"The tiny Portuguese Colony of Macao"

Excertos de "Far Pacific Travel Guide" (quase 400 páginas), da autoria de John C. Caldwell, publicado em 1966

The once-tiring trip to Macao from Hong Kong is now done in little over one hour by hydrofoil. (...) The Macao steamers and hydrofoils sail from the Hong Kong side. In May, 1965, I arrived from Macao via hydrofoil. There was a huge line of cars and trucks waiting at the regular vehicular ferry. We drove by bus to the North Point Ferry, where another 40-minute wait was necessary before getting aboard. Total time, from arrival in Hong Kong from Macao to arrival at the hotel in Kowloon was two hours and ten minutes. This was unusual; but I think, in all fairness, the facts should be stated. There are occasions when it takes a long, long time to get from a Hong Kongside hotel, across on the vehicular ferry and to the airport. (...)

A Visit to Macao

The tiny Portuguese Colony of Macao, located on the Chinese mainland forty miles from Hong Kong, can be reached only via Hong Kong. The Macao tour is one of those oft'ered by all Hong Kong travel agents. I have taken or sent some two hundred Americans to Macao. I'd say about half my tour members consider it a well worthwhile trip, the other half think it is too tiring and not worth the time and effort. However, the development of hydrofoil service has made the trip much easier. More on this later.

Macao is all that is left of a once-extensive system of Portuguese factories and trading posts. With an area of six square miles, it is located on the Chungshan Peninsula, or the south bank of the Pearl River estuary. The population is about 200,000, depending on how many refugees from Red China are in the colony at a given time. For Macao is a steppingstone to freedom, easily entered by Chinese escapees who must then pause awhile to make arrangements for the last long miles into Hong Kong. Only by actually seeing Macao can one realize that this tiny bit of the Free World is literally surrounded by Red China.

Macao is a city of gamblers and smugglers, although considerably cleaned up in recent years. A Portuguese visa is needed, and easily obtained through a travel agent. No British reentry visa is needed.

Until 1965, Macao was reached only via the several big British registered passenger ships which sailed from the Hong Kong side every afternoon around 3 p.m. and late at night, making the crossing in about three and one-half hours. The ships are still in use, and to compete with the new hydrofoils, the ships have improved their service. But if one goes by ship it can be noisy and tiring, the trip requiring a minimum of thirteen hours if one is to spend any time in Macao.

The hydrofoil service operates on an hourly basis, the crossing requiring only one hour to one hour and a quarter. The ships come in two sizes, and I suggest you ask to be booked on one of the larger boats. Avoid a weekend visit, when thousands of Chinese go to Macao to gamble. Although most of the travel agents recommend a longer trip, I suggest departing Hong Kong around 10 A.M., arriving Macao in time for some sightseeing before lunch. After lunch there is time for more activities before taking a 3 p.m. hydrofoil back to Hong Kong.

Largo do Senado na década 1960
Imagem não incluída na obra referida

(...) the Portuguese Government has a tourist monopoly, controls prices on a package-tour basis. And the prices are too high. A ten-hour trip by hydrofoil, including round-trip fare, lunch in Macao, sightseeing, costs me around $23 per person for a tour group of 15 to 20 people. For individuals, the cost (which also includes cost of a Macao visa) is higher. The Hong Kong travel agents are making efforts to negotiate the Macanese into a more reasonable price structure. If this is not done, foreign tourists will stop visiting the little colony.

There are two important Chinese temples. The Ma Kok Miu is dedicated to a goddess who happens to hail from my hometown on the China Coast. A-Ma is the Goddess of the Boat People, and Macao is named for her.

Usually the very efficient Macanese guides first take one to the Barrier Gate, separating Macao from Red China. One can go within few hundred yards of the gate, close enough to see the Communist sentries on duty. But in order to avoid problems with their big

Macao is tiny, covering only a few square miles, and the whole city may be visited within a few hours. It is a colorful city, many of the houses and buildings being of pastel shades— greens, pinks and blues. There is a quiet serenity, an atmosphere quite different from Hong Kong. Most visitors do not spend the night; but more and more good accommodations are available, in pensions, or at the Hotel Bela Vista, the Estoril Hotel, the tiny Pousada de Macao, the Vila Taiyip and the other hotels about to be completed or planned.