Hong Kong & Macau - The Rough Guide to Southeast Asia on a Budget - page 152

nocturnal daredevils. For the less
adventurous, there are two observation
decks (Mon-Fri 10am-9pm, Sat & Sun
9am-9pm; MOP$80). he road north
from here up to the Praia Grande takes
about fifteen minutes on foot, or take bus
#9A, #18, #23, #26 or #32.

Praia , complete with its original
pale-green houses, public benches and
street lamps. he beautifully restored
mansions overlook what was the sea - but
is now the back of the Venetian Hotel .
he five mansions are open to the public;
of particular interest are the House of the
Islands (Tues-Sun 10am-6pm; MOP$5)
or its old photos of Taipa and Coloane,
and the Taipa House Museum (Tues-Sun
10am-6pm; MOP$5), which gives you
some idea of what domestic life was like
at the beginning of the twentieth century.

TAIPA
Until the eighteenth century, Taipa was
two islands separated by a channel, the
silting up of which subsequently caused
the two to merge into one. he same fate
has now befallen Taipa and Coloane,
except that this time land reclamation is
the culprit - the two islands have been
fused to make space for large-scale
development. Most of the plots of land
have been bought up by mega casinos,
so Taipa will continue to change beyond
recognition over the next few years.

The Cotai Strip and Macau's casinos
An area of reclaimed land billed as “Asia's
Las Vegas”, the Cotai Strip , lined with
immense casinos, sits between the villages
of Taipa and Coloane, has its own ferry
service and, in practice, its own border
crossing. he biggest and brashest of the
casinos is the Venetian ( W venetianmacao
.com), its interior decorated with three
million sheets of gold leaf and featuring
a gondola ride on the canal past rows of
plasticky Venetian buildings. Games
include blackjack, roulette, baccarat and
sands stud poker. Newer additions to
the strip include the City of Dreams
( W cityofdreamsmacau.com), a place to
let loose and join in the bimonthly Red
Dragon - the biggest poker tournament in
Asia. One Macau gambling institution
that's not on the Cotai Strip is the Grand
Lisboa ( W grandlisboa.com). Macau's tallest
building, it resembles a psychedelically-lit
pineapple by night and features more than
730 slot machines and 430 gaming tables
spread over four floors.

3

Taipa Village
Taipa Village on the southern shore, with
its old colonial promenade, is a pleasant
place to wander. here isn't much more
than a few streets to the modern village,
where the buses stop, though you'll find
some great restaurants around the central
north-south alley, Rua do Cunha , and,
to the west - on the right as you face the
shore - a couple of ancient temples in
the vicinity of a quiet old square, which
has benches perfectly sited for people-
watching. Along Rua Correia da Silva,
the Museum of Taipa & Coloane History
(Tues-Sun 10am-6pm; MOP$5) features
excavated relics from the two villages, as
well as scale building models.
he village is reachable by buses #22,
#25, #26A, #28A and #33. Buses #25
and #33 also stop at the Pou Tai Temple
(daily 9am-6pm), Macau's largest
temple complex north of the village,
its main feature an enormous statue of
Lord Gautama.

COLOANE
Coloane peninsula is considerably bigger
than Taipa, yet the village is smaller,
leaving you with plenty of forested hills
to explore and beaches to relax on.

A-Ma Temple complex and around
he first attraction is the Parque de Seac
Pai Van (Tues-Sun 8am-6pm; free), a
large park with a Giant Panda Pavilion
(Tues-Sun 10am-1pm & 2-5pm;
MOP$10; T 2833 7676, W macaupanda
.org.mo). he Pavilion's cute panda pair

Avenida da Praia
he island's real interest lies a few
minutes' walk to the east of Taipa Village,
in the former waterfront area. Here, as
though frozen in time, is a superb old
colonial promenade, the Avenida da