The last time we visited Macau was in 1983, two years after we left to live in Nauru. This time, 25 years later, we had difficulties in recognising the place.
The old part of Macau that we knew so well is now blocked by a series of massive buildings erected on reclaimed land. The Praia Grande avenue that during our times was on the seaside facing Taipa is now bordering the Nam Van lakes, quite a long way from the sea. Casino Lisboa, the most impressive landmark in Macau is now a piddling little building (still impressive for us) in the midst of the new casinos. Taipa island we couldn’t even recognise with three bridges connecting it to Macau.
Some other pleasing changes to the old Macau: the streets are now spotless clean; no cars parked everywhere; only in some areas we can see street selling and very disciplined; old buildings reflecting the ancient Macau history maintained to their old glory; street names maintained and still marked with the beatuiful portuguese azulejos (blue and white tiles).
We had a fantastic reception from our old friends. They made our stay memorable and in particular Ricardo, Ana and Zé wasted a lot of their valuable time to show us everything we want to see. Our friends Catarina, Vieira, Ruca and Sanches are some other friends that made this holidays memorable. The photos below try to give an idea of what is Macau today
