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Do You Miss Macau? Well, Miss Macau beauty contest has stopped for some years. And, Miss Macau Restaurant named after the four legendary Macanese sisters crowned Miss Macau has also closed. But do you miss Macau after returning from a short or long trip abroad? Hard to answer today? How about ten years back then? Many friends like Macau ten/twenty years ago, much more peaceful and friendly. You could sip a coffee in the square outside Lisboa Hotel, then stroll down the willow path along Sai Van Bay. You could even walk in late night in any Macau street safely and leisurely, which would be deemed a crazy thing in current busy, polluted and seedy Macau. Some say present-day Macau is not suitable for living and it is bad for health, citing its pollution of air, noise, light and overcrowding. My friend from Zhuhai who bet her holiday on Macau instead of Thailand was shocked by the car exhaust fumes attacking her anywhere she went. “Worse than Hong Kong!”, she commented. Exceptions are still Coloane Village and Hac Sac Beach, which are intact and ideal for people who love laidback environment with some fresh air. A Hong Kong songwriter chose to settle in Taipa, “Because Hong Kong was very tiring, yet Macau is now becoming tiresome…” Possibly ike most of us, now it is hard for me to say ‘I miss Macau’ after leaving town for a period, at least not as easy as before when Macau nostalgia seemed to linger on us. I guess this is worrying: if one doesn’t miss one’s town, it merely means it is unpleasant, and, it is losing those characteristics that generate our feeling of belonging. Some long-term Macau residents have chosen to stay away Macau. One of them is Lu Siva, a veteran pressman/editor, who stays only one third of the year in ‘new Macau’ and the rest in Asia. Look at his feedback to my ‘do you miss Macau?’ question: “What do I miss in the ‘new Macau’? More than what I miss is what I do not welcome, such as: The gigantism of the new casinos and residential developments; The super-over-crowded places; The bursting-at-the-seams road traffic; The pervading feeling of not belonging (just an overnight mad gambling place); The sudden general anxiety of "make quick money from the boom before the bust"; The blatant unpreparedness of the government for its own big gamble...” Does this Macau escapist take out your words? According to Macau economist Ieong Wan Chong, Macau is a micro-economy. So do I say, Macau is a tiny territory characterized by leisure culture, a view shared by many insightful locals and Macau lovers alike. Despite how Macau is on the edge, when I walk in early morning or in evening, Macau is taking a brief rest from its bustle. I feel it lovely ‒ under the rarely blue sky small sheep (motorbikes) travel along pedestrians who walk with poise and greet one another in the narrow streets. What a uniquely idyllic tiny kingdom! You cannot find such ambience in any Chinese city, whose people have livelihood anxiety. However, last night while I climbed up Macau’s touristic landmark S. Paul Ruins from its back, aspiring to some relaxing moments, a shining mammoth ‒ MGM casino tower ‒ stands up there in antic. To that point, I understood why so hard to say, ‘I miss you Macau’. -- Wallow In Salt,6/22/07, the Macau Post Daily |
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Nam, U like craziness? Me too, i guess. Macau is a too much sweeling city of contradictions so are its residents contradicious too. Yet i m sure its great contrast may amuse you. Rvd yr emails. Will ask actual situation in bkk fm a real tripper coming bk right there. Wait pls.
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