Feeling Like a Star in Macau
By the messy optimist
Traveling to Macau during my China-Hong Kong-Macau sojourn was more than special to me. It was where I felt truly wanted.
But before that…a quick confession.
I admit.
I did all the things that seasoned travelers will look down upon when you mention Macau.
“I didn’t go to Macau to gamble.” Uhhh, I did. I checked out more than a few casinos there and it was a very significant part of why I went there. It also brought back memoires of Las Vegas for me.
“So gauche taking pictures in front St. Paul.”
Well, excuse me, I did that also. Took a LOT of pictures in front of the UNESCO heritage site – the ruins of St. Paul and gawk at the view from Senado Square adjoining the ruins.
“We don’t just do one-day trips from the Mainland or Hong Kong. We spent over a week in Macau.” Well…Sorry. I spent only two days in Macau and I thought I did OK.
I also did so much more. I went up Mount Fortress and took the obligatory pictures against the various artillery there. I soaked in the colors at A-Ma temple and prayed to Taoist goddess Matzu. I rode up the elevator to the pinnacle of Macau Tower and checked out city views (even though the afternoon was marred with unseasonal rains). I walked on the sands of Hac Sa beach and took in the various gardens and museums that litter around Macau.
It was a lovely two days that I spent in Macau.
Feeling Loved and Wanted
But two interesting things happened to me. If you’ve read my post on Beijing – I write about how my very white and red-haired American friend Jane often gets treated in China like she is a superstar. Chinese folks are just fascinated with Caucasians who are that white. And while I always get treated well…there’s never that gushing love that Jane and other Caucasians get in the mainland. And at the time I was in Macau I’d never had total strangers walk upto me and ask to take pictures with them.
Until that day in Macau.
I was posing up a storm and taking selfies atop Macau Tower when a young Asian girl walked upto me and hesitantly asked if we could take a picture together. I didn’t even wait for her explanations and immediately posed up a storm with her as well. I was so excited that someone wanted a picture with me. I told her about my experiences with my friend in Shanghai and Beijing and thanked her for asking to take a picture with me.
She thanked me back and said she was from South Korea.
Sorry. I am ONE OF THOSE who couldn’t tell the difference between a South Korean and a Chinese woman. Women from both countries are pretty stunningly beautiful. Does that count? No? Oh, well…
Anyhoo…I’m such an idiot. I did NOT take a single selfie with her on MY phone.
The next interesting incident happened during my Macau tour when I ran into these three Chinese women in my van. FYI – this time I took pictures on MY phone! And I also made sure they were originally from Mainland China. I say originally because these women spoke English with a distinctly Australian accent.
Turns out – they were Australians.
Their family was originally from Mainland China but they themselves were born and raised in Australia.
I asked them about their trip back to their home country of China but they kept shaking their heads. I wasn’t quite sure what that meant. Later they mentioned how they’d come down to Hong Kong for a visit and took a day-trip to Macau but they had no intentions of going to the Mainland. When I pushed for them to tell me why – they shook their heads again without explaining why.
Even as they refused to explain why they hadn’t been to the Mainland yet – they asked me hundreds of questions about the previous fortnight that I’d spent in Shanghai and Beijing.
How is Shanghai?
How is Beijing?
Is it still very polluted?
Do people speak English?
Can you drink tap water?
Were you able to go and come everywhere without any issues?
The questions went on.
They were so eager and anxious to learn everything about their past – a past that they’d never actually been a part of. And don’t get me wrong. Australia is very much their home now – but it was important to them, it mattered where their families came from. Sure, by this time I’d guessed why they hadn’t been to the mainland and probably never would. But they sure did miss a country they’d never set foot in. And over the course of the day they looked at me (touched me sometimes) in awe and listened to every word that came out of my mouth as if I was Taylor Swift!
Here they are:
The two experiences I had in Macau made me feel like a star. Over the rest of the day the four of us chatted, hung out, ate lunch together and played at the casino. And when the time came we said our goodbyes and went our own ways to our homes.
That’s the best thing about traveling. You see the world and enjoy what it has to offer but then you always, always, always feel incomplete until you come home.
