why this solo trip was the most memorable one I had. And boy, look at the smile in this kid’s face! That’s literally me. I love the sound of the rain, I love sipping hot tea while raining, and I love the cozy temperature. However, I did not go to Macau to chill and feel the rain! I proceeded going out and walk in the streets.
KINDA FAMILIAR. Walking in the streets of Macau is something oddly ‘familiar’ to me. It’s as if I’m in Manila. I am actually less intimidated and more comfortable walking around. Here comes my “I could live here” feeling once again. Look at this arcade sidewalk. It’s no different than the ones in Manila Chinatown, particularly the strip of Juan Luna Street. What I love about Macau is how seemingly slow life is, which feels very comforting and peaceful. No people are in a hurry, nobody seems worried, and the whole environment is pretty chill. Yes, I could indeed live here.
THE CALMNESS AND DISCIPLINE. Macau is so full of old buildings and so much colonial heritage from Portugal can be noticed all over. Aside from the quaintness of the ambiance, I love old cities. I love old structures. Everything looks like a beautiful mess. Everyone is polite to one another. I love crossing the street because of their systematic pedestrian system. I love that they preserve almost everything as it is. Ahhh, I’m falling in love.
ENJOYING THE SIGHTS AND SOUNDS. Forget about the sunny day. I love the cloudy vibe and it adds to the mood of my photowalk session. As I was walking around, I am starting to realize how unique the land surfaces in Macau is. There’s a lot of narrow steep roads and sharp curves. Some friends have been telling me this is similar to Europe, but I have no personal point of comparison yet since I haven’t been to Europe. Hopefully soon!
PEOPLE WATCHING. Have you ever felt that feeling when you’re amazed with every single detail of a new place you visited because most of them are both unique and familiar at the same time? Seriously, this whole photowalk gives me a typical Chinatown vibe: people peacefully hustling. Some others like this old man walking his dog was one of the most ‘awww’ scenes I’ve seen this day.
AIMLESSLY WALKING. I am seriously have no idea where to go at this point, but my plans this day included visits to museums. However, I forgot something. “Dang, today is a Monday! Most museums are closed!” I don’t mind, I love walking. I’m loving the vibe. I love taking photos of things I see. This whole photowalk session is as good as walking around a museum. THIS is the museum.
TODAY’S CHANGE OF PLANS. However, I can’t just aimlessly walk the whole day, right? I can’t also predict the weather. Hmmm, since museums are still closed, let’s explore other possible activities. How about a food trip? OHHH RIGHT, MACAU HAS THOSE YUMMY PORTUGUESE EGG TARTS! I hurriedly did some Googling on my phone to see where I can find some egg tarts. I found some interesting shops and I continued walking to the nearest bus stop to Coloane.
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