Some people spell it with an “u” at the end, and some spell it with an “o”, I’ve seen the variations in blog posts, youtube videos, and even maps. Either way, it starts with a “M” and that’s all that matters, however, I generally spell it with an “u”, so that will be how I’ll spell it in this post.

Macau is a city that doesn’t have a good reputation in my family. It was the city where my dad passed away and it was the city where my dad’s sister gambled away all her savings and came asking her siblings for money (or so I’ve heard).

The first and only time I’ve ever been to Macau was in 2018 when I had to go retrieve a copy of my dad’s death certificate. What a way to make a day trip!

The day was muggy, hot, and gloomy. The moment my aunt and I reached Macau, I wanted to turn back. The building where we had to go through immigration and customs was filthy and the air wreaked of the odor from the nearby restroom. Thankfully, the line moved quickly and after get my passport stamped, I ran outside as fast as I could so I could breathe.

Macau was once a Portuguese territory, until it was handed back to China. In some circles, it’s the Chinese equivalent of Las Vegas.

Every sign was in Traditional Chinese and Portuguese. I cannot understand Portuguese and can only read a little bit of Traditional Chinese from my semester of Chinese class in a community college long ago, so I had to rely on my aunt to know when to get off the bus and where to go.

Google Maps was no help. It led us in circles trying to locate an office among towering buildings, but we finally found the office of where we needed to go. One request for a death certificate, coming up. Pick up wouldn’t be until 4PM, so we had a few hours to wander around.

Even though it was a weekday, there were crowds everywhere. Crowds make me nervous because oftentimes, that’s when mugging happens. We visited a few sites and checked out a few hotels. Unfortunately, with no smart phone at the time, meaning no Google translate, I couldn’t understand any signage at the places we went. My aunt was no help either.

After getting the document, we decided to have some dinner before heading back to the mainland. The streets seemed to become more crowded as the day turned into night. We waited for the bus to take us back to the smelly customs building. I followed my aunt and boarded the bus but when I reached the last step, I felt a hard tug on my backpack and felt I was being pulled backward off the bus

I called my aunt’s name and she came to the rescue. It turned out to be a selfish jerk who wanted to be on the bus before me. It was not the first time this happened to me and it would not be the last. I would probably not visit this city again.

Theme: Places

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