Destination Vacation: St. Paul's Ruins, Macau

St. Paul's Ruins, Macau

             We had the entire day to visit the tourist spots and go around Macau. Macau is a one-hour trip by ferry from Hong Kong Island. We noticed that the road signage especially in St. Paul's Ruins are written in Spanish. This is because Macau was once colonized by the Portuguese empire hundreds of years ago. The structures of the buildings here are also influenced by Portuguese architectural design. Macau is very famous for its gambling activity as the source of the country's economy. That's why we were all so excited to stay here 'til 9 o'clock in the evening just to observe the sparkling and busy night life of Macau. We visited the notable St. Paul's Ruins, which is the remaining structure of the Cathedral of St.Paul that was built centuries ago at Rua de Sao Paolo.

                  When we arrived, the place was so overcrowded with locals and tourists and there were more people still coming to the ruins. To my surprise, it seemed like we were in a European country because the area is not really of Asian style. Yet, like any other place, our tour guide warned us to keep in mind our belongings and valuables because pick pockets are very rampant here. In addition, Macau Pataca (the Macau money) is not accepted in Hong Kong, so we should check the money given to us as change in case we buy souvenir items or foods here.

St. Paul's ruins

the overview from the main entrance

                  This is not the first ruins I have seen, but admittedly I am more attracted to the remaining structures than the history behind it. Although the story behind every remaining structure are far more important than its recent appearance. However, the recent structure of a ruined historical building such as this tells everyone more than stories than what was written in the history for it has been standing there for hundreds of years and witnesed the massive changes of people's lifestyles and cultures.

               More stories to tell and pictures to share in my next post regarding my vacation!