This is the last entry regarding our 2017 holidays in China.
Macau occupies a special place in our hearts. It was our second home after Angola, and was there that we recovered from the tortuous 6 years we lived in Angola after the Portuguese Revolution of April 25th, 1974. We left Angola with only two suitcases, two little girls, and no money. Macau received us (with only one suitcase. The other was lost in transit) with open arms and provided the peace and tranquillity we needed.
We lived a good life in Macau and made great friendships standing the test of time until today, almost 40 years later. We would have stayed in Macau but the threat of another de-colonization made us look for another place to live.
Since we left we took every opportunity we had, to visit Macau and our friends. This time we were visiting China and flying through Hong Kong. It was an opportunity we couldn’t miss and on our return, we had a 4 days stopover in Macau to catch up with our friends. It was an action-packed holiday with activities on every bit of time we were not asleep.
We had a few walks and drives around the place to see the changes that have been occurring since our last visit, but the majority of the time was spent catching up with our friends. On our last visit, we were surprised with the transformation of two islands: Taipa and Coloane. When we lived in Macau these two islands used to be practically inhabited. The two islands were connected by an isthmus which disappeared to give way to a Las Vegas type avenue with replicas of the major casinos. This time there are double and triple versions of the major casinos!!! More and more land is reclaimed from the sea; the continental part of Macau is now miles away from the South China Sea and Taipa and Coloane one big island.
The luxury and opulence of the casinos and hotels made me feel a bit sad. Nothing is produced in Macau; only gambling with its attached misery. I was told that Macau is making more than 3 times de money made by Las Vegas!!! Where all these money goes in a World struggling to feed its population? However, I believe you should not worry too much about things that are out of your control and the only thing I can do against this situation is not gambling, the rest is philosophical rhetoric (Plato eat your heart out).
We had a great time with our friends and as good descendants of Portuguese, we hardly left the dining table. We got together with my “almost cousin” (we have the same untie) Felix and Luciana. The last time we saw each other was 32 years ago. We hope we will not wait another 32 years.
Attached some photos of Macau and the get-togethers with our friends.
